By Colin Todd
Read Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is a profound introduction to the book of Psalms, and calls the reader to consider carefully the significance of all that follows. Using the recurring motif of contrast the psalmist explores three dimensions of human life; our lifestyle choices (1-2), the substance of our lives (3-4), and our ultimate destiny (5-6). In each of these arenas the contrasts are illuminated by one’s approach to God’s word (2).
- In what way does the psalmist point to the affections of a person’s heart1 as a key factor in successfully navigating the many movements and rhythms of life,2 in the context of the world (1-2)?
- Powerful imagery is used in 3-4 to contrast the substance of the believer with that of the wicked.3 In what ways do you think God’s word plays a defining role in marking out these contrasts?4
- Again, the psalmist vividly distinguishes between the destinies of the righteous and the wicked (5-6).5 Considering the words used here, 6how does the psalmist call attention back to the observations of 1-2? Why?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your word. Help me to delight in and meditate on your word, so that I might become all that you created me to be.
- Thomas Cranmer, an influential English minister during the time of the Reformation taught, “What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.” For Cranmer the affections of the heart are a driving factor in many of our life choices and direction. I feel that perhaps the Psalmist may have had a similar view. ↩︎
- Walking, standing, and sitting (1), day and night (2), and the seasons (3), are all movements and rhythms that govern the course of human life. ↩︎
- I love the Psalmists image of the tree (3). Unpacking the four statements about this tree, and considering them in the context of every-day life, has helped me appreciate what becoming like Christ might look like. ↩︎
- Jesus taught about a similar idea in Luke 8:11-15. Using the analogy of a seed, Jesus shows that God has programmed something into it, so that under certain conditions it reacts, germinates, grows, and produces an abundant crop. He is saying that the word of God behaves the same way in the heart.
↩︎ - Here (5) the psalmist may have had in mind something like the scene described in Revelation 7:9-12. ↩︎
- Many of the words and ideas used in 5-6 are also found in 1-2 (eg: stand, way, company/assembly). ↩︎