I was browsing through some of the Christian blogs I enjoy reading, when I came across the latest blog on Dashhouse.org, entitled, “The Psalm 1 Life.”
So, immediately, I turned to Psalm 1 to refresh myself on what it says. Here is Psalm 1 from the ESV:
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
From Bible-history.com, I learned that the title of the Book of Psalms in Hebrew is Sepher Tehillim, which means “Book of Praises”.
The very first word of the Psalms is “blessed”. This speaks of an inward joy—a deep-seated contentment in God. This is where the believer should remain at all times.
We see this in the life of Paul, who, in spite of being beaten, thrown into prison, and put in chains, finds it within himself to sing praises to God that very night. He is blessed. He lives in that deep-seated contentment, no matter his circumstances. As Psalm 1 states, the blessed man “delights in the law of the Lord, and mediates on His law day and night.
There is a clear lesson for us here. We maintain an inward joy when we stay in God’s word every day and every night—without fail. His word draws us in and keeps us right there, “like a tree, planted by the streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season.”
The passage goes on to say that “its leaf does not wither.” What does that mean? The tree produces leaves before it produces fruit. So, the Word of God nourishes us through all of our seasons, even those in which we are not bearing fruit.
The next pledge is truly rich with hope. “In all he does, he prospers.” When we are well planted in God and nourished through His word, we seek His will and become His hands and feet. In this way, directed by Him, in all we do we will prosper.
The next section of the Psalm presents as a contrast to the lives of believers who stay fed by God’s word. This section addresses the wicked.
“The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
Chaff is the seed covering that separates from the seed when the grain is threshed. It has no density and so it blows away with the wind. The chaff goes wherever the wind wants it to.
This is why the wicked cannot prevail. They have no depth, no roots, no truth.
We should not envy the wicked. We should mourn for them, for they “will not stand in the judgement.”
The Lord knows the way of the righteous,” because they are planted by His stream of holiness—and they drink from His Word and His spirit daily.
In the blog I referenced earlier, Reverend Dash notes that the choice we must make is binary—there seem to be many roads to take, but really, there are only two: Either we delight in God’s law and ruminate on it throughout our day, or we are influenced by the “Zeitgeist” – the “spirit of the age.”
Reverend Dash states that Psalm 1 “is the gateway to the psalms; it’s the ultimate invitation to ‘choose your own adventure.’” One way looks inviting but disappoints; the second way looks disappointing but leads to life. We get to choose the path we take!
Choosing righteousness leads to blessing, fruitfulness, prospering, and delight.
God’s Word is our greatest treasure. Explore it daily. Feed on it. Drink of it. It is the path to life.