From Richard B with thanks

Psalm 1

The Way of the Wise 1

Good morning everyone. How are you today? Shall we read Psalm 1 together?

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Imagine you are coming up to a T junction. You can turn left or right? Which way do you go? Which way do the wise go?

Here the Psalmist indicates that there are two directions. We go the way of the wicked OR go the way of the Lord.

Notice how one of the turnings is with others: the wicked, the sinners or the mockers. But the turning to the Lord is simply to the Lord alone. Are we therefore easily led by our culture and the way it goes? Do we “go with the flow” as they (say) do a left turn?

No – we are to turn the other way (the way of the wise) – towards the Lord.

So this is most certainly a choice we make. Living this Christian life we live sometimes means we have to deliberately, purposefully go the way of the Lord. And the Psalmist says in verse 2 that such a person delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.

Don’t be put off by the word meditate. It means to chew things over. Like a cow chewing the cud! Eastern meditation is to empty the mind; Christian meditation is to fill the mind with what is of God. So get chewing.

Now the law is holy, righteous and good (Rom 7: 12). If we are thinking about what is holy, and righteous and good – what will be the effect of that? If we lived with someone who was always critical, constantly moaning, always seeking to argue – what would be the effect of that? You see the difference. The way of the wise therefore is to fill the mind with what is good.

Look then at verses 3 through to 5 as to the difference between turning left and right works out.

So today, the Way of the Wise is to:

  1. Choose to go Lord’s way (make a conscious decision to do that);
  2. Read the Bible (maybe use Scripture Union online notes – they can be emailed to you each day);
  3. Chew over that verse or passage.

And be nourished. Let the way of the Lord fill your mind.


Category: The Bridge , Thought for the week