WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Invent a simile to describe a Christian whose life is firmly based on God’s word. S/he is like ….? One of the great literary images of all time is at the heart of this psalm. Heavenly and earth-bound ideas interweave freely to present a picture of the godly life. This forms a pattern for all the psalms to follow. Rooted in God Servants of the true God are like well-nourished trees, planted in good soil (vs 2,3). His people are also rooted in God’s laws: they don’t just obey them; they delight in these truths. This is the same as saying that they are thoroughly blessed by God. This, in turn, pretty much means that they will do well in every aspect of their lives, whether in prison or governing a household (Genesis 39:3,23). If we find it difficult to grasp how reflecting on God’s statutes might have such a result, this tells a lot about our own walk with God. Hopeless chaff The accounts in Genesis 1–11 have close echoes in this psalm. Here we have a model for anyone who wants to be either righteous or prosperous – and, on the other hand, how like Adam, Eve, Cain and the Canaanites the misguided people in Psalm 1 are! The contrast between the established, nurtured tree and the hopeless chaff is especially telling (vs 4,5). The Hebrew word for ‘wicked’ (v 6) is synonymous with ‘ungodly’: it is those who have lost sight of God who will perish, whatever times they might live in. Respond: Checking out Psalm One Ministries at www.psalmone.org should refresh your roots. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-01-01