January 1 / Psalm 1

Psalm 1

Happy New Year to this RTB 2022 Psalms/Wisdom searchers! What a year this is going to be. It’s a whole new direction for me. I recall Ben preaching a few weeks back, talking about Jesus’ forthcoming birth and acknowledging that he was out of his element talking about pregnancy. I feel the same way in writing to you about the Psalms. I daresay my knowledge of the Prophets is weaker still, but the Psalms are right there in my inadequacy to discuss these writings. Maybe some of you feel the same way… Whatever! We’re all in this together.

My plan for this year is to read and reflect a bit on each day’s reading, then to get a note out to you all reasonably quickly (it seems some of you wait for my note to begin your own reading), then to go back and reflect and pray some more. So a couple of musings about today’s Psalm 1. Right off we see the “law of the Lord” in verse 2. Very quickly we go back to Exodus and the Ten Commandments or to Moses’ many instructions in Deuteronomy. Other than what I’ve read when I’ve read through the Old Testament, I don’t know much about “the Law”. I certainly have very little knowledge as to what the scribes and teachers in Jesus’ time had to say about the Law and the many instructions they offered as to what the Israelites should do or not do. But what I can do is go to Jesus’ teaching on this topic: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17) So when I see “the Law” in our readings, my first thought is to translate forward to Jesus’ commandment to love one another and Paul’s instruction to Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) I’ll leave the “jots and tittles” for another time.

My second thought from today’s reading had to do with the “assembly (congregation) of the righteous” in verse 5. I could imagine people centuries ago gathering in the Temple or in synagogues and presuming (reasonably correctly) to be part of the “assembly of the righteous”. But I also go back to our own time, to our Sunday and midweek gatherings and see us as that assembly. And if we are to be among the “righteous”, there are surely some expectations that we need to meet. My Study Bible helped me with this thought concerning “the righteous”: “One of several terms in the OT for God’s people, it presents them as those who honor God and order their lives in all things according to His will. In every human relationship they faithfully fulfill the obligations that the relationship entails, remembering that power and authority (of whatever sort: domestic, social, political, economic, religious, intellectual) are to be used to bless, not to exploit.” Let’s ourselves in RTB be among those in the “assembly of the righteous”, with a responsibility in all things to bless one another!

Looking forward to hearing your own reflections on these readings…

A blessed 2022 to you all!

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3 Comments

  1. I love this psalm! As a teen, I was encouraged to memorize some of the Bible. Almost everyone knows Psalm 23. But this is the second one I memorized.

    So why?
    First, I love the image of a tree planted by streams of water. I want to be soaking up the presence and blessings of the Lord, resting in his love and reading his Word. A tree is never rushing around in a hurry. To grow, it must stay rooted where it is planted. (I’m reminded of the story of Martha and Mary).

    Second, I am encouraged by the thought that, no matter how much I fail, I am promised that if I keep meditating on God’s word, I will eventually bear fruit in my life—“in due season”!

    Third, it says, “Happy is the man who walks not …” and goes on to mention three levels of mistakenly saturating our lives with negative, ungodly influences: walking (going the same direction), standing (staying around them), sitting down with them (hanging out for extended periods). It’s a cautionary tale: be aware of what you’re letting influence your life!

    Sorry this got so long!
    Blessings in the new year!

  2. Good thoughts, Carol and Fred. I was contemplating the phrase that “Blessed is the man…(whose) delight is in the law of the Lord”. At first glance, it seems odd to find delight in laws that restrict our own freedom to do what we want to do and instead direct us to do God’s will. But, I am thinking this “delight” comes not so much from doing the act itself, but in the peace and contentment and joy that comes with being aligned with God’s will. By staying faithful to God’s will, we perhaps restore the human dignity that is missing in a sinful life.

    1. Totally agree, Lou. “Delight” is a word we don’t use enough in our relationship with the Lord and his commandments.

      It seems much of society fights for the “right” to do this or that and retain their (so-called) independence, completely missing the joy of submission to God and one another.

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