Reading: Psalm 1-2
The first two psalms effectively describe two ways of living. The first is about a man who is pursuing a source of wisdom which is outside of man. He is pursuing wisdom from God. In doing so he finds himself sinking his roots into life itself. We read of this man:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
He is like a tree planted by the streams of water. He has such life flowing through him that he yields fruit in season, his leaf never withers, and whatever he does prosper. For him, this Wisdom has become the tree of life, making his life a living tree!
The second psalm is about those who believe the source wisdom is really in themselves. They are listening to their desires and likes. And therefore God, whose Wisdom is contrary to their own, has become one whose words are like chains and fetters (a shackle on the ankles attached to the chain). So rather than delighting in the law of God we read this:
"Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." (Psalm 2:3)
For this man, rather than sinking his roots deep into the streams of water, they are warned that they must turn or be destroyed in their way (2:10-12).
Two dispositions and two different outcomes. If one were to examine your life, which disposition would it reveal? Would it reveal a pursuit of Wisdom outside yourself and outside human achievement? Or would it reveal a casting off of God's Wisdom, a trust in yourself and your own wisdom?
Of course, in Christ, the Wisdom of God took on flesh and dwelt among us. And the Wisdom of God, Jesus Christ, is the One who transforms our disposition into love for God. On the cross, the Wisdom of God became the tree of life, whereby we can sink our roots deeply into the life of God.
Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, Advance the Gospel,
Jerry
