Psalms 1 has always been a favorite of mine and I often return to it in my meditations. I love verse 3, that speaks of the reward of the righteous. "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." I love the imagery of that verse. It speaks of security and safety. But, in order to experience verse 3, we must take to heart verse 2, " But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
Law? Is that the law that has been done away with, the one Jesus nailed to the cross? If so, then verse 3 cannot apply to us. Oh, but it does. The English word "law" is from the Hebrew "torah", which means instructions. The biblical term torah simply means the instructions of our heavenly Father. Picture, if you will, a sheepfold. While in the sheepfold, under the protection of the shepherd, you are safe from harm. When you venture out on your own, you are in danger of that which lurks without and the enemy who comes only to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus tells us in John 10 that he is both the door to the sheepfold, as well as the good shepherd that protects the sheep. Verse 7 "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.", and in verse 11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Verses 27-28 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." How do we follow him? We keep the torah! Isn't that trying to be saved by works? No! We are not given access to the protection of the sheepfold because we have kept torah, but keep torah because the good shepherd has brought us into his sheepfold by grace through faith, and then teaches us his instructions for righteous living, whereby we remain in his care. Now we can read again verse 3 and see the blessings that are the reward of those whose delight is in the torah.
The role of earthly parents should be patterned after our heavenly Father. They are to train up their children according to rules and guidelines that are given to keep their children safe and happy. It has been proven that children who are raised with parental boundaries feel loved and secure. They may test those boundaries, but often it is in hopes that their parents will prove to be consistent in their upbringing. Those of us who are parents know the pain and sorrow brought on by disobedient children and the fruit of their willful defiance of the teachings that would bring them innumerable blessings. It breaks our heart. Our heavenly Father feels that pain all too often as he sees his children turning from the ways of eternal life to that which leads to death. His instructions for righteous living are never meant to be seen as bondage, but as a loving father's desire to bless us with abundant life.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Do we see this, even in Christian households today? No, for all our advancements and technology, we see families growing farther apart. We are in bondage to TV, the internet, IPhones, Facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. Families rarely sit down together for a meal or engage in any meaningful conversation. Our children have lost the art of communication and socialization. Their method of "conversation" is through a cell phone attached to their hands every waking hour. Sadly, their parents are doing the same thing. This is not the abundant life our Father intended for us.
Many today grow nostalgic when thinking of the "good old days." Well, if you ask your grandparents or great-grandparents, those days were not all good. What was good though was that they lived in simpler times. They didn't have the distractions we live with today. They knew what it was to join hands at the dinner table in thanksgiving and enjoy the togetherness of family and friends, sharing and laughing with one another. After a hard day's work, they would often sit out on the porch, gazing up at the moon and stars, sharing stories with one another. Children would play outside under the watchful eyes of their elders long after the sun set, chasing fireflies, burning off excess energy, ensuring a restful night's sleep. Children respected their elders and found joy in sitting at their feet listening to tales of days gone by. Their education consisted of the bible and it's teachings, at church and at home. Today, bibles often sit on the bookshelf collecting dust, thought to be ancient tales of ancient times, no longer applicable to our day.
I will close with two passages, one from Jeremiah and the other from Revelation. Deuteronomy 19:15 tells us that at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. The passages I will share both witness to Psalms 1
Jeremiah 17:7-8 " Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Revelation 22:1-2, 14 "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
What a mystery! The bible reveals to us that, by our obedience to the creator, we will be as a tree of life and will one day be given access to THE TREE OF LIFE in the eternal city of our God.
