Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is one of the best-known psalms It seems to have been written as an introductory psalm for the collection of psalms, also known as the Psalter. It features an important and common theme: the distinction between the righteous and the wicked.
Psalm 1 begins with the word “Blessed,” and is contrasted with the unwritten opposite, “cursed.” While the first three verses describe the blessedness of the righteous man, the psalm ends with this “curse”: “But the way of the wicked will perish.”
The importance of this distinction cannot be overstated. There are only two kinds of people in the world. There are the righteous, comprised of those who have been made righteous and those who will be made righteous; and then on the other hand, the wicked. There is no middle ground. There is not a third party. Members of both parties have an eternal destiny, whether an eternity in the presence of God and enjoy the blessedness of that presence, or those who will be forever separated from God and will experience the cursedness of that existence. Many people would like to imagine a different kind of existence, whether this life ending in death and then nothingness, or heaven for all, etc. But if there is only one, true God, and if, as He says in His Word, that we were created with eternal souls, then we will either spend eternity with Him, or without Him. And to live without God and His blessings is a severe existence. God is the source of our good. No God, no good.
It is interesting that Psalm 1 begins with the blessed man and describes what he avoids. We could summarize the three phrases this way: he avoids the influence of the world, comprised of the wicked, the sinners, and the scoffers. The “postures” indicate that, though we live and function in this world, we are not hanging out with the world. We do not place ourselves in position to be easily influenced.
Rather, and this is the central point of the psalm, the blessed man, the righteous man, meditates on the Law of the Lord. That is, he seeks to be influenced by God’s Word as opposed to influenced by the world. He feeds his heart and mind on what God says.
We experience something that I call a “covenantal shift” as we read and apply these words. Yes, as Christians, we meditate on the Law of the Lord. But our devotion is not merely with a book. We have a relationship with God through Jesus, the Living Word, and our fellowship is with Him, defined for us and illustrated for us in the written Word. A person can be a student of the Bible but not be a Christian. To know God, and to know God by knowing Christ, is an essential aspect of the Christian faith, along with submission to God’s Word.
Let me say it again with the words of the psalm in mind. This relational Christianity that allows us to know the Trinitarian God personally while seeking daily direction from God in the Scriptures will produce fruit. A person can study Scripture mechanically, with the relationships mentioned above, and be as dry and brittle as a dead tree. They can discuss theology and the Bible with the best of them. But without the relationship, there is not blessedness, no vitality, no usefulness, no intimacy.
Such people will not have proper standing, as I would explain the phrase, in the judgment. We don’t stand well before God with Bible knowledge. We stand well in the judgment clothed in the righteousness of Christ which comes through faith and trust in Him, our Savior whom we love.
The world has had quite enough of dry Christianity (which is really no Christianity at all). The world does not need Bible answer-men. The world needs men and women who know Jesus, and live by His Word.
