Psalm 1 - Experiencing Blessing In Difficult Times
The Psalms can be a source of great comfort in difficult times, and we are certainly experiencing those at the moment. We live in a time of great uncertainty. We don’t know what restrictions we’ll be facing from week to week. We don’t know when we’ll be returning to some degree of normality or how long that will last. However, we can still experience God’s blessing despite everything going on around us.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
The very first word of Psalm 1 is “blessed.” It means something like, “to enjoy God’s favour.” The best life we can live, in the good times or the bad, is the one where we enjoy God’s favour. Whether or not we enjoy God’s favour is actually our choice and Psalm 1 identifies two life paths that we can choose between - the way of righteousness or the way of wickedness. I call these life choices because of the use of the word, “way,” in verse 6.
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
“Way,” is often used in the Old Testament to describe our journey or path through life. This Psalm is saying that there are only two paths we can follow. If we are not following one, then we must be following the other.
The path of the righteous is the choice to delight in the Word of God. It’s about being attentive and receptive to what God has to say. It’s about letting God’s word pervade every corner of our being. We can do that, irrespective of what’s going on around us. This is in marked contrast to the alternative. The choice of wickedness is the arrogant refusal to hear or respond to God’s word.
Our choice is reflected in who we choose to associate with. Those who choose to delight in the Word of God spend time in the “assembly of the righteous” (v. 5), with those who are gathered close to the throne of God to hear his voice. Like Mary, in Luke 10… “who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39). Jesus said of her…
Luke 10:42 Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.
On the other hand, those who choose the way of the wicked “sit in the company of mockers” (v. 1). They may overtly make fun of God’s Word and ridicule the people who believe it, or their rejection of God may be more subtle.
Our choices have consequences. These are summarised in the first and last words of Psalm 1, the bookends of this passage. The very first word of Psalm 1 is “blessed,” and the very last word is “destruction.” The path of righteousness is the path of blessing. The path of wickedness is the path of destruction.
Between these words are two vivid pictures - the pictures of a life of substance and a life of no consequence.
First, there is a picture of someone who is receptive to God's instruction.
Psalm 1:3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…
The psalmist says this person is like a tree planted beside a stream of water. This tree is stable and strong because its roots are where they should be, deep in the ground. This tree bears fruit and its leaves don’t wither because its roots reach down to the source of life-giving water, God’s life-giving word. Theirs is a life of substance, stability, and security. They can weather any storm.
Psalm 1:4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
The wicked are not planted anywhere. Instead, they are described as being like chaff that the wind blows away. Around here an illustration might be the panic weed we see being blown around each summer. It’s carried wherever the wind is blowing, with absolutely no control over where it ends up. There is nothing substantial about the wicked. They have no stability, they have no roots, they have no place to stand.
Having looked at the characteristics of the two paths, the final verse of Psalm 1 comes back to the contrast between them.
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
What’s interesting to me is where each is located in relation to the presence of God. These words convey a sense of closeness or of distance. The wicked are removed from the presence and voice of God. They are on a path designed to take them out of earshot. They are not receptive to what God has to say. They believe that what he has to say is simply his opinion, equal to or of less value than their own. The wicked are arrogant and unwilling to accept instruction, and as a result, they have cut themselves off from the very source of life. They can only perish.
One of the most sobering things about this Psalm is how it defines wickedness. Wickedness is not defined in terms of acts of evil, or violence, or socially deviant behaviour. Wickedness is defined in terms of a person’s response to the Word of God. The wicked are seen as self-centred, rather than God-centred, or self-taught, rather than God-taught.
The righteous, on the other hand, are at the very centre of God's attention. To hear him, they must be close to him, in the assembly gathered around his throne. And by being attentive and receptive to God's teaching, they are always sustained in life.
According to Psalm 1, there are only these two kinds of people in the world. Therefore, we must be one or the other. Some of us will be reassured by this because there is great comfort in knowing that God's instruction can sustain our lives under any circumstance. That stability is the only way some of us will make it through these times. On the other hand, some of us might feel threatened by this psalm. We want to be in charge and are determined to be self-taught. In the end, it's our choice.
Psalm 1 poses a question that is possibly more challenging than any other question we have to answer. Will we stand with the righteous or sit with the mockers. Will we be receptive to God's teaching and live our lives in such a way that we are attentive and receptive to all that God teaches us through his Word. Simply going to church doesn’t mean we're open and receptive to what God wants to teach us. In that sense, we haven’t lost out by not being able to meet together during lockdown, because the blessed life starts somewhere else. It starts in our willingness to hear and accept what God has to say. The life of blessing is the life of those “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” (v. 2).
