Seedplots

The first Psalm in Book IV of the Psalms (Psalm 90) begins with a heading that labels it the “Prayer of Moses, the Man of God.” In his notes on the Psalm, Professor Collins makes this intriguing comment,

Those who sing this should see themselves as the heirs of [Moses'] generation, seeking like them the blessing of God so that they can carry out their mission (ESV Study Bible Notes).

That generation had seen the awful results of sin and disobedience firsthand (“For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed” vs.. 7) Now they faced a challenge and test of obedience. They stood before the Jordan River, ready to enter the Promised Land. Would they fare any better than their parents?

To enter the land, and enjoy the fulfillment of God’s promise would require trust in God (faith). Read from this perspective, the Psalm seems to come alive. While you, God, are eternal, we are not (vss 1-11). Our lives are like the grass of the field that sprouts up, glistens, and then withers away (vss 5-10).

Will anything last from our years here on earth? Will we finish the mission God has given us to accomplish? Will we pass on anything to the next generation? That’s what the second half (vv 12-17) of the Psalm is about.

Moses’ prayer in this section asks God for three things: Wisdom (vs. 12), Joy in God (vs. 13-15), and God’s blessing on our Work (vs. 16-17).

So what about us? Are we singing this song, and praying this prayer as “heirs of Moses” generation?

• Are we asking God to give us a heart of wisdom that comes from numbering our days? (cf. Col 1:9, “asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding”)
• Are we praying for God go make us so satisfied in his steadfast love that we are filled with rejoicing and gladness of heart? (cf. Col 1:10,12, “growing in the knowledge of God… joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”)
• Are we asking God for his favor – that he would “establish the work of our hands” that that our children would see evidence of his “work” and “glorious power”? (cf. Col 1:11, ” [living] a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work”)

David, in Psalm 30, speaks of desperate days in his life and their transformation by God into days of delight.

His experience resonates with that of many believers, who have also “experienced the almost ineffable release of being transported from despair or illness or catastrophic defeat or a sense of alienated distance from God, to a height of safety or health or victory or spiritual intimacy with our Maker and Redeemer” (D.A. Carson)

The writer “captures the heart and the imagination” with vivid contrasts. Take a look at some of these contrasts in the following table:

The story behind the Psalm is not complicated.  It falls into five parts:

1.  Life is good, the future looks bright
David was spiritually complacent, “I said, in my prosperity, I shall not be moved” (vs.. 6).

2.  Suddenly, the bottom falls out of life
David faced a life-threatening illness, probably in response to his sin (vs.. 5 – “your anger”) and was terrified he would die (vs.. 7 – “dismayed”).

3.  David cried out to God, pleading for mercy
He prays, “to you, O Lord, I cry and… plead for mercy” (vs.. 8-9).

4.  God wonderfully answered David’s plea and healed him
David describes it like this:  “you have healed me… you restored me to life” (vs.. 2-3).

5.  David extols God
He “sings for joy” (vs.. 1) at what he has done (vs.. 12), and calls others to do the same (vv. 4-5).

It’s not hard to draw out lessons for our walk with God from this Psalm.  I’ll highlight two.

Lesson 1
We can learn from David’s attitude when things were going well for him.  He felt almost invincible (”I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved” vs.. 6).

“It is easy… for God’s people to trust in themselves for continued well-being,”  forgetting that our “prosperity” comes from God’s and his favor, not from our skill, hard work and cleverness (”By your favor, O LORD you made my mountain stand strong” vs. 7).  One commentator noted, “Instead of confiding in the Giver, he trusted in the gift, as though it had been his own work.”

Lesson 2
Another lesson, one more central to the emphasis of the Psalm, lies in the ground of David’s plea for mercy.

David’s prayer was not just for “the mere prolonging of earthly days, precious as that is” but that he might live and publically praise God for his faithfulness.  He wants his experience with God to motivate others to put their trust God as their “helper” and have a similar experience of his faithfulness.

The emphasis here is God centered (God did this, and this, and this…praised be God!) rather than David centered (I did this, I did that, … I trusted, I prayed, etc).

I tend to think of Psalm 23 as the “Shepherd” Psalm but actuality it has two parts: The Lord as Shepherd (vv 1-4) who cares for each of his sheep and The Lord as Host (vv 5-6) of a lavish banquet. Both metaphors express the comfort a believer finds in God during times of great difficulty.

