Psalm 1 (Part 2) The Two Ways of Life
Psalm 1:1-6
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.3 He is like a tree
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.
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 knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
As we heard during last week’s message concerning part 1 of Psalm 1:1-6, there are two lives: the blessed and unblessed life. The blessed life is the life that is planted on streams of water, that yields fruit in its season, its leaf does not wither, and in all that he does, he prospers. The unblessed life in contrast, is chaffed by the winds of life and will surely perish. They live distinctly different lives.
Then, how or what do we do to experience a blessed life?
In the Bible, there are two types of sin: the sin of commission and the sin of omission. Last week’s message was about the sin of commission: we should not do what we should not do. We should not walk in the counsel of the wicked. We should not stand in the way of the sinners. We should not sit in the seat of scoffers. This week, we ought to also not commit the sin of omission: not doing what we ought to do. To live a blessed life, Psalm 1:2 gives us the answer – we should “delight… in the law of the Lord, and on his law… meditate[s] day and night.” We should do both – do not do what we should not be doing by acting in sin, and we should be doing what we should be doing, by delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on it day and night.
Although quiet times and devotionals are good, it may not be what the Bible describes as Biblical meditation.
There are 3 keys to Biblical meditation:
We need to constantly think and dwell on the word of God. When we have problems and plans, what do we do? We keep thinking about it. We have already mastered this form of meditations as we already do it. We constantly lose sleep when we think about things or have someone in mind. Although we don’t want to think about them we continue to think of them morning and night throughout the day. This is the same with meditation – meditation on the law or word of God, day and night. We just need to change the what or who that we are meditating on.
We need to listen to God’s voice, not our own voice. Even atheists and other religions emphasize the importance of meditation. They emphasize slowing what you are doing and to stop and focus on breathing to clear your mind. They would use a bell sound that would ring randomly throughout the day to notify them to drop what they are doing to slow their breathing, listen to their inner voice and to follow their instincts and desires. This is what modern meditation teaches us. However, Biblical meditation is listening to God’s voice. If we listen to our own voice, we go in the opposite direction and become the sinner by taking lordship of our own lives. Pastor Daniels mentions “hagar,” which in Hebrew means mumbling mentioned in the Bible. Instead of just reading and praying in silence, we can recite or read the Bible out loud.
We should not focus on thought but focus on our behavior. The Greek translation to the Hebrew word “hagar” is “melatao,” which can also be translated to cultivating the soil and toiling over the land by sweating. Similarly, when we meditate, we should focus on our behavior. Bible was not given to us to just increase our knowledge but to transform our lives. Modern neuroscientists believe that our behavior is controlled by our thoughts. Instead, we should take the stance that what we do produces and reinforces what we think. As Christians and believers, we should think about how we can incorporate Biblical meditation in our lives.
Simply put, the Bible explains how we can live this blessed life. God has already planned how to achieve a blessed life that is very simple to follow in accordance with Psalm 1:2. And while many may take “meditating day and night” on God’s word literally, instead we can interpret it metaphorically. Whether we are experiencing the highs or lows of our lives, whether we are blessed and experiencing the spiritual highs or struggling during the dark days of our lives… No matter what, we need to think about God’s word, listen to God’s word, and put it into practice. This is the blessed life that God promises if we follow Him.
Reflection Questions:
From the 3 keys to Biblical meditation, what can you do practically to incorporate Biblical meditation into your life?
If you feel like you are living an unblessed life, is your life reflective of a sin of commission or a sin of omission?
