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
Fifty years ago, I was the pastor of a small congregation on the west side of the Missouri river in South Dakota. One of the vivid images that stays with me from days of traveling across the dry prairie is that of a great, high cottonwood tree. It stood there in that otherwise treeless land like a powerful sentinel, protecting the memory of a mysterious past. Buildings that once had been home for a family had long since surrendered to the harsh elements. But the giant cottonwood sank roots deep into the earth where there was an underground stream of life.
The Psalm writer said there are people like that. They sink their roots deep into the wondrous Word of God from which they draw sustenance. They delight in God's teaching. I think of Myrtle. She lived not far from that cottonwood. One day we thought she was dying. She lay in the hospital struggling for breath. Her husband and I both stood by her bed trying in vain to hold back the tears. Then Myrtle summoned strength to say, "Boys...boys! Don't cry! Everything will be all right." In prayer and meditation she had roots deep in God's grace. She died now many years later at age 100. Happy are those!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for speaking to us a Word in Christ Jesus full of grace and truth. Enable us to drink deeply of that water of life. Amen.