Welcome to Week 1 of the Summer of Psalms. Today, we are going to look at Psalm 1. These six (6) verses talk about what we delight in. We are going to see that The righteous way prospers, the wicked way leads to destruction.
When we walk away from our time together today, I want you
to know that Righteousness is the more
desirable path.
Our Psalm is divided into two parts:
1.
Blessed are those who delight in God’s law (1-3,
6a)
2.
The wicked will blow away like chaff (4-5, 6b)
Let’s pray and get reading.
Holy Father, open our
eyes to see what You want us to know today.
Change how we think. Change how
we pray. Change our preferences and choices
to be a better reflection of Jesus in us.
It’s in His mighty name I ask this.
Amen.
Read Psalm 1:1-3.
So, verse one tells us what the blessed, or “happy” person
does not do. He or she doesn’t walk in
the counsel of the wicked. In other
words, he doesn’t listen to or take advice from wicked people.
Next, she doesn’t stand in the way of sinners. So, she doesn’t plant her feet in wicked
ways. Don’t stand in wickedness. Run!!!
Wickedness is like quicksand!
Finally, he doesn’t sit in the seat of mockers. Do not join the club that mocks God! Get out of there!
Verse two tells us what that blessed person DOES. Her delight is in the law of the Lord. She delights in God! Delight means to please (someone) greatly. What delights you? Does it please you greatly to spend time with
God in the Scriptures? That is certainly
the goal!
He also meditates on the Scriptures day and night. He chews on what he reads in Scripture. He thinks about it all day. Maybe this means you read smaller chunks of
Scripture so you can contemplate them more thoroughly. Maybe I need to do this too.
Verse three talks about the benefits of NOT doing what is
indicated in verse one and DOING what is written in verse two. This person is like a TREE planted by streams
of water. A TREE!!! That’s a pretty strong living thing!
Planted by streams of water is access to a water source: the
Living Word of God! You’ll get that
water in through your strong roots.
That water will bear seasonal fruit in you!
That water will make healthy leaves that act as a testimony
to the health of the tree and the closeness to the water! Lush, thick, plump leaves!
And the cherry on top: whatever they do prospers! This person is an obedient servant of God and
everyone knows it! Sounds like Jesus
since I am incapable of doing this on my own.
Only Him in me can achieve this!
Hallelujah!
Now let’s look at the opposite:
Read Psalm 1:4-5.
The wicked have no security.
They will blow away like chaff.
They may seem to have things that we want in this life, but their
eternity is a mess! Don’t fall for those
trappings.
The wicked will not stand in the judgment. Every knee will bow. They will be terrified to see the Judge. They will confess that Jesus is Lord
regardless of what they believed or proclaimed in their lives on earth.
Sinners will not stand with the righteous. God will separate His sheep from the
goats. He will welcome His sheep into
His kingdom. And He will give the goats
exactly what they wanted: eternity without Him!
Read Psalm 1:6.
The Lord watches over the way of the righteous. He leads.
He guides. He calls. He pursues.
None of His people will be lost.
He is God, after all.
The wicked, however, are headed for destruction. They are given over to their depravity.
This makes me want to honor God. I want to thank God and glorify Him. I want my choices to reflect a deep trust in
Him. I want to actively read Scripture
with expectation. I want God to be my
delight. Not the things of this world. I want to quit asking God to “help me…” and
start asking Him to “call me…” or “lead me…”
In a nutshell: The
righteous pursue God. The unrighteous
pursue wickedness.
How will reading this Psalm change the way you pray?
How will reading this Psalm change what you pursue
throughout your day?
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