A brief reflection on Psalm 1.
It’s interesting to observe how the Book of Psalms starts.
Whether it’s the result of a deliberate choice by some long forgotten collector of Ancient Jewish worship materials or whether it’s mere coincidence, what we can say is that Psalm 1 is the doorway through which all readers of the Psalms must pass.
True, it’s possible that some readers jump straight to a favourite Psalm or a designated text and so pay little thought to the books opening Psalm, but our reading of any text is usually linear and so it’s a fair bet that anybody who has encountered the Psalms has first encountered the declaration that blessedness is contingent upon how one chooses to live their life.
Choose to “follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers” and the outcome is that one will be “like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.”
The alternative is to “delight in the Law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” with it’s resulting outcome: blessedness. “Like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.”
What strikes me as significant here is that, by accident or design, this is the declaration by which we begin our reading of the Psalms.
Too many people get this wrong.
They think that blessedness is the consequence of a rich worship life.
This has led to churches which are highly adept at creating an environment in which people can give vent to their spiritual yearnings, but which tend not to cultivate loving obedience to Christ. Great worship services which declare God’s greatness. But discipleship of the sort that really counts? Not so much.
We can’t point the finger at any one Christian denomination or tradition here. From the historically and theologically deep liturgy of the ancient churches to the dynamic contemporary worship of more recent forms of Christianity, the same point can be made: blessedness attends those who choose the way of God and of Christ over the way of the wicked, the sinner, or the mocker.
Psalm 1 stands as a reminder to us that, no matter how profound our worship, no matter how heartfelt our prayers, no matter how sincere our emotions, blessedness is a consequence of choosing to walk in Christ’s way.
From there, the door to worship lies wide open. The Psalter, with it’s declarations of human failure and joy, divine blessing and glory, is for those who have chosen to walk in the way.