Psalm 1
Sunday, 30 January 2022
“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water ...” - Psalm 1:3
The very first Psalm stands as a kind of introduction to the rest of the Psalms and it declares the blessedness of the righteous and the misery and future of the wicked. It is like a beatitude which pronounces blessings upon a certain group of people. At the same time, it is not an unconditional pronouncement of blessing of a life without problems, but conditional on what one needs to do to receive a life of blessing.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the path of sinners, not sit in the seat of scoffers! The blessed man does not do certain things- There is
a way he will not walk
a path he will not stand in
a seat he will not sit in
This brings in a conditional blessedness in the life of a person. This is exactly how we learn about the “do’s and don’ts” in life even at an early stage of life. The first verse is the don’ts- “he does not walk…”- one side of a coin whereas Vs.2 is the other side of the coin-the “do’s”- something he does: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The first part (V1) is a cleansing process whereas the second part (V2) is the filling part. The first part will create a vacuum in one’s life whereas the second part fills the vacuum with things that bring forth delights in life. If the cleansed mind is not filled with the godly thoughts and words, it will be filled with the unworthy/worldly things which will lead to discontent and ruin.
What makes a man happy and excited? IF personal pleasure is the only thing that makes you and me happy, then we are self-centered or selfish people. If being with your family or friends delights us, that can be better, but it still falls short. Whereas a righteous man finds his delight in the Law of the LORD! Its meditation is delight to his soul.
What is delight? It is a superlative level of satisfaction. The Hebrew verb form of this noun is used several times of a man finding delight in the woman he loves. In the Old Testament, Israel was viewed as the wife of YHWH and in the New Testament the Church is the bride of Jesus Christ. When we consider the written Word as God’s love letter to us, we are to have an intimate relationship with God through His Word. And that’s how one should take pleasure and delight in His Word. “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 3:12).
Psalm 1: 3 says, “And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in its season, And its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” The life of the righteous man is marked by strength and stability who bears fruit in its season as in Galatians 5:22-23- the fruit of the Spirit such as Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. That tree will be always green and alive as its leaves shall not wither.
Are we like this kind of tree that is planted by the rivers of living water? It’s a time to consecrate our life to the Father’s will in the light of these insights.
Prayer: LORD Jesus cleanse me within from all that is filthy and enable me to enrich it with Your Words. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. In Jesus’ name. Amen
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