Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
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 watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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 watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2
God’s Promise to His Anointed
1 Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling 12 kiss his feet,[a]
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling 12 kiss his feet,[a]
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 3
Trust in God under Adversity
A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying to me,
“There is no help for you[b] in God.”Selah
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying to me,
“There is no help for you[b] in God.”Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people!Selah
may your blessing be on your people!Selah
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The Psalms and I have always had a...complicated relationship. I prefer text that I can analyze and reason out. I love chewing on the theological pieces in the epistles or wrestling with Jesus' parables to find what he was saying. The history I find so fascinating that I wrote one novel and have more in mind. The prophets have some parts that are amazing...and then there are the psalms. There is some analysis that can be done, some applications that can be mined. But mostly they are poetry and emotions and crying out and celebrating and unfiltered, raw human expression directed towards God. And that is not where I spend most of my days. I have filters on top of filters on top of filters. David has a very clear paradigm: there are the righteous and the evil, his supporters and his enemies. God is with him through everything and eager to hear about what is going on in David's heart.
It has been a long time since I walked around thinking about the harm that my enemies wanted to do to me. It has been a long time since I looked at anyone and said "That person is righteous," or "That person is evil." It has been a long time since I pleaded with God for someone to be smote (smited?smitten?smat?) down.
I call out to God for help all the time, but I usually am pretty convinced that the trouble is my fault and that I have no one else to blame.
So what do I focus on? Psalm one says "their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night."
and on his law they meditate day and night."
Contrast that with what I usually meditate on. If meditate is too weird of a word for you, think about it as worry or obsess or concentrate on. What do I spend my time turning over in my head? Relationship problems? Work? Money? Weight? Family? Entertainment? How much of my life is consumed with the movie/video game/tv show that I am into at the moment? How would my life improve if that head space was filled with the words of God instead? Would I really be happy?
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