The Psalm opens and closes with reference to the LORD (vs.. 1, 6). He is the one who cares for me during crisis times. Enjoyment of his presence (“in the house of Lord”) is life’s richest experience.

The second metaphor, the Lord as Host, pictures the Psalmist (i.e. Psalm 23, we found ourselves in his place) invited to be the honored guest at a great banquet. When he arrives, his “head is anointed” with expensive, perfumed oil. Anointing of one’s and face in that day and age triggered memories of other festive, joyful occasions. Similar associations are present in Psalm 104:15,

“wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart”

The metaphor locates this banquet “in the presence of my enemies” – a “sign that all those who have threatened the psalmist have now been proved to be wrong”. The believer can enjoy the banquet in peace, knowing he has nothing to fear from those enemies.

In spite of all that might have marred his life, the psalmist is declaring that in the presence of God he experiences a richly satisfying and joy-filled life (Davidson, The Vitality of Worship.)

At this point (vs.. 6), the psalmist points us to the future. Now and again, as believers, we experience an overflowing joy in God’s presence. Fear and worry are taken away and worship comes alive. God is present and we are filled with joy. This, the Psalm tells us, is what we have to look forward to.

Yes, difficulties lie ahead. God will lead us through the dark valleys of life as a caring shepherd. Surely good and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

But God is more than just a Good Shepherd.  Up ahead, beyond all the “days of my life” lies something even greater. I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

That joy we experience, from time to time, in God presence, will be unbroken. We will see him “face to face.” How can we help but echo John’s words in Revelation 22:20, Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!

It happened a long time ago.  A long, long time ago.  Something like 2,860 years ago. But it’s not all that different today.

He had tried to serve God. Yes, he had made some foolish mistakes, but he had tried to serve God. And God had rewarded his efforts. He’d lived long enough to see that – almost 60 years.

A cry for help
But now, things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and he was scared. This was the greatest test of all.

The challenge he faced was overwhelming. And he didn’t know what to do. He was afraid. So he gathered his people together, proclaimed a fast and prayed. We have a record of what Jehoshaphat actually said when he prayed …

“O Lord God of our ancestors,” he prayed, “you are the God who lives in heaven and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you… Our God… we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help!” (2 Chronicles 20, NET Bible).

Another cry for help
Psalm 20 was written before Jehoshaphat’s prayer.  Nearly 200 years earlier.  The situation, however, is similar. David is leader over God’s people, their King. The nation is in trouble – facing a much stronger enemy. Before the battle the people were gathered. Their King stands before them, he offers a sacrifice and prays silently. Psalm 90 records, not of the prayer of their King, but the people’s prayer for the King standing in front of them.

“May God answer our King’s prayer,” they prayed. “May he send help.” May his plans succeed” (vs. 1, 2, 5).

Someone, perhaps a Levite in the ceremony, speaks up in verse 6. He announces a word of assurance:

Yes, God will help his anointed King (i.e. his Messiah). He will act, because our trust is in him, not in our mighty army… Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright (vs. 7-8)

Our cry for help
We live in a very different world. Two things, however, remains the same:

1) We also face overwhelming problems – problems much bigger than our strength, skills and resources can handle.

2) We also follow an anointed King – one much greater than David.

This prayer is for us. God is calling us to turn to him in our need, to put our trust in him. “He will answer us when we call to him for help” (vs. 8).

C.S. Lewis called Psalm 19 “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”

It divides naturally into three sections:

1.  God’s glory revealed through creation (vv. 1-6)
2.  God’s revelation through his Torah (his Word)
.  . (vv. 7-11)
3.  A prayer for cleansing (vv. 12-14).

The Psalm serves as,

an indirect witness to the need for a greater “servant” (vv. 11, 13) than David, who could keep the law (cf. vv. 12-14), who would be “blameless” (v. 13) and “pleasing” in God’s sight (v. 14)  (VanGemeren, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, on Psalm 19).

While God’s revelation of himself in creation and in his Torah is glorious, his revelation of himself through his son, Jesus, is even more glorious (Hebrews 1:1-3).

