Daily Devotional Sunday 28th February 2021

by William Moody

Psalms 1–2

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1:1   Blessed is the man1
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
  nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
  but his delight is in the law2 of the LORD,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
  He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
  that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
  In all that he does, he prospers.
  The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
  for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

2:1   Why do the nations rage3
    and the peoples plot in vain?
  The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
  “Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”
  He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
  “As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”
  I will tell of the decree:
  The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
  You shall break4 them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10   Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11   Serve the LORD with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12   Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
  Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes

[1] 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
[2] 1:2 Or instruction
[3] 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
[4] 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule

(ESV)

Psalms 1 & 2 speak of two very different paths people can take. Psalm 1 speaks of the path of the righteous and Psalm 2 speaks of the path of a rebel.

Psalm 1 teaches that in receiving God’s blessing, wrong influences, advice and company must be avoided (v1). Instead there must be a focus on God’s Word (v2). Those who delight in and focus on God’s word will flourish and be fruitful (v3) like a well-cared for tree. Their live will count and last eternally, but for the wicked this will not be the case, they will face God’s judgement.

This leads to Psalm 2 and the theme of rebellion against God. People rage, plot and seek to break away from God ruling over their lives (v1-3). This rebellion goes right up to rulers and kings (v2). The thought of men being able to take Almighty God on and win causes God to laugh in scorn (v4). It also causes God great displeasure and to act in wrath (v5). Despite their rebellion Christ is established as king and He reigns (v6-8) with the purpose of causing people to submit to Him as Lord and King (see Ephesians 1:22) Those who refuse to submit face destruction.

The only wise action is to reverently serve and rejoice in Christ (v10-11). The action of ‘kissing the Son’ (v12) was a symbolic act to indicate allegiance and submission. Christianity is not about cold obedience but rather about passionate allegiance to Jesus.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.