[Editor’s note: Some time ago a reader challenged me to read the book of Matthew with fresh eyes and post what I found. I did so faithfully through the first five books of Matthew at which point I ran out of time to write the posts. That was February. By now it’s hopeless — I will never catch up on all I intended to post. And now, being in the middle of Summer Hebrew, I’m finding it distracting to be reading the New Testament while I’m studying the Old, so I have switched to the Psalms. May you be blessed as I am by a fresh look at these ancient writings.]
Psalm 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;
but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
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.
The wicked are not so, 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;
for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
What struck me on reading this psalm was how different a message we get from those who advise us on how to be “successful” in the world. From the time we enter the job market we are told that compromise is the key to success, that rewards come from getting along and going along, that ideals are nice but they’re not very convenient, that the most important part of our job (whatever it may be) is the bottom line — that is, how we improve the company’s bottom line.
The music and entertainment industry where I started out can be even more brutal. We’re told in order to succeed one must be prepared to sacrifice principles. All of us are whores for our art form, might as well accept it, they say. You’re paid to sell yourself. The biggest faux pas one can commit is to make a public commitment to God. Most careers never recover from it. Artists who have been blacklisted for taking a stand for their faith include Cat Stevens, Seals & Crofts, Mr. T., Lisa Welchel… the list goes on.
On the other hand, if you knock religion, if you diss religious symbols and sneer at people of faith you’re considered “brilliant” and “cutting edge” and you’re sure to get airplay and/or media time. Just look at the “un-baptisms” of this past week — was the news really so slow that a dude with a hair dryer was worthy of national attention?
Into this morass of disillusionment and manipulation the word of God breaks through like a beacon of light. “You want to be happy?” says God. “Don’t listen to them. Don’t do what they do. Don’t say what they say.”
But people get tripped up on the next line: “delight in the law of the Lord”. The word “law” sets teeth on edge unless we remember that the sum total of all God’s law is love. Love makes us fruitful like trees with an abundance of water. Love makes us prosper. Love that comes to us from God, and love we give back to God — both are a blessing and both enrich our lives.
Those who put themselves above the law of love, who imagine themselves to be the gods of their own little domains, will dry up and blow away. Fifteen minutes of fame — yup, that’s about right. Who in their right mind would sell their soul for only fifteen minutes? The reason sinners won’t stand at the judgement is because they are too lightweight — having dried up, the slightest breath of wind makes them disappear completely.
But the Lord watches over His own. His word and His love becomes His peoples’ glory — a word that in ancient Hebrew denotes not only beauty but *weight* or substance. When the storms come they won’t blow away. Blessed are they.
Leave a Reply