Closer through Meditation

by Dr. Daniel McNaughton

Psalm 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, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 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. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is not, “How can I mess up my life today?” I doubt that you think like that either. If you are able to muddle yourself to the kitchen to get your first cup of coffee, your mind is probably filled with thoughts about what is supposed to happen today or what happened yesterday. Normal stuff.

Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of the mundane lists of to-dos, that God would give us his wisdom about how to succeed every day of our lives? Psalm 1 addresses such wisdom.

It gives us guiding principles about how to live well and how to avoid destructive landmines. Maybe taking a look at Psalm 1, with that cup of coffee in hand, might be refreshing for both soul and body.

Psalm 1 is what scholars call a wisdom psalm. A wisdom psalm compares two types of people – those who live a blessed and good life and those who don’t…the psalmist calls the latter, “wicked.” 

If you are reading this, I’m guessing you have opted for the blessed life. Before you let yourself be distracted by a recent Disney movie with the matching title, consider this: you don’t want to be “wicked” and no one wants to experience the “wicked” version of your life.

We were not designed for that but unfortunately, if we are willing to admit it, we all know it’s too easy to slip into some sort of non-blessed aka wicked life.  How does one experience the blessed life and avoid the wicked life?

Psalm 1 describes the blessed life first as what we don’t do. The blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

Notice the progression from faster to slower: walk – stand – sit. There are a number of voices around us from friends, relatives, media, however, we must guard against taking counsel from the wicked.

How often do we take the advice of others, perhaps even someone online, without checking God’s Word? To “stand in the way of sinners” just means to spend extended time in places where God is not honored.

To “sit in the seat of mockers” means to join those who are negative and to focus on finding fault rather than finding solutions. How easy it is to rant!  But God is kind enough to help us know that is not what we were designed to be like.  

In contrast to the wicked life, Psalm 1 also describes what to do to live the blessed life. We are challenged to “delight in the law of the Lord.” The word “law” is probably best translated as the “instruction” of God. The apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

We have more and easier access to the Scriptures than any time in history. What a shame if we don’t avail ourselves to God’s Word, especially since it is part of what helps us live the blessed life. The psalmist says that we are blessed if we find pleasure in God’s instruction.  

We are also commended to meditate on God’s instruction day and night. To meditate means to “read in an undertone, to mutter.” This is a way of saying we should literally choose to fill our minds with God’s thoughts as much as possible.  There’s a promise for us if we do this.

We will be like a tree planted by streams of water. We will have no worries about having what we need.  We will be productive; we will produce what we are designed to produce at the right time.  We will have longevity…our leaf will not wither. And we will prosper.  We also have this promise, “The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

What gets your undivided attention? What are you filling your mind with? What could you do differently today to delight in God’s instruction? I wonder what could happen if all of us at Access decided to fill our minds with the things of God, not just today but every day, and all day.

I wonder what would happen in our private lives, our families, our community, and our church. I would like to be part of something like that. How about you? 

Prayer

Go ahead and grab that second cup of coffee. Then slowly read Psalm 1 once again before you start your day, savoring the flavor of wisdom.