Heavenly Father, they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" but here in Psalm 1 you've given us words that are worth two snapshots. One is of the 'blessed man" and the other of the 'wicked".
The blessed man,
"...does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners" (vs 1).
"His delight is in the law of the LORD" (vs 2).
That's You, Father.
He also,
"...meditates on Your law day and night" (vs 2).
This is a wonderful picture of what You would love for Your people, those of us who are followers of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be characterized by and to practice. The result would be that this person would be,
"...Like a tree planted by streams of water..." (vs 3).
A flourishing tree, that yields fruit abundantly and whose leaves do not wither because its roots have found their way to the water source. It knew its need and did something about it to get its constant daily supply of refreshment.
LORD, we know all these things, we read about and say, "Hmm, that's good." However, LORD, help us to really have this for ourselves. You are our "Supply and Refresher".
May we not be tempted to go in the wrong way; to not take the counsel of those who are wicked but to seek counsel from You, Your Holy Spirit and Your Words we can know from reading, delighting in and meditating upon and in which we can find in the Bible You composed for us.
This so Your Holy Spirit can lead and guide us to what You want us to do, and in the decisions we make.
True, not all the answers are in black and white but we can get Your principles, get a feel and understanding of what would please and honor You.
May our delight indeed be in Your law. Sometimes we see people who are avidly listening to the news or reading it from the newspaper or from the internet. They are so excited to see the results of a badminton competition or a football match, or even of an election.
They are just "glued to the tube", eagerly looking for results. This is what they care about.
May that passion be computed into the study of Your Word, like the writer of the Psalm 1...
"His delight is in Your law".
He "meditates" on it. Instead of pouring over the results in the newspaper, TV news or online, may we be pouring over Your words; spending time with You. You are the One who loves us.
May we go to You and NOT the wicked for counsel. Yes, sometimes those who are not Your followers have better sense of things; wiser about this world and the things in it. However, LORD, You are the one who knows everything and everything about us.
Those who know Your word can be wiser than even their elders or teachers or even their enemies (Psalm 119:98-100). People can be amazed because of it. That, of course, Father, would not be the motive for learning. That would be head knowledge and not stemming from the heart lubricated with love and devotion.
May our motive be to seek You, commune with You, build relationship with You and to flourish; to please and honor You with our lives. May we drink from You, our Living Stream of Water.
By contrast, the second snapshot, this one of the wicked, is that the wicked are,
"...like chaff that the wind blows away..." (vs 4).
People harvest rice and then they sift it to get rid of the chaff and other bits and pieces of inedible debris. The wind can blow it away. The wicked are like the chaff.
The righteous like the rice.
The wicked won't,
"...stand in the judgment"
Lord,
"...nor be found in the assembly of the righteous" (vs 5).
You give warning after warning Father.
Help us to go in the way of the righteous, always, and not in the way of the wicked. Preserve us and our family members from being lured away from You, to stand firm in their faith, trust and hope in You through Jesus.
I ask that the wicked turn and repent from their willful, evil, selfish ways, and accept Your Son Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives. This so they can have forgiveness of their sins, the dynamic power of Your Holy Spirit to help them turn from those nefarious ways; to be righteous in Your sight and have everlasting life. To turn from the wicked snapshot to the righteous one.
In this new life, then, they are empowered to live that life that You desire. You,
"...watch over the way of the righteous" (vs 6).
and they will not perish.
Yes, we still, like wandering sheep, go astray. Sometimes this is willful, other times unintentionally, drifted away, influenced by distractions of life. Nevertheless, Father, our main purpose is to please You and to do the good works You have ordained for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
The way of the wicked is judgment and to perish which is so sad, Father. There are some very good people yet they don't go in Your way but are "good living" and therefore we wouldn't classify them as "wicked". Perhaps even some of our relatives, neighbors or friends, act even better than some of the "so-called" Christians, who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
Still, they do not desire You, Your ways, or Your Word nor Your Son Jesus through Whom they can have the righteousness they aspire towards. They don't accept that the way to righteousness, to You, is through Jesus and His work He accomplished on the cross of Calvary. Here on Calvary's tree where He bled and died for the remission of our sins and the atonement of our souls. They don't know or don't accept that Jesus bridged the chasm our/their sins created between You and them and the desired righteousness.
LORD, rescue the perishing; care for the dying.
Change their minds, compel them to Christ. Show them Your mercy.
Thank-You for Your mercy. You are ever merciful.
Thank-You Father.
Thank-You for Your words in Psalm 1. In them we can find the Source of delightful refreshment and flourishing and bearing fruit for You.
This is the snapshot I choose.
~ERC September 2020~
Based on Psalm 1:1-6 NIV
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