🎤 Psalm 1 Song - The Two Ways - Scripture Song

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Painting: John Constable, “Wivenhoe Park, Essex,” 1816, oil on canvas.
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I love words. It's a thing that interests me, for some odd reason. I enjoy discovering the history of a given word, and tracing it's change over time. I'm especially interested in words that experience a flip in meaning, becoming their opposite definition!

What about the word, "righteous?" In the sixteenth century, English speakers said rightwise, combining the words right and wise.

I suspect that the phrase "self-righteous," has caused those outside of the church, to think differently about this word. A non-believer might think of so-called righteous individuals as self-centered, or even arrogant. Maybe there is an assumption that such people are deceitful: hiding their own sins; too proud to admit it; judging of those they meet; and even controlling of their friends and family.

However, Psalm 1 may help us to see righteousness differently. It contrasts two different types of people: one who lives rightly, against one who does not.

Rather than following in the footsteps of sinners and scoffers, who delight in their own pleasure, or triumph in their own wisdom, we are told that the righteous person takes delight in the law of the LORD.

We would do well at this moment, to think about definitions. What does it mean to delight? What do we mean by the law of the LORD?

Delight is a sign of pleasure, so let's consider what makes a person happy or excited. This is an insight into the heart. If personal pleasure is our goal, then unfortunately, this is an indication that we are selfish, self-centered individuals. If being with our family or friends delights us, this can be better, but still falls short. Rather, we are told we are right when we delight in this "law of the LORD."

This law isn't just the things one may or may not do. In this phrase, we are meant to understand the law, as the things which God has devised to make us happy. The law of the LORD is the manual for right living.

So a blessed man – in other words, a happy person, ponders and contemplates these good-life instructions. He or she does not just hear it and forget it; he thinks about it. Like a tree by the water, this rumination becomes like a nourishing wellspring of life within one's soul.

In contrast, the ungodly, who do not benefit from the way of right living, are on a path to destruction. We are told that in the end they shall perish.

Lord God, help us to meditate on your word day and night! May we truly become right-wise!

Amen.

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The Two Ways

1 Happy 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;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They 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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#scripturesongs #psalm1