Psalm 1: November 8—Choose wisely!

Oct 20, 2009
MARK RATHEL

Mark Rathel is professor of theology at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

The third Indiana Jones movie involves the hero in a search for the Holy Grail, the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. When an evil villain picked out an ornate cup, the Knight Templar responded with the immortal words, “You chose—poorly.” Life is about choices. Indeed, a key to life is choosing wisely rather than choosing poorly. In the midst of a lifetime of choices, the Bible affirms that life centers on one choice. In an ultimate sense, we choose wisely or choose poorly in terms of the choice to follow God or not. In the HCSB, “happy” and “ruin” describe the consequent polarities of one choice.

In the Hebrew Bible, the first Psalm of our English Bibles is not numbered. This Psalm functions as the introduction to the entire Psalter. Psalm 1 highlights the way of blessings, the Word, and judgment.

The opening Psalm emphasizes life as two people, two paths, and two destinies. How does a person choose wisely?

First, a wise choice involves choosing the way of God (Ps. 1:1-3). A wise choice involves turning away from the harmful, accentuating the positive, and experiencing the blessing of God. The decisive choice involves what an
individual brings into the mind. The human mind is the battlefield of a war with eternal consequences.

A wise choice involves turning away from the harmful. Surprisingly, the Psalmist identified certain types of people, or rather the thought patterns of certain people, as harmful. The wicked are the enemies of God and the adversaries of God’s people. A wise person refuses to walk or follow the advice of the enemy. The sinners are individuals who missed the target mark of God’s will. These individuals habitually stray from the standard of God. A wise person refuses to stand or share their way of life. The mockers with an attitude of self-sufficient pride make light of the ways of God. The wise person declines to identify with this form of humor.

A wise person accentuates the positive, namely, the revealed will of God found in the written Law of God. Rather than being a burden, a wise person delights in the Word. This delight leads the wise person to meditation continually (day and night).

The Hebrew term “meditate” means “to hum, utter, or moan.” In the ancient world, no one read silently. Readers quietly verbalized the words. On one hand, “to meditate” means “to utter” quietly as one read. On the other hand, “to meditate” means “to moan” or “to hum” with deep satisfaction.

A wise person experiences the blessings of God. The term translated “blessed” or “happy” described a state.

A. A. Anderson translated the term, “how rewarding is the life of…” The person choosing the path of God is a like a fruitful tree planted by God. God provides streams of water—all which is necessary for abundance. The individual choosing God prospers, maybe not in the sense of material matters, but in an the sense of ultimate prosperity.

Second, a poor choice involves choosing the wicked path (Ps. 1:4-5). Rather than experiencing life as a transplanted tree, the wicked are like chaff; both the individual and the destiny are empty. The chaff refers to the worthless leftovers after the process of winnowing. Unless the wicked individual changes his choice, the wicked individual experiences an empty life with no permanence.

The judgment is both on-going judgment and final judgment. Apart from a relationship with God through Christ, an unbeliever abides under the wrath of God (John 3:36). No one who rejects the path of God can stand or survive the future, final judgment of God. The final judgment involves separation of the sinners from the righteous community—the ultimate ruin.

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