Pondering the Psalms (Psalm 1, Part 1)

My friend Frank and I have an agreement, a covenant, which we have followed for several years. We read the same chapter in God’s Word each day for a week and then drop each other a short email about what we have learned. We then move to the next chapter the next week. I describe our modest online Bible study here. You might want to try this with a friend or relative.

We’ve now embarked on a journey of reading through the book of Psalms! So this week we’re reading Psalm 1 each day for a week, then on to Psalm 2, etc. Whew! I’ll post a few comments on our Psalm of the week that I pray will be an encouragement to you.

Several thoughts jump out at me from this first verse of Psalm 1:

1. God wants us to be “blessed.” “Blessed” does not exactly equal “happy.” Happiness, as someone has said, often depends on happenings. And we seldom have control over the happenings in our lives.

2. Blessedness greatly depends on the choices we make. We choose those who influence us, whose lives we sometimes imitate, whose thoughts and actions we might copy. The blessed life before God involves not walking in step with the wicked, not standing in the way that sinners take, and not sitting in the company of those who mock the ways of God.

Today’s Challenge: As you examine your life — and your level of “blessedness” — would you say that you are seeking by God’s grace to practice those three negatives of verse 1?

 

Psalms of My Life (Psalm1)

Years ago Joe Bailey wrote a book called Psalms of My Life.  I’m going through the book of Psalms with a friend and would like to share some of the encouragement I’m receiving from looking at this portion of God’s Word.

Psalm 1 is one of my favorites.  There we read —

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.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.