The Psalms

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.

Psalm 1:1-6

Having spent weeks and months getting more familiar with the incarnate Jesus from Luke’s gospel, then the commissioning of the apostles and the birth of the Church in early Acts, then the mystery doctrines of the Church as taught by Paul in several of his epistles, we went back to John’s gospel, chapters 13-17, to study our Lord’s final teachings to His inner circle of disciples, as He prepared to leave the earth. These were the foundational teachings of Church doctrine, and it gave us a sense of just how deeply Jesus loved His disciples, and how protective He was of them, and how important it is for the Church to reflect the character of Jesus Christ in the earth.

Wanting us to know even more about Jesus’ heart and soul and His eternal essence, the Holy Spirit leads us to Psalms. In the Psalms, we see the anatomy of the soul. Many writers contributed, but David’s work is predominant. We find here the Messiah, the King and His kingdom.

The Psalms are systematically arranged in a way that corresponds to the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses). We often encounter people who love to argue that the Bible is unreliable because of various “discrepancies” they think they find in the scriptures. First of all, this is not usually first-hand with the one doing the arguing; he’s repeating something he heard. Secondly, people who actually study the Bible with a willingness to understand don’t find discrepancies; they find layers of truth, told by different individuals from different perspectives, perhaps even across different dispensations. God’s Word is perfect. One proof is this very systematic arrangement of the books and categories, which the agnostics either are not aware of, or choose to ignore. There is nothing haphazard about the Word of God. Another proof is that across the entire 66 books, doctrine is built upon doctrine, precept upon precept; some later writings demonstrate the fulfillment of earlier writings; some of the symbolism is so parallel that it could not possibly be coincidence. Furthermore, If one were going to fabricate a testimony, it wouldn’t be done over thousands of years, using scribes from all walks of life, every one of them giving evidence of the God Who is One and Who is Three, Who is God and Man, and Who has freely given Himself to be the propitiation for the sins of the world, requiring nothing but faith in that truth.

Psalms 1-41 correspond to Genesis. Genesis actually encapsulates the entire Bible. The first section of Psalms encapsulates the whole book of Psalms. Describing systematics in this manner reminds me of a kaleidoscope; that fascinating toy that mesmerized me in childhood; beautiful colors, that as you turn the tube, keep expanding outward to become even more beautiful and colorful. Not an exact analogy, but it helps me to see the process; much like cell division. That makes perfect sense, because the Word of God is alive and powerful; the eternally living creative force of the universe. It continually multiplies, but somehow stays the same.

Psalm 1 Shows us the Perfect Man, the last Adam. This blessed man is not dwelling in the Garden of Eden, but in an ungodly world, among scornful sinners. He does not practice their ways or keep company with them, or think like them. He constantly delights in the Word of God. Result: stability and productivity. His life bears good fruit at the right time. His testimony never dries up. His service and production are always at a steady pace. This is a happy man.

By contrast the wicked are unstable, unreliable, insecure, self-destructive. They have nothing in common with the blessed man, whose life is founded on absolute truth.

From the outset, we see that the Word of God is the great divider. Those who love it and believe it will have peace and stability, regardless of the worldly chaos all around. Those who disregard God’s Word are on their own, with no good guidance. They have knowledge but not wisdom. They have energy, but not power. They have a lot of theories, but no hope. They are as chaff.