In thinking about this first Psalm, and how it relates to all the Psalms that follow it, we must be mindful of two things.
The first is the joy of the man who delights in the Lord. It's that joy which wells up from the deepest heart-space, filled with the presence of Christ.
The other thing is the disposition of the wicked, the sinners and the mockers.
Good character is rewarded. As readers we feel a deeper sense of empathy for the upright man, the blessed man, rather than for the wicked.
When I read this Psalm I feel uncomfortable, as I would if I passed these people on the street and heard their jibes and felt the sting of their criticism.
But why do I need to feel anything other than the delight the Lord has promised? These sinners offer nothing of any value. After all they are likened to chaff that is to be winnowed away from the grain.
We have to put aside first impressions, for we are told first up what the good man isn't. What does that mean?
If I am honest I have to say that left to its own devices, my heart is weak and I too am capable of being corrupted, of doing the wrong thing. How easy is it to give in to the whiles of political correctness, for example, to allow as it were, the grain to remain with the chaff, to walk stand sit with the wicked, as in verse 1? It really is harder to stand against, than to capitulate, to agree with and buy into. It takes courage and strength to say no to the juggernaut that is popular opinion.
And yet, almost every page the Bible shows me what it means to give myself over to the whiles of the wicked!
The Apostle Paul talks about our conflicting natures in Romans 7. Our flesh gives way to the "law of sin." (v 23). To allow sin to take hold of my inner most person is not an attractive thought: To think in any way on how much the Lord hates the sin quite frankly makes me uncomfortable, because it is so easy to give in to the demands of the flesh, just as Paul describes.
How deep is Paul's sense of wretchedness in Romans 7:24? And what is his answer? Who is the only one who can set him, and indeed any of us, free from "the body of his death?"
"Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Take a moment to read the last verse of Romans 7. "So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."
Is it any wonder that the Psalmist brings us to compare the tree and the chaff, the good man and the mockers, the sinner and the righteous?
How important is our realisation of God's position on sin that the last thing we should ever do is make light of it?
O Lord, please awake in me that need to walk ever deeper in your ways, along your paths, lit by you, guided by you, so that I do not stumble, so that I can sing with joy, rather than weep with sorrow.
Amen.