Summer Psalm Challenge - Psalm 1

Good morning friends! We are on day one of our "Summer Psalm Challenge". What is this challenge you might ask? Wanting to stay connected to God's word daily this summer I have decided to read one Psalm per day and I am inviting you into this experience with me. We are going to spend all summer in the book of Psalms reading one Psalm per day. I will post thoughts/reflections in reading many of these Psalms and will also open up this space for guest posts as well. I will most likely not post every day and the posts may look/feel different every time. With all that being said, let's enjoy God's word together and jump into the book of Psalms!

A little bit of background as we begin Psalms:

The book of Psalms is filled with songs and prayers offered to God by the nation of Israel. Their expressions of praise, faith, sorrow, and frustration cover the range of human emotions. Some of the Psalms dwell on the treasure of wisdom and God's Word. Others reveal the troubled heart of a mourner. Still others explode with praise to God and invite others to join in song. This diversity is unified by one element: they are centered upon the one and only living God. (And I hope and pray that we will experience this living God as we dig deeper into God's word this summer!) This Creator God is King of all the earth and a refuge to all who trust in him. Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David. The writing and collection of the Psalms into their present form spans the fifteenth to the third centuries B.C.

                                                                                             - Crossway Bible's Introduction for Psalms

Read Psalm 1 noting any words/themes that stick out to you.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1 is titled, "The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked". It's very interesting that this is the first Psalm in the book of Psalms. I was actually studying this Psalm at Greek IV's Chapter Camp last week and the person leading us through the passage pointed out the structure of this poem and I found it to be very interesting. It goes as follows:

A - Righteous man stands not with the wicked.

      B - Blessed man chooses God's law

         C - Green tree illustrates righteous man

         C - Brown chaff illustrates wicked man

A - The wicked man stands not with the righteous.

      B - God watches over the righteous

You'll notice that there are several contrasts in the Psalm. Types of people, trees & chaff, etc. What do you think the psalmist is trying to communicate?

Why do you think this is Psalm 1? What could be the significance of this being the first poem in this book? 

You can spend time reflecting over these questions, but I was thinking a few things. It is not good enough to just spend time in God's word. We must be delighting in it! Reading this Psalm was convicting to me because I most certainly do not delight in God's laws or meditate on them. I spend so much of my time looking at my phone, on social media, snapchat, instagram, etc and hardly give any of my day to reading scripture....apart from work of course. ;-) However, I was encouraged thinking about the hope of being rooted in God and filled up by his living waters. It was fitting that I am starting this daily Psalm challenge and this is an encouragement to spend more time in Scripture...I see you Jesus! After thinking about all of that I thought....How can I become like a tree planted by streams of living water? What would my life look like? You may have had some of my same thoughts or you may have noticed different things or had different convictions based on your observations. Spend time writing down your thoughts & praying to God about what the Spirit has revealed as you have studied this passage.

I then spent time praying and wrote down this prayer:

Jesus, would you allow my path to be that of your righteous child and servant. Build me up to be a tree rooted in you. Rooted in your truth. Rooted in your grace. Rooted in your love. Rooted in the power of your death and resurrection. Feed me, Jesus. Allow me & help me to delight in your word and your law to be able to grow & flourish. That as you "water" me with your word, my cup would overflow & all of my life would be an outpouring of the love that you have first shown me. As I continue to grow and become more deeply rooted in you, would you bear fruit in my life. Pluck out the bad fruit, Jesus. Protect my tree from all of the bad things that threaten to kill or tear it down and allow healthy fruit to come forth. I am only made righteous through your son, Jesus, so Lord, continue to teach me what it means to walk along the path of righteousness. Humbly correct me and draw me closer to you when righteousness does not come easy. 

Root me in you, Jesus, through faith. 

I hope this passage has allowed you to draw closer to God and I look forward to seeing how God will meet us through this Summer Psalm Challenge! :)

In Christ,

Katie