Page 60 - Living light - The Psalms

Friday August 9 - Judged rightly
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. Psalm 1:5
At the time of writing this, the news is full of the terrible miscarriage of justice that affected hundreds of sub-postmasters due to IT errors. Justice is a precious thing, and when it goes wrong we are rightly scandalised. At the time this psalm was written, justice would have been decided by assemblies of wise and righteous men (it would almost certainly have been men). In small communities those who had reputations for integrity and trustworthiness would have been well known, as would those who were shifty and known to lie.
The psalmist shows us that the practical result of sin and wickedness is that the perpetrator is shown up in court and ultimately excluded from the community’s life and worship. It is here that who is wheat, and who is chaff, is determined.
As Christians we can also read this verse as pointing us to the judgement at the end of time, the judgement that Jesus speaks of (Matthew 13:24-30). The wicked and faithless will not stand with God’s people and enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But, we might ask, are any of us worthy of entering the assembly of the righteous? Worthy, no – but because of Jesus’ death on the cross we are made righteous, and in faith we can come before him with confidence.
Everlasting Father, thank you that because of Jesus we can stand before you forgiven, and so enter into your eternal life. Amen.
Saturday August 10 - Loved and watched over
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1:6
Last year I took two of my children on a walk in the nearby Peak District. Unfortunately due to a misplaced footpath sign (nothing to do with my map reading!) we got lost and ended up in marshy ground. I fell into a stream and my son sprained his ankle. We limped back to the car soggy and dismayed!
The message of Psalm 1 is sometimes called ‘the Two Ways’. You can go on the right path to salvation, or the wrong path to destruction; it takes wisdom to tell one from the other. Signposts alone may be misleading.
The final verse sums up the message of the psalm and points us forward to other themes. Perhaps we can spot the image of the Good Shepherd watching over us and caring for us, as we see in the famous Psalm 23? Or maybe we can also see in Psalm 121 the loving watchfulness of the Lord, who will not let our foot slip?
But how can we know that we are on the right path? The Lord gives us two signposts that cannot be wrong. He gives us the Bible that we should delight in and meditate upon, and he places within us his Holy Spirit, who enables us to understand and obey his commands. Together his Word and Spirit are the map and compass that we need to navigate tricky terrain.
Precious Lord, may I find the paths that you have laid before me and have the wisdom to follow them. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY