Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Why Psalm 1?

I have always loved this Psalm.  I think it paints a wonderful picture of what life is about.  It is all about the choices we make in life and in particular one very important choice: whom will I serve?  Life has two roads.  Which one we choose matters, whether you think it does or not.  You are either faithful or faithless.  No fence sitting will be tolerated.

There is joy and delight found in obeying such a faithful and just God.  I love the verse that compares those of us who are faithful to God to the tree planted along the riverbank.  We will bear fruit each season without fail, our leaves will never wither, and all that we do will prosper.  It is such a comforting verse and word picture.  We are to soak up God’s Word, so that we will produce actions and attitudes that honor God.

The second half talks about the other road: the faithless road.  This is a sad and lonely road.  I don’t want to see anyone take it, but unfortunately many do.  Again, a vivid word picture is used when the faithless are compared to chaff.  Chaff is a symbol of a faithless life that drifts along without direction.

This Psalm reminds me daily of which road I want to stay on and why.  I am so grateful that I found that road.  Oh, how I hurt for those who have yet to discover true JOY.  I can’t even imagine getting through life’s ups and downs without my Lord.