God’s Word (Torah) is described by six synonyms. These synonyms are described then paired with four corresponding benefits (vv. 6-9):

This section of Psalm 19 reaches its climax in vv 10-11, where the emphasis is on delighting in the treasure God has given us in his Torah. David finds God’s Word to be precious (vs. 10a), sweet (vs. 10b), and extremely beneficial (vs. 11).

Soul-searching, isn’t it? Do I delight like this in God’s Word? or in his even greater revelation, Jesus the Son?

Mid-life gives us an opportunity to look back, draw conclusions and think about the remaining years that lie ahead of us. Such reflection should have at least two results – growth in wisdom and the praise of God.

David in mid-life did just that. His reflections are recorded in 2 Samuel 22. One writer observes, “Its setting in 2 Samuel indicates that it is intended as a crowning celebration of David’s exploits” that looks back across his life.

David’s ” personal expression of gratitude to the Lord” is adapted almost word for word in Psalm 18 for the people of God to use, perhaps

Because their well-being is now tied to the offspring of David (2 Sam. 7:4–17). When God’s people sang this, then, they were to give thanks for the Davidic line and to pray that its heirs would be faithful to the Lord and would be valiant military leaders, so that Israel might carry out its God-given purpose of bringing light to the Gentiles (ESV Study Bible)

The Psalm is quoted once in the New Testament, giving it a,

Latent messianic meaning, and the deliverance of God’s anointed from ‘the cords of death’ (vv. 5–6) finds deeper significance in the deliverance of Jesus from death itself (Psalms 1-50, Craigie).

The Psalm is amazingly God-centered. David realized that whatever success he’d had in life had been due to God. God was the one who had delivered him time and again from death, God was the one who gave him the gifts and abilities he had, God was the one who trained him for his life work, God was the one who gave him success, God’s favor (”right hand”) supported him and his “gentleness” made David great (vs 35).

1) Reflection on all of this made David humble.
He came to realize that God “saves the humble and brings low those who are haughty” (vs 27).

2) Reflection on all of this led David to praise God
He did this through his Psalm.  Notice his desire for the “hallowing” of God’s name among the nations of the world, The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation (vs 45)….For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name (vs 49)

Having “Yahweh” as our God and belonging to his people is the heart of the covenant God makes with humans.  Some have called this the “master metaphor” of the Bible.

God has proved his people with a “path” along which they walk. We “walk with God” or “walk in his ways.”  This path leads to an eventual goal – “rest in the presence of God” himself.  Life in God’s presence (where we see his “face”)  is the final goal of the covenant.

Psalm 16 characterizes the “path of life” as “delightful” (vs. 2) and “pleasant” (vs. 6). Its goal, being in the presence of God, is even better:  “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” (vs. 11).

David, as he writes this, is facing a time of crisis (perhaps sickness?). He cries out to God, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge” (vs. 1). People around him are whispering.. Yahweh hasn’t done much to help you. Look around for other options. Try other gods. Maybe they can help.

David’s answer is a model expression of confidence to Yahweh. Listen to what he says,

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply…
I will… take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup…
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

David made his choice – Yahweh. He will walk in his “way.” He will find his identity with God’s people. He has placed his hope in the promise of one day being in God’s presence, where there is fullness of joy.

He’s content that he’s made a good choice.  This has brought him stability and pleasure during the here and now, and hope for what’s ahead.

The apostle Peter informs us that David in Psalm 16 “foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:25-33). As his disciples, we follow him, i.e. walk in his “path.” We find our identity with his followers. We place our hope in his return in glory. One day we will see him. In his presence is fullness of joy!

How long, O Lord! This is a cry of anguish to God.   David is on the verge of despair.  He feels like he can’t hold on any longer.

Have you been there?  Crushed. Struggling to find words for prayer.

Psalm 13 teaches us how prayer in the middle of the those times. This is why some call the Psalms a “Prayerbook.”

Learning these prayers helps us pray when we’re in similar situations.  In this and other Psalms we find words for those times of pain and despair.
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Psalm 13, a Psalm of individual lament, divides into three parts:

David is hurting (1-2)
How long, O Lord, How long is this going to last? He asks this four times in verses 1 and 2.  He’s pretty blunt.  We could almost say he’s mad at God.  He charges God with forgetting about him:  God, you’re not doing anything about my problem! He goes a step further and charges God with deliberately hiding from him.  God, you’ve deliberately abandoned me!

