I
Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked.
Nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.
Rather, the law of the Lord is his joy;
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted near streams of water,
that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever he does prospers.
II
But not so are the wicked, not so!
They are like chaff driven by the wind.
Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment,
nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.
Because the Lord knows the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
(Psalms 1:1-6)
So the book of Psalms begins by defining our responsibility for choices we make. The Psalmist establishes a clear difference between good and evil, and begins to describe the ramifications for our decisions.
In the first verse, you can almost hear him responding to Adam’s and Eve’s excuses when they spoke to the Lord after eating from the forbidden tree. Adam says, “The woman whom you put here with me – she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” (Genesis 3: 12) Eve doesn’t do much better. She claims, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.” (Genesis 3: 13) It sounds like Adam was not only blaming Eve for giving him the fruit, but maybe even implying that it was partly God’s fault for putting the woman there with him in the first place! Then, since Adam threw her under the bus, Eve tries to pass the blame to the serpent.
Of course, I’m pretty sure all God asks of us is to accept that we are sinners and ask for His forgiveness. That is just not what we see in the story of Adam and Eve. So here in the first Psalm, we are warned to make good decisions, even in choosing the people who will have influence in our lives. We should not seek “the counsel of the wicked.” Instead, we should focus on “the law of the Lord.”
So this is where we start our journey through the Psalms. We begin with a realization that we own full responsibility for our salvation. Since we know we are all sinners, this would be a terrifying prospect if we didn’t enjoy the unending mercy and love of God. When the disciples faced this concern, Jesus reassured them, “…for God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
Lord, we are so grateful for your patience and mercy. Please guide us to be like trees planted near streams of water, and not like chaff driven by the wind. Lead us to the way of the just.