Psalms 1 - A Picture For Me...

Old Oak

Dear Jesus - Thank You for the pictures You give us in Your Word.  Please send Your Spirit and Your angels to activate them in our minds at the right times...

The other day my morning devotional included the first Psalm.  I find this a beautiful piece of inspired devotional reading for a few reasons.  But first - let's read the lyric...

Psalm 1 (NKJV)

1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

⁴ The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish.

 

Verse 1 Question:  What is the progression of sin in my life?  I will likely WALK then STAND then SIT.  Not only does my position relative to sin become more comfortable, removing myself from it becomes more difficult.  We could even see that as we move into sin-comfort, we become active (never passive) towards things of God e.g. scornful.

 

Verse 2 Question:  What is the remedy to the progression of sin in my life?  The law!  What?  Yep - the law is all about my heart in relation to God's heart of love.  As my focus turn progressively more on Him my delight increases.

 

Question:  What rhythm do you see here?  A total of 6 verses - there is a definite rhythm alternating pictures of the ungodly with the blessings and promises for the godly.

 

Question:  How many promises - definite promises - do you find here?  My favorite - for the moment - is verse 3.  Specifically, that I shall bring forth fruit in its season.  Sometimes I wish to be fruitful - 100% - 100% of the time.  How comforting to know that I am a tree, planted by the rivers of water (picture of the River of Life) and that in due season, God will complete the work He has begun in my life.

 

Thank You Jesus - that You DO know the way of the righteous....