The Bible Bloke

Before we move on to the next Psalm which will expand our vision to more distant horizons, it seems fitting to come back to the very first verse of the first Psalm and ask the question who is this "blessed man."1 First impressions would tell us that he is a symbol of universality, a representation of the generic believer, whatever that might be. Relying on first impressions the idea of, the meaning of the word “blessed.” This is the ‘man’s’ clear state of being. Is this the same man that David is referring to in Psalm 32 verse 1? Here the man’s transgression is forgiven, whose “sin is covered.” Surely this can happen only through Christ? This is where I get caught on thorns for I have to read this in terms of my 21st century context. I have to ask: Don't the Psalms predate Jesus? So my question is how can I hope to find Christ here? To find an answer to this point of tension we need to think about the nature of Scripture: God breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit, ...

So what does Psalm 1 tell us about God?  The water that flows by the tree today is not the same water that flowed past it yesterday although it has the same source.  The chaff that was winnowed out yesterday is not the same as the chaff that needs winnowing today!  The blessed man did not follow the path of the wicked yesterday, but the temptation for him to do so is there today!  The mockers haven't moved on. Their voices are still in his head. They are still beckoning to him.  Think about the Lord's Prayer. It's not something that should be prayed once and that's it, we have lifetime blanket covering!  Not so.  It is something we need to pray each and every day. Deliver us from evil. Protect us O Lord from the evil one and his schemes. Satan want's nothing more that to trap us and trip us up, to bring us into the company of the wicked so that we turn away from God.  Like the tree, goodness is something that grows, each day, fed...

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 doe...

"The wicked are not so but they are like the chaff which the wind blows away..." Psalm 1:4 Some trees drop their their old leaves in a soft carpet on the ground around them. Any quiet breeze will stir the leaves which shift and settle, as if rearranging themselves before sleep. It's a restful image, giving a sense of reassurance, just as the strong tree imagery in Psalm 1 verse 3 allows us to focus on the strength of the Lord. There is no hint as to what kind of tree the Psalmist is referring to, what is important is the strength and vitality of the image being given to us as readers.  The following verse explodes the serenity with a starkly contrasting image. The wicked of verse 1 are spoken of as chaff that, like a pile of dead leaves, is taken by the wind and blown away. The strong tree that is fed and watered by the Living Word of God, who is Jesus, produces fruit in season. The wicked, want nothing to do with the living, sustaining God. They are spoken of ...

O, that I should Praise the Lord my every waking moment, seeing Him in all things that I know, all things that have been given to me, all things that I can hold, and taste and see and smell. Lift up my voice to praise the Lord my God. The word that comes forward in Psalm 1 is “delight.” The Psalmist is clear, the Word of God is something that we find delight in, when we spend time reading it. When we seek to bring His word into our hearts and our minds. Then we are like the tree with firm roots, sunk deep into the soil, and nourished by the flowing waters. If we have any doubt as to what we should do, then look to God’s Word. Look to Christ who gives us direction. But here is the thing. What is required is “trust.” It is one of the themes that weaves through the Psalms. Trusting the Lord to be Who He is, so that we can rest in His promises. This is something that Abraham did. He stood firm knowing that God would come through. Many times he doubted how it was going t...

If I take a moment and sit quietly and think about a stream, one of the images that usually bubbles to the surface of my memory from when I was very young is of a willow tree, its weeping branches hanging in a lacy green veil, filtering the light. There was one such tree I remember sitting under at the height of day, its speckled green tempering the sparkle of the stream that flowed past it. As a boy I’m not sure I was thankful for it, as much as I am thankful as a man for the memory of it. I discovered that willows do not produce fruit, an oak tree might have been a better example. However, my image was of a tree with strong roots, by a stream of water. When a tree grows by a stream, it puts down roots deep into the earth, for the soil is just right. Not only does the tree get nourishment from the water that flows past it, the roots it puts down hold the bank together, and prevents serious erosion of the soil. In Psalm 1:3 we are given a picture of just such a tree, bu...

There’s an old poem by Robert Burns that was a favourite of mine when I was boy. The poem starts with the lines : Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,  O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!  Thou need na start awa sae hasty,  The mouse, startled by the farmer, sets itself up into a panic and does what mice do and quickly tries to exit. But the farmer has no plans nor indeed heart to hurt the mouse. After all, the farmer has ploughed up the mouse’s home and left it nowhere to live and with winter coming on! And in that moment of contemplating the mouse, the farmer reflects on his own life, and how things aren’t quite the way he wants them. Indeed, Burns gives us the famous line: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men            Gang aft agley,  An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,            For promis’d joy!  The mouse, as mice ...