“The questions move from God’s apparent indifference (v. 1) to the singer’s circumstances of anguish” (ESV Study Bible).  David is honest with God about what he is feeling.

David asks God to act (3-4)
After expressing his frustration of God’s seeming inactivity, David makes his request.  He asks God to act (verses 3-4).  Do something, Lord.  Do something before I end up in the grave!

This is the heart of the Psalm.  It is highlighted by its central position right in the middle of the Psalm.

David declares his faith and trust in God (5-6)
But the prayer doesn’t end with his plea for help.  David goes one step further.  He declares his faith and trust in God (verses 5-6).  This expression of trust begins with the little hinge word “But”.

I’m hurting, you’re not doing anything, “But…”  In spite of all that, I still trust in your faithfulness.

The word here translated faithfulness is hesed – loyal, faithful steadfast lovingkindness based on a previous covenant promise.

Because of God’s faithful, steadfast love toward David, David’s “heart rejoices” in the midst of his troubles.  He sings out to God, in faith, “You have dealt bountifully with me!”

God’s faithfulness to us is seen most vividly in his provision of Jesus. David’s pattern of prayer is paralleled in song of praise that ends Romans 8.  Even in the worst circumstances, writes Paul,

We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God has dealt bountifully with us in Jesus!

We look around us, see corruption and injustice, lies and evil, and think – these are surely the last days – look how bad things are.

What we tend to forget is that this cycle of 1) downwardly spiraling evil, 2) God’s judgment and 3) the emergence of new leaders and new countries has been happening since before the days of Noah. It is not unusual for the people of God, living in a society near the end of this cycle, to think “it’s never been this bad before.”

Psalm 12 reflects such a period in David’s day: “Save, O Lord!… the faithful have vanished… everyone utters lies to his neighbor, with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

God sees what is happening around us.  He will act, though not as quickly as we would like. “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord.

We wait.  We cry out, like saints have prayed through Scripture, “How long, O Lord?” We yearn and pray for Jesus’ return. ^“20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.  Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21).

David’s experience with God, shared in this Psalm, serves as a powerful message even today, 3000 years later.  The center of these two verses is the phrase, “those who know your name put their trust in you.” The crucial factor is “knowing God’s name.”  Either a person knows God’s name or he doesn’t.  Those who do trust him, those who don’t do not trust him.  “Knowing” in the context means “knowing through experience.”  God’s “name” refers to his character.

Coming to know God’s name in Egypt
Exodus 5-15 vividly displays the difference.  Several groups appear – Moses, Pharaoh, the people of Israel, the people of Egypt and by extension, the surrounding “nations.” Moses had come to “know God’s name” through personal experience.  This culminated in his experience with God described in Exodus 33, when God showed him his glory (¹⁹And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name).

Pharaoh didn’t “know” God’s name.  He mockingly asked Moses, ²“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”).  God arranged for Pharaoh to come to “know” by experience just who the Lord was.  One by one the ten plagues were sent so that Pharaoh might “know that there is none like me [i.e. the Lord] in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).  In the end he confessed, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods” (Exodus 18:11).

The people of Egypt also came to know about Israel’s God through the plagues and the Exodus (Exodus 7:5).  The ten plagues exposed the powerlessness of the gods the Egyptians trusted in.   Israel, God’s people, came to know the Lord as their Deliverer, through the same events (Exodus 6:7).

David’s experience with God
David initially came to know “God’s name” while serving as a shepherd.  This gave him the confidence to trust in God when Goliath mocked the people of God.  When they met on the field of battle, David told Goliath,  “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” Further experiences with God brought David into a deeper knowledge of God’s name.  From this background, David, writing under the inspiration of God, declares to us, “those who know your name put their trust in you.”

A challenge to trust God ourselves
We, who have experienced God’s help in times of trouble and have come to know his name, are encouraged to trust him as new troubles surround us.   He is a “stronghold” in times of trouble, verse 9 tells us.  The word “stronghold” literally means an inaccessible, secure place high up in the rim-rock of the mountains, a place of safety and security one can go to in times of danger.

We are encouraged to trust God in new times of difficulty because we have experienced his help in the past and have come to know him as a “stronghold,” a place of security and safety in difficult times.

