Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 1 (1)
Pray Psalm 1.1, 2.
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Sing Psalm 1.1, 2.
(Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Blessed the one who walks not in the counsel of ungodly men;
stands not in the path of sinners, joins not scorners in their sin.
But his joy is in the LORD’s law, and he meditates therein.
Read Psalm 1.1-6; meditate on verse 6.
Preparation
1. What does the blessed person not do?
2. What does God promise for the righteous person?
Meditation
Who of us matches up to this description of the blessed man? Unacquainted with sin. Delighting in the Law of God and meditating on it day and night. Bringing forth the fruit of righteousness consistently in all we do.
Yeah, not me. And not you either, I suspect.
But then, as this and all the psalms will insist, if we are not righteous, we are wicked, ungodly sinners. We might like to think of ourselves as better than others, but righteousness stands on the far side of a gorge that none of us can jump nor bridge, and jumping farther than your neighbor, since you cannot reach the other side, means that you both will nevertheless fall like chaff into the flames of God’s judgment. We cannot attain righteousness on our own efforts.
But we desire to be righteous! We believe, Lord; help our unbelief! For those who despair of attaining righteousness on their own, God will provide. Psalm 1 leads us to consider ourselves, to know ourselves as God does. We fall short of His requirements, expectations, and glory. But we long to be righteous!
And God knows our heart. He will provide. Righteousness is a recurrent theme of the Psalms, and we are continuously reminded that it comes from God alone. Thus, here in this first of two “cornerstone” psalms, we are pointed to Jesus, the Righteous One, Whose righteousness is credited to us who long for Him and the gift of righteousness He bestows.
And, in case we miss it here, God will be even more explicit in Psalm 2.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8.1).
After we accept the Gift of salvation, it is then incumbent upon us to walk according to the Spirit.
And since we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will want to please Him.
But to please Him, we must learn how, from Him.
The way to learn from Him, how to please Him, is through His Word.
Jesus is the Word, and through Him we learn how to please God.
God gave us His Word in the flesh and in writing.
He also gave His creation as a testimony.
Creation, Jesus, and the Bible.
Get into all three and learn of Him.
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;
then you will find rest for your souls’” (Jer. 6.16).
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river,
and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green,
and will not be anxious in the year of drought,
nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jer. 17.7, 8).
Wisdom—Jesus—says:
“Listen to Me, My children, for blessed are those who keep My ways.
Hear instruction and be wise; and do not disdain it.
Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.
For whoever finds Me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD;
but he who sins against Me wrongs his own soul;
all those who hate Me love death” (Prov. 8.32-36).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (Jn. 1.1-4).
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they
which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (Jn. 5.39, 40).
“With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119.10, 11).
We can never be godly on our own. True.
But after we accept the righteousness of God, and we are clothed in Jesus’ saving grace,
we must give our best and utmost attention to delighting in His Word and meditating in it day and night.
“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Ps. 1.6).
Reflection
1. We need to learn Jesus, to be firmly planted in Him. What can we learn about Jesus from creation?
2. Jesus said that all of Scripture is about Him (Jn. 5.39). What is your approach to discerning Jesus in all of Scripture?
3. We are being transformed into the very image of Jesus by His Spirit, working within us (2 Cor. 3.12-18; Phil. 2.12). What is our responsibility in this process?
The river of temporal things carries [us] along, but like a tree growing near a river is our Lord Jesus Christ. He assumed flesh, died, rose again, ascended into heaven. He wanted, so to speak, to plant himself near the river of temporal things. Are you being swept headlong? Take hold of the wood. Does love of the world whirl you about? Take hold of Christ. Augustine (354-430), Homilies on 1 John 2.10.2
Pray Psalm 1.3-6.
Pray that the Lord will transform you increasingly into the likeness of Jesus, and that He will guide and direct your steps along the Jesus Path today.
Sing Psalm 1.3-6.
(Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
He shall flourish like a tree transplanted by the streams of grace;
rooted near life-giving waters, growing strong in this blessed place—
ever fruitful, never with’ring, prospering before God’s face.
Not so rooted are the wicked, like chaff blowing in the wind.
They shall not stand with the righteous but shall be judged in their sin.
For the LORD knows all the righteous, but the wicked’s ways shall end.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
