Daily Devotional Thursday 2nd April 2020

by William Moody

Psalm 1

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;
2   but his delight is in the law² of the LORD,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
3   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.
4   The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5   Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6   for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

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

(ESV)

The opening phrase of this Psalm informs us that this is a Psalm about receiving God’s blessing. First there is something to avoid (v1), wrong influences, wrong advice and wrong company. We need to examine the influences upon our lives from friends, family, work colleagues and the media, to see what influences are opposed to Christ and therefore harmful to our spiritual walk.

Secondly there is something to concentrate on, the law of God (v2). The word ‘law’ (Hebrew ‘Torah’) refers not just to commandments but the first five books of the Bible which would have been the Bible that the Psalmist knew. Those who delight and focus on God’s word will flourish and be fruitful (v3) like a well cared for tree. Their life will count and last eternally, but for the wicked this will not be the case, they will face God’s judgement.

This Psalm reminds us what Jesus also said about there being two roads which people walk in life, the broad and the narrow way. Which road are you on? The road we walk in many ways depends on the influences which impact and control our lives. Pray about this.

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.