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While the first three verses of Psalm 1 provide us with a description of God's blessing, the last three verses offer an alternative vision that is distressing. 4 Not so the wicked!They are like chaffthat the wind blows away.5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.6 …
Continue reading "When Blessing Atrophies [Psalm 1, part 5]"
Now look with me at Psalm 1, verse 3, we encounter the results of growth toward the full blessing of God. When our choose to walk into the way of God’s blessing, when we take steps with our environment for growth – our relationships and choices, and when we take in the essential food for …
Continue reading "The Full Blessing of God [Psalm 1, part 4]"
When Kelly and I were newly married we had a knack for killing the house plants we had in our apartment. One day, we saw one of our neighbors, an elderly woman named Elsie, digging a plant we had killed out of the dumpster. We watched as she took it back in her apartment, left …
Continue reading "The Key Nutrient of Blessing [Psalm 1, part 3]"
Let’s read the first verse of Psalm 1 again: Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wickedor stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. There is an environment in which blessing takes root and the psalmist draws our attention to it with these three parallel phrases. Now, Hebrew …
Continue reading "The Environment of Blessing [Psalm 1, part 2]"
The book of Psalms in the Old Testament is a collection of prayers and songs that show us what it looks like to live a life with God. The psalms were used in the worship of the people of Israel, both in the Temple and later in the synagogues. The Christian church continues to utilize …
Matthew Erickson 