Psalm 5, in the view of some commentators, continues in poetic form the description of David’s flight from his son Absalom.  If this is correct, he’s now spent two nights in the desert.

David is awake and ready to begin another day.  He’s still on the run and still in danger.

The Psalm alternates between paragraphs about those who seek God, morning by morning, and those who reject God.  It’s almost an application of Psalm 1 (the “two ways”) to David’s situation.  The Psalm can be diagrammed like this:

David,  in his “groaning” (lit. sighing), cries out to God in prayer at the start of the day (vs 1-2).  Then he waits and watches, expectantly, to see how God will answer his prayer (vs 3).

I love the vivid, descriptive way David prays at the end of the Psalm (vv 11-12).  He speaks of God as our “refuge” (Ps 5:11) or “place of shelter.”   The term “take refuge” used here occurs 35x in Scripture and refers to:

A place where one will find safety, rest, or comfort, implying the place of refuge is a place to be trusted to keep one safe (Jdg 9:15; 2Sa 22:3) (Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages).

As we enter another day, not knowing what is ahead, we begin the day with prayer, crying out to him.  David’s “morning prayer” is a great pattern for us.

1. We begin the day knowing that God “hears our cry.
2. We pray, laying our needs before him.
3. We watch, and wait, as we begin the day, looking to see what God will do.
4. As we go through the day, we continually ask God to “lead us and “make our paths straight.”
5. We turn to God during the day our refuge, our shelter and our trusted place of rest.
6. Experiences of God’s favor and blessing during the day cause us to respond with joyful praise and singing

Some commentators link Psalm 4 with the previous Psalm, i.e. David’s prayer as he faces another night on the run from Absalom’s armies.  The author clearly faces great trouble.

His enemies are effectively using lies and slander against him and “honor has been turned to shame” (vs 2).

His followers have been demoralized, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?’”

In this “psalm of confidence,” David’s trust in God shines through.  He tells his followers not to give way to the rage they feel (vs 4-5).  Craigie paraphrases it like this,

You can tremble with anger and rage, but don’t sin by doing anything! You can speak your evil words within your hearts, but don’t speak them out loud! Lie still and silent upon your beds, where you can do no harm (Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 1-50).

Better still, he continues, put your trust in the LORD!  In Psalm 3, the focus is on “knowing” who God is (”the one who lifts heads and breaks teeth”).  Here in Psalm 4 the focus is on “trusting” that same God.

We too have difficult days.  David’s testimony speaks to us:

• Fellowship with LORD fills our hearts with greater joy than when “grain and new wine abound” (vs 7)
• The LORD provides peace in the middle of trouble, peace that enables us to ” lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me ?dwell in safety” (vs 8).

And this comes in the midst of the difficulties.

LORD, you are faithful to your people. You have “set apart the godly for yourself.”  You will not let me down in time of need.  You tell me not to “give way to fear”.  Fear that grips and paralyzes.  Father, create in me a quiet confidence and trust in you, confidence that enables me to lie down and sleep in peace.

David is in tight spot – worse trouble than you or I will likely face in our lifetime.

Listen to Peterson’s paraphrase, “Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:  “Hah! No help for him from God!” (vv 1-2).

David’s own son is leading those enemies.  To make matters, worse, David knows the cause of his troubles – his own sin.

Yet, and this is even more amazing, David, at the close of that awful day of fleeing from Absalom,  is able to “lay down and sleep,” and wake refreshed in the morning (vv 5-6).  He credits that to God’s help,  “the Lord sustained me.  I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me.”

What would you have done?  I suspect I would have tossed and turned restlessly all night.

In Psalm 3 David models faith in a faithful God.  He had learned, through experience, that “deliverance comes from the LORD” (vs 8).  One writer put it like this,

This Psalm teaches a simple lesson:  God is both the One who lifts heads and breaks teeth. A powerful, sustaining, defending God like this can remove all fear (Reinke).

The hero here is not David.  He’s the one who got himself into this mess.  The hero is God – the one David turned to in trouble.  Look at David’s own testimony “But you, (an emphatic construction)  O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (vs 3).

Because David, knew from experience, that God delivers (saves) those who trust him, he turned to God when in desperate need.  He “cried aloud”  and God answered him (vs 4).

