By The collection of 150 Psalms begins with a tale of two men. These two men live in every era, every country, every city, every neighbourhood. Each has his own methods for living his life, and each end up with their own lot in life. You probably envy the lot of the one, but default to the methods of the other. That is why this Psalm begins the collection of inspired songs about the lives of the faithful.
Psalm 1 can be read in just a minute or two, and flows in a way that makes memorisation of it surprisingly easy. It is about a tale of two men; which are you?
The first man’s methods are fixed with conviction
Blessed is the man
Psalm 1:1-2
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
His lot in life is enviable.
He is like a tree
Psalm 1:3
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The other man has no mentionable convictions, and is simply known for his less-than-noble character. He is “the wicked” and his lot in life is a common one.
The wicked are not so,
Psalm 1:4-5
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
The tale of two men is a tale of obscurity for the most part. Very few care to spot it in their own circles of life. The stability of the life of the blessed man is rarely noted, and the lot of the wicked is shoved into obscurity by the indulgences of his heart. But that does not make the tale of the men irrelevant or inconsequential, for …
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
Psalm 1:6
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Are you aware of the one you are?