Neil Percival
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
The very first word of Psalm 1 is “blessed.” It means something like, “to enjoy God’s favour.” The best life we can live, in the good times or the bad, is the one where we enjoy God’s favour. Whether or not we enjoy God’s favour is actually our choice and Psalm 1 identifies two life paths that we can choose between - the way of righteousness or the way of wickedness. I call these life choices because of the use of the word, “way,” in verse 6.
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
“Way,” is often used in the Old Testament to describe our journey or path through life. This Psalm is saying that there are only two paths we can follow. If we are not following one, then we must be following the other.
The path of the righteous is the choice to delight in the Word of God. It’s about being attentive and receptive to what God has to say. It’s about letting God’s word pervade every corner of our being. We can do that, irrespective of what’s going on around us. This is in marked contrast to the alternative. The choice of wickedness is the arrogant refusal to hear or respond to God’s word.
Our choice is reflected in who we choose to associate with. Those who choose to delight in the Word of God spend time in the “assembly of the righteous” (v. 5), with those who are gathered close to the throne of God to hear his voice. Like Mary, in Luke 10… “who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39). Jesus said of her…
Luke 10:42 Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.
On the other hand, those who choose the way of the wicked “sit in the company of mockers” (v. 1). They may overtly make fun of God’s Word and ridicule the people who believe it, or their rejection of God may be more subtle.
Our choices have consequences. These are summarised in the first and last words of Psalm 1, the bookends of this passage. The very first word of Psalm 1 is “blessed,” and the very last word is “destruction.” The path of righteousness is the path of blessing. The path of wickedness is the path of destruction.
Between these words are two vivid pictures - the pictures of a life of substance and a life of no consequence.
First, there is a picture of someone who is receptive to God's instruction.
Psalm 1:3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…
The psalmist says this person is like a tree planted beside a stream of water. This tree is stable and strong because its roots are where they should be, deep in the ground. This tree bears fruit and its leaves don’t wither because its roots reach down to the source of life-giving water, God’s life-giving word. Theirs is a life of substance, stability, and security. They can weather any storm.
Psalm 1:4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
The wicked are not planted anywhere. Instead, they are described as being like chaff that the wind blows away. Around here an illustration might be the panic weed we see being blown around each summer. It’s carried wherever the wind is blowing, with absolutely no control over where it ends up. There is nothing substantial about the wicked. They have no stability, they have no roots, they have no place to stand.
Having looked at the characteristics of the two paths, the final verse of Psalm 1 comes back to the contrast between them.
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
What’s interesting to me is where each is located in relation to the presence of God. These words convey a sense of closeness or of distance. The wicked are removed from the presence and voice of God. They are on a path designed to take them out of earshot. They are not receptive to what God has to say. They believe that what he has to say is simply his opinion, equal to or of less value than their own. The wicked are arrogant and unwilling to accept instruction, and as a result, they have cut themselves off from the very source of life. They can only perish.
One of the most sobering things about this Psalm is how it defines wickedness. Wickedness is not defined in terms of acts of evil, or violence, or socially deviant behaviour. Wickedness is defined in terms of a person’s response to the Word of God. The wicked are seen as self-centred, rather than God-centred, or self-taught, rather than God-taught.
The righteous, on the other hand, are at the very centre of God's attention. To hear him, they must be close to him, in the assembly gathered around his throne. And by being attentive and receptive to God's teaching, they are always sustained in life.
According to Psalm 1, there are only these two kinds of people in the world. Therefore, we must be one or the other. Some of us will be reassured by this because there is great comfort in knowing that God's instruction can sustain our lives under any circumstance. That stability is the only way some of us will make it through these times. On the other hand, some of us might feel threatened by this psalm. We want to be in charge and are determined to be self-taught. In the end, it's our choice.
Psalm 1 poses a question that is possibly more challenging than any other question we have to answer. Will we stand with the righteous or sit with the mockers. Will we be receptive to God's teaching and live our lives in such a way that we are attentive and receptive to all that God teaches us through his Word. Simply going to church doesn’t mean we're open and receptive to what God wants to teach us. In that sense, we haven’t lost out by not being able to meet together during lockdown, because the blessed life starts somewhere else. It starts in our willingness to hear and accept what God has to say. The life of blessing is the life of those “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” (v. 2).
Neil Percival