Knowing The Word in Psalm 1

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.

Comments

Today we begin a new reading plan on the Psalms. In the original Hebrew “psalm” means “song.” In reading and reflecting on the Psalms, we are entering into centuries of worship from 1000 B.C. to the present. The Psalms express a deep awareness of personal relationship with God and with his grace. The basic understanding of grace is that God has acted first. In the Psalms we find the writers frequently crying out to God for forgiveness, for faith, for hope, and for more awareness of God’s grace.

The man in Psalm 1 is not just any man but is the only righteous man, that is Jesus. The law of the Lord finds its true delight in Jesus, for he is the only one who ever perfectly and delightfully kept the law. This introductory psalm stresses that worshipers of God must keep his law. We are blessed in that Jesus has already kept it for us.

Prayer

O Lord of grace, lead us and guide us from a life of self-centeredness and satisfaction for what we are and what we do to a life of dependence on you. Inspire our hearts that we rise beyond the daily trifles of our existence and join with you in love and concern of the whole creation, that we may always remind ourselves that we are the disciples of one who did not help himself but was a man for others. Grand that we may, through our life and example, work for a world where God is praised and we all live like salt and leaven in the midst of this mass of humanity and in a bond of charity. O God the Holy Spirit, inspire, hallow and guide us in this vocation of wholeness and healing, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Church of Bangladesh