Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+001

 

Psalms

Introduction

The Book of Psalms is a collection of various smaller groupings of psalms that were used in Israel’s worship over the centuries. Some psalms were associated with certain feasts (Ps. 130 Yom Kippur; Ps. 135, Passover), others with the Sabbath (Ps. 92-100), and others for confession (Ps. 32, 51) or praises (Ps. 111-118; 146-150).

 

Outline of Psalms

  1. Book 1: Ps. 1—41 (The Book of Personal Experience)
  2. Book 2: Ps. 42—72 (The Book of Elohim)
  3. Book 3: Ps. 73—89 (The Dark Book)
  4. Book 4: Ps. 90—106 (The Book of the King)
  5. Book 5: Ps. 107—150 (The Book of Praise)

 

Psalms Book 1 – The Book of Personal Experience

Psalms 1 (ESV)

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 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.

 

REFLECTION:

  1. This psalm challenges us to make a choice between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. What are the differences between these two in this psalm?
  2. How is the person who delights in God’s Word like the tree planted by streams of water? What would my life look like if it were “bearing fruit” in season?
  3. Today, go outside and find a healthy-looking tree. Spend a few moments to look at the tree, its trunk, the leaves, and the roots. Ask God to guide me in a way that I will always be in blossom and bearing fruits.  Pray that my roots will go down deep and be rooted in the healthy soil of God’s Word.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 1 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYhQATf8HDw