Psalm One Revisited

25 May

Psalm One Revisited

This week I was reminded of the short but comprehensive view of the servant’s heart found in Psalm 1. It is an Old Testament passage that crosses directly over into New Testament righteousness:

“Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD and in his law does he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so, but they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous. But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

The first part of this psalm tells what God’s expectations for His servants are. The life of the Christian should be marked in every way by holiness in terms of the set-apart nature of our lives in Christ regarding attitude, behavior, and associations. This holiness is not legalism. Nor does it come from within us, but from the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are continuously prompted by both the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to shun those people and actions that would draw us away from fellowship with God.

To live like the Psalm 1 Christian does not happen naturally, however. It only happens as a result of immersion in what is called the Law of the Lord in the Old Testament (Ps. 1:2) and the Word of God in the New Testament (1 John 2:14). To delight in and ponder on God’s Word day and night takes self-discipline and surrender of much that distracts us from developing the habit of meditation. We live in an era that is full of disruptions in the form of entertainment, social interaction, and full schedules laced with electronic notifications. It is so easy to go about our business and fall for the deception of Satan who tells us that we don’t have time to spend on God’s Word. This is not a factor exclusive to our current society. In 1967 Charles Hummel published a little booklet called The Tyranny of the Urgent (Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL). His final page includes these words: “He has promised deliverance from sin and the power to serve God in the tasks of His choice…If we continue in the Word of our Lord, we are truly His disciples. And He will free us from the tyranny of the urgent and free us to do what is really important, which is the will of God.”

Psalm 1 contains two similes. The first is that of a fruitful tree planted by rivers of water, the result of delight in and meditation on the Word of God. Jeremiah 17:8 uses the same simile prefaced by “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is” in verse 7. Jeremiah’s version of the simile extends beyond the watered roots, green leaves, and fruit to include “…and shall not be careful in the year of drought” (vs. 8). In agricultural terms these words would have been readily understood by his entire audience to mean someone who has all he needs and prospers as a result of his focus on trusting God, even during harsh times. Do not misunderstand me about this. To prosper in Biblical terms includes more about peace, joy, and spiritual fruit than about acquisitions.

The second simile contrasts the plight of the ungodly. Instead of the person who is firmly rooted in God’s Word and soundly established in holiness, the ungodly has nothing to hang on to. Once again we see a simile from easily understood agricultural imagery of the day. The illustration of chaff relates to a farmer separating his wheat from the lighter husks and debris that surround the freshly harvested grain. The process is called winnowing and one way to do it is to bounce the material up and down in a winnowing basket so that the wind carries the lighter bits away, leaving only the heavier grains to fall back into the basket. Another way to winnow is to use a fan to blow this insubstantial and worthless stuff away. In both Matthew 3 and Luke 3 John the Baptist uses this metaphor for the judgment of the ungodly where the chaff is burnt with “unquenchable fire”, a description of hell. These passages also say that “He will gather the wheat into His [granary]” (Matt. 3:12 and Luke 3:17). The ungodly will not escape judgment and have no place among God’s true servants.

In this passage, we cannot miss the divergence of the lives and ultimate destination of those who trust God and love His Word and the ungodly who neither trust God nor love His Word. If you are part of that first group, I admonish you to “study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (1 Timothy 2:15). If you do not know God, you might be asking “how can I become part of that first group?” Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice, was buried, and rose again the third day in order to be the payment for our sin. He redeemed us from eternal death so that we could be free from that penalty and to serve Him. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 15:31).

Update/Prayer Request: Our prayers are being answered on many levels. Yesterday Dan began to feel a little better and today even more so. We were recently informed that it would take about two months for the drug to leave his system entirely. His last infusion was five weeks ago so his progress appears normal. He is on his third round of Prednisone and still taking other pretty strong meds to mitigate his side effects. Although Dan’s scan was Tuesday, we won’t see the doctor again until Thursday, May 31, for information on the results. Please pray for Dan’s continued healing.