Think again about the lesson of Psalm 3,  God is both the One who lifts heads and breaks teeth. A powerful, sustaining, defending God like this can remove all fear.   Deliverance is from the Lord.

Psalm 1 introduces the Psalter by stressing that the “blessed” person (Psalm 1:1) is the one who delights in God’s way and soaks himself or herself in God’s Word.

Psalm 2 continues that introduction, stressing that the “blessed”  person is the one who fears God and trusts in him (Psalm 2:11-12).

It gets off to a rocky start, beginning as it does “with the turmoil of the nations.”

The ending is peaceful – “the blessing of those who trust in the Lord.”   Psalm 2 points us to God’s mission – salvation for the nations - and how it is carried out.  God’s mission centers on his Son.  No surprise then, that Psalm 2 is one of the most quoted Psalms in the New Testament, where Jesus is revealed as that Son.

When the people of God sing Psalm 2, they remind themselves of how God made David and his descendants to be kings in order to enable them to fulfill the very purpose for which Abraham was called (i.e. to bring blessing to all nations) (ESV Study Bible.)

The Psalm begins with questions:  Why do the nations rage against the Lord and his anointed?   In light of the New Testament, Why is Jesus, the anointed one, so hated?

The response given should encourage us who follow Jesus.  God’s mission, salvation to the nations – will succeed. God looks down at efforts to oppose his mission and simply laughs.  Those feeble efforts to stop what he is doing will amount to nothing.  He is secure in his majesty.

The deed is already done.  God has made his decree – his Son will rule the nations.  Nothing can change that.  The only wise response is to bow, to serve, to submit.  Kiss the Son in submission.  Take refuge in him alone.  This is the only way to blessing.

Could it be that when we get into a fret and stew about evangelism and spiritual warfare that we don’t have enough of a Psalm 2 perspective.  God knows what he is doing.  He sits on the throne.  His mission will prevail.  Yes, it’s no accident this Psalm was a favorite of the first followers of Jesus.

The Way of the wicked is described in vvs 1-2.  Carson makes the interesting observation that the wicked man is “grinding to a halt” (walk/stand/sit),

He begins by walking in the counsel of the wicked: he picks up the advice, perspectives, values, and worldview of the ungodly.

If he does this long enough, he sinks to the next level… “to stand in someone’s way” in Hebrew means something like “to stand in his moccasins”: to do what he does, to adopt his lifestyle, his habits, his patterns of conduct.

If he pursues this course long enough, he is likely to descend to the abyss and “sit in the seat of mockers.” He not only participates in much that is godless, but sneers at those who don’t (For the Love of God, Vol. 1).

One might expect the Way of the righteous to be just the opposite, something like this:  “Blessed is the man who walks in the counsel of the godly, who stands…, who sits…”  But no, the focus is on life on God’s Word (tôrâ).

Quite a challenge, isn’t it?  Delighting in God’s Word, meditating on it day and night, putting its instruction into practice in our lives.  This is the starting point for serving God – the first task of God’s king in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 17:18-20), and our first task in serving God.

This Psalm has been called the “Gateway into the Psalms.”   Two ways lie before a person – the Way of the righteous (vv 1-3) and the Way of the wicked (vv 4-5).

This metaphor, which runs throughout Scripture, frames the Psalm (vs 1 “the way of sinners”;  vs 6 “the way of the righteous / the way of the wicked”).  I’m struck by how these two ways of living are characterized:
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Fruitfulness during one’s lifetime
A person on the Way of the righteous is “blessed” or fortunate because that person is 1) stable” in times of trouble, 2) fruitful in season and 3) successful (”prospers”) in efforts aimed at helping others.  In contrast, a person on the Way of the wicked is unstable, especially in difficult times.  The Psalms, using vivid  language, compares such a person to “chaff blown by the wind.”  Chaff, unlike fruit, brings no benefit to anyone.
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One’s standing at the final judgment
The Way of the righteous ends differently from the Way of the wicked.  In the final judgment, those on the Way of the righteous will enter the “congregation of the righteous” and enjoy the approval of the living God (implicit in the term “watches over”) while those on the Way of the wicked will be judged, excluded from the “congregation of the righteous” and “perish.”

Life certainly looks different when looked at from this perspective, doesn’t it.