Blessed: The Rooted and Fruited Life of Psalm 1
How to live the good life
The Redwoods stood at attention like an army of giants all around us. We walked along their shadowy paths and craned our necks to see where their branches reached the clouds, often to no avail. There was an otherworldliness to being there like we had stepped into a Narnian realm where everything was lush, green, and tranquil. We marveled at the gentle giants and imagined them as saplings centuries ago. As their branches reach heavenward, their roots anchor them deep and wide into the ground. There’s something about the majesty of the Redwoods that prompts introspection about life’s paths. It reminded me of the imagery found in Psalm 1.
Psalm 1 is a signpost
Psalm 1 is a preamble to the entire Psalter, and it contrasts the two paths of life. The placement of it at the front serves as an introduction to the whole book. It’s as if David is laying down some ground rules, prompting us at the outset to consider our own life’s path.
You can think of Psalm 1 as a signpost at a fork in the road. Down one path is a kind of holy happiness rooted in a relationship with your Maker, similar to a Redwood whose roots allow it to grow to astounding heights. The other path leads to a life that is fleeting, worthless and blows away in the wind. Its end is judgment and damnation. The paths couldn’t be more opposite, and the choice couldn’t be clearer. The signpost points in two directions. Which path will you choose?
Psalm 1 reads
…
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish
.