Psalm 1 – delight is in the law of the LORD

Blessed is he whose delight is in the law of the lord

Psalm 1 

     Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man 
             who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 
     or stand in the way of sinners 
             or sit in the seat of mockers. 

     Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, 
             and on his law he meditates day and night. 

     Ps 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, 
             which yields its fruit in season 
     and whose leaf does not wither. 
             Whatever he does prospers. 

     Ps 1:4 Not so the wicked! 
             They are like chaff 
             that the wind blows away. 

     Ps 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, 
             nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 

     Ps 1:6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, 
             but the way of the wicked will perish. 

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Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

I really wondered about this concept a lot last year. The part about meditating on it day and night.

The question is whether there’s more to life than meditating on the law of God day and night. It’s a matter of focus. There’s a difference between strictly meditating on the law of the Lord and doing what Paul wrote below:

The Believer’s Freedom

1Co 10:23 “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

1Co 10:25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

1Co 10:27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake— 29 the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

1Co 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Notice especially, within the full context of the passage:

1Co 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

This made me begin to wonder, am I spending too much time doing the literal meditating on the Word of God – as opposed to the Law of God since I’m Christian and not subject to the Law – and thereby missing out on things? Missing out on so many good things that God created for us to enjoy?

I try hard to include life applications in the things I write. But then, am I limiting myself even in that, by having tunnel vision on the Word and missing out on the world? And by that, I mean enjoying the things God created in the way He meant for us to enjoy them.

After all, Jesus used all sorts of common things in life in order to speak to people about the Father and the Kingdom of Heaven. Just think about the parables He told.

I feel like I used to do more of that. Not so much lately. COVID is probably to blame for some of that. But then, is COVID also a convenient excuse for the introvert in me to not get out?

My view

We had a retreat at church on Dec 31st to review 2022 and look ahead to 2023. This is part of what I considered at the retreat.

I based my morning – looking back at 2022 – on the passage below. It’s an Old Testament passage, but I wanted to try to apply it to my life today.

The Offer of Life or Death

Dt 30:11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Dt 30:15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

Dt 30:17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

Dt 30:19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

It’s an interesting passage. Life or death. And yet, so much more.

In the Old Testament, it really was viewed as life or death in the physical sense. But for Christians today, eternal life or death also comes into play.

I referred to the same passage once before. Once as of writing this. It’s in an article I often refer back to, Are we supposed to Believe God, Believe in God or Follow God?

So here I am, asking you to check it out. Either again, or for the first time.

But today, from the point of view being examined here.

You’ll see that putting these two together leads to an interesting conclusion.

I believe they show that, in order to truly follow Jesus, we must engage with the world in general. Not just with Christians.

How else can we reach out to them? But then, we must also realize that if we know nothing of the world outside of Christianity, how else can we reach out to non-Christians in a meaningful way?

We see that very thought in Jesus’ prayer for His disciples. And in case you forgot, today’s Christians are His disciples as well.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Jn 17:6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

Jn 17:13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Notice especially the ending portion of what Jesus said.

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Conclusion – Blessed is he whose delight is in the law of the lord

So, today, in order to experience the full joy of Jesus, I can’t see how we can avoid/ignore what you just read.

All things considered, it appears we should be in the world, with people who don’t follow Jesus. After, this is exactly what Jesus Himself did. But in the process, Jesus did not sin. And as we just saw, Jesus’ prayer for us is to be protected by the Father so that we can do the same things.

The truth is, it’s not something I really want to read/hear, let alone write. The very private me doesn’t want to do that. Sure, I can write here, because 99% of you don’t know who I am. And yet, the conclusion seems unavoidable.

We’ll see how I do in 2023. How about you?

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Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

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