Psalm 1 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 1 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Happy 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;
Verse 2but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
Verse 3They 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.
Verse 4The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Verse 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Verse 6for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Devotion
Sometimes “foundations” come in different forms. Trees and plants know foundations as “roots,” which ground and enable growth and the bearing of fruit. We are the planting of the Lord. And so for us, too, what a gracious gift to have roots that are planted near the watering places of God’s love! There we find a gardener who anxiously and tenderly “watches over” us that so that our lives, grounded and nourished with such roots, may grow into the vision that God has in store for us.
Sometimes God tends those “roots” through the hands of others. This was my grandmother’s favorite psalm, and she early on tenderly but firmly made sure that its words would be imprinted in my heart and being. You will have your own stories of ones whose tender caring has been part of the “roots” that have founded your nourishment and growth in God’s love.
Prayer
Tender and caring God, you have planted me firmly in the garden of your love. Send my roots firm and deep and watch over me, that I may never stray from the life-giving riches of your presence. Amen.