1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is the main entrance you walk through to enter the wonders of the Psalms, and as you take your first step, the Psalm’s opening few words present you with “the one”. The blessed one. This blessed one is fruitful and enduring, a pure contrast with the wicked, who are fruitless and fragile.
Who is this blessed one you meet at the Psalms’ doorway? Answering that question will be crucial to finding your way around all the other Psalms. There is a very helpful hint in how the blessed one is described in verse 2: he meditates on the law day and night. Now, that is exactly what God commanded Israel’s King to do back in Deuteronomy 17:18-20.
The blessed one is God’s King. God’s Messiah. The Psalms are songs of the king. Which king? As we read through the Psalms we’ll meet King David as their lead character. Yet we’ll also be met with a growing expectation of some son of David, some coming perfect king, who truly is the blessed one.
The opening words of the Psalms introduce the blessed one. As do the opening words of the New Testament: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).
Psalm 1 points, as the gospel does, to the ultimate division of all humanity into two groups: the blessed and the cursed. That division is based on whether you belong to God’s king, the blessed one, Jesus. On the cross Jesus took our curse that we might indeed become blessed. Trust your King and you will be blessed.
Head: What have you learnt about Jesus from Psalm 1? What have you learnt about yourself?
Heart: How does it make you feel that Jesus took your curse to make you blessed?
Hands: What might you do differently today to walk in the steps of your king?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, your perfect Blessed Messiah. Thank you that he has taken the curse that was mine and made it possible for me to be blessed. Please help me as I seek to be more like him. Please help me to truly delight in Your Word, to meditate on it night and day, and to grow more like a solid fruitful beautiful tree, that I might withstand the storms of this world, and live as a testament to you among those who don’t know you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
