Psalm 1
English Standard
Version (ESV)
Book One
1 Blessed is the man[a]
who (A)walks not in (B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in (C)the way of sinners,
nor (D)sits in (E)the seat of (F)scoffers;
2 but his (G)delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his (H)law he meditates day and night.
who (A)walks not in (B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in (C)the way of sinners,
nor (D)sits in (E)the seat of (F)scoffers;
2 but his (G)delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his (H)law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like (I)a tree
planted by (J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its (K)leaf does not wither.
(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like (M)chaff that the wind drives away.
planted by (J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its (K)leaf does not wither.
(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like (M)chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked (N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in (O)the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord (P)knows (Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
nor sinners in (O)the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord (P)knows (Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Psalms have always been the
place where I have found peace in times of strife, comfort in times of despair,
and joy in knowing that I have a Lord that loves me even when I mess up. So, I decided it was time that I take a
journey through all of the Psalms and find out what the Lord wants to speak to
me through them.
Psalm 1 gives me assurance that
God is watching over me but it also gives me direction in how I should live my
life. First of all, I need not worry
about the worldly counsel of this world.
Everyone out there wants to tell you how you should live your life, what
you should do, where you should go, what type of career you should have, the
list goes on, everyone has an opinion.
Yet if you want to really know the will of the Father you should not
listen to unwise counsel, you should not listen to those who put their trust in
the world and not in the Lord. Sometimes
these people can disguise themselves as men of God, righteous people, when in
actuality they are wicked and their wickedness will be very clear to you when
you meditate on the Word of God. When
you strive to live your life according to His law, summed up by Jesus as loving
God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:27-40). Living our lives in accordance to these laws
and being reminded of them daily is the wisest counsel we will ever receive.
Those who choose rather to live
their lives according to their own pleasures may find they are happy for a
moment but not content in anything that they do. We think of the sinners who live their lives
in all sorts of things, drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality but maybe we need to
stop and look at our own lives. I know I
myself find at times that I am not being happy, content, peaceful when I don’t
get my way. I wonder why I can’t have a
specific job, a new home, that perfect vacation, and I begin to become
discontent, not at peace, frustrated, and the list goes on. At that moment, I am living in the counsel of
the wicked and I need to run back to the law of the Lord. I need to begin meditating not on the “what
ifs” of this world but on the laws of the Lord.
As well I need to look at why I
am here on this earth. Is it to make
money? Is it to bring glory to my Lord
and Savior? The answer should be an
affirmative to the later. If we are
merely here to make money then we are living the life as a wicked person. When I put my priorities in place, I realize
that this is just the beginning of life, there is an eternal life to come. How I live my life here will determine what
my life will be like in the future. It is
much like the movie Pinocchio, in order for him to become a real boy and not a
wooden one, he had to live a certain way.
His life began but was not complete until he listened to his conscious,
which was to tell him right from wrong.
He got into a lot of trouble because his conscious would give up on him
and leave him. By living a life in which
your conscious in the Lord your God, you have the assurance that He will never
leave you, you have the guidance of Him to live a life worthy of the
calling. Remember our lives are just
beginning, there is so much more that is so much better than what we have here
but we need to let the Lord guide us, protect us, and we need to realize that
He is doing this when things might not be going our way, they are rather going
God’s way. Then we will be strong, like
that tree planted by the water.
Meditate on His commands, live a
life for Him not for yourself and seek Him with all your heart.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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