Psalm Friday

Psalm of the Day
Psalm 1

By the Streams of Living Water

"1) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2) but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3) He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. 4) The ungodly are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5) Therefore the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish.” Psalm 1:1-6, NKJV

Read Psalm 1 through three times. Record your thoughts and questions in your journal. If a verse stands out to you, record it on an index card and begin committing it to memory.

Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the LORD- Blessed is a word that means happy, a deep-seated joy and contentment in God because one is in right fellowship with Him. Notice that LORD is in all caps; this is the Jewish national name for God, it is Jehovah, the Lord, my Lord. God is a personal God to each of us, meeting us exactly where we are, not expecting you to be me or me to be you. The one who is contented in God has Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Because God is his Lord, he is delighting in the Word, following Its instruction and not the advice of the ungodly. God’s Word has become to him, a very desired thing in his life; desired and valued more than anything else, so much so that he is meditating on It, pondering over It, speaking of It, studying through It, and talking about It day and night. When God becomes our Jehovah, He transplants us from our old life of sin into a new life of grace and mercy beside the streams of Living Water (Jesus Christ) that will never run dry (John 4:13-14). When we are transplanted by God into that rich soil beside the stream of living water, we can never be uprooted (Matthew 15:13). Being planted by the streams of living water and meditating on His Word, receiving all the nutrients it has for us, results in deep, deep roots which allows us to withstand the raging winds of the enemy and enables us to bear fruit for the Kingdom (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

The ungodly are not so- Here in verse 4 we see an immediate contrast from what we’ve just read. The ungodly, those whose God is not Jehovah, are nothing like the godly. They have made for themselves their own gods possibly from money, people, things, addictions, etc. They will be like the chaff that is blow away during the harvesting of the wheat. The chaff is the substance in the winnowing process that is of no value. When the ungodly stand before God in judgement, He will see that they have not received the nurtrients from the Living Water. Why? Because their leaves will be withered and they will have produced no fruit for the Kingdom.

For the LORD knows… This is more than just knowing someone on a surface level. God, Jehovah, the Lord, knows His righteous ones intimately (2 Timothy 2:19). He knows the way, or the path of the righteous one. God knows the path of the righteous and the path of the wicked. There are two paths in life to walk upon and two destinations to end up at; the path of the righteous that leads to life eternal with Jehovah or the path of the ungodly which leads to death eternal without Jehovah.

Questions to answer- Thoughts to Ponder
Are you delighting in the Law of the LORD? Are you meditating in His Word? Pondering over It? Speaking Its truth? Studying Its instructions? And talking about It with those around you?

Are you soaking up all the nutrients the Living Water has to offer?

Read Proverbs 4:10-27. What happens when we walk in the right path? What happens when we enter into the path of the wicked?

Read Matthew 7:13-14. Describe in your own words the two gates mentioned in these verses. How does one enter each? Which gate have you entered?

Father, I thank You that You are the Living Water. Thank You for quenching my thirst. Grow my roots deep into the richness of Your Word so that I will be the Godly woman You desire me to be. Help me to cling only to Your Word and counsel and not to the advice of those who don’t belong to You. Help me to meditate on Your Word and desire it more than anything else. Direct me in the path of the righteous.