The Heart's Cry: Psalm 1

2 short things before we begin

1] I will be transcribing the Psalm as it is found in The Abbey Psalter, which are from the Ladies of the Grail [google Grail Psalms for more info] except I will be leaving out all punctuation marks as they are not found in the original Hebrew, read the Psalm as you prefer

2] The actual content following the Psalms will be in the 250 or so word limit so as not to take up too much of your time and then there will be a series of questions to spur further thought

And now...

Psalm 1

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked
Nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners
But whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night

He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters
That yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade
And all that he does shall prosper
Not so are the wicked, not so

For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind
When the wicked are judged they shall not stand
nor find room among those who are just
For the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom

I read this Psalm and see a direct distinction between those who 'delight in the law of the Lord' and those that do not, but I am a Christian pastor living in the year 2016 so it should not come as a huge surprise that I look at the Psalms through a post-Jesus lens. What that means is that I do not think of First Testament law when reading, but rather think of the greatest commandment. Jesus, in Matthew 22, says that the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we have and that the second is like it, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The person who can follow that law is 'like a tree' standing tall with deep roots that is always nourished and always nourishes. We bloom because of who is inside us and how that impacts every aspect of our being, our words, our actions, our feelings, our silence & our violence.

On the other hand the one who does not love God and neighbor drifts in the wind. They are not rooted down by belief nor rooted down by love. They are neither nourished nor do they nourish. And their being, words, actions, feelings, silence, and violence are sporadic, moral one moment and selfish the next.

The true Christian is one who lays their lives down day by day for God and neighbor and the true sinners are those who hold onto their lives so tight at the expense of anyone and everything.

+ How do you read the Psalms? As historical writings or as words that can travel through time and speak to you in your current situation? If you read them through a different lens feel free to comment below

+ In what ways has loving God and neighbor rooted you in trying times? or How do you think loving God and neighbor may also help you?