F O O T H O L D
READING
24 LIFE'S ALTERNATIVES
PRAY Help me, Lord, to find
joy in obeying your law.
READ Psalm 1:16
THINK In two columns list
the characteristics of the unrighteous and
righteous people in this
Psalm.
FOCUS The Psalms are words
for worship the Old Testament hymnbook.
Psalmhymn No. 1 sets the
tone by asking the most important
question in life: where are
we going? It's no good singing the
right tune if we are living
the wrong way. There are only two
directions to choose from,
and they are total opposites in every
feature of the journey.
FINDING THE DIRECTION (v 1,2).
The truly happy people do not
accept the advice of evil
associates nor follow their example.
Rather they consult God's
law and follow it; scoffers dismiss it
and call it outofdate.
NOURISHMENT ALONG THE WAY (v
3). Jeremiah 17:7,8 paints a similar
picture to that in verse 3.
Even when the seasonal rains failed,
the tree beside the river
could send down its roots to a constant
supply of water. So its
leaves remained green and it bore fruit at
the appropriate time.
Fruitful people draw nourishment from God,
whatever their outward
circumstances. They are living and growing.
By contrast, evil people are
seen as dry worthless chaff that is
blown away in the wind.
WHEN CALAMITY COMES (v 46).
Notice what the righteous may expect
God to do for them (6a).
The righteous people end up
where their Lord has gone before; but
sinners will fail God's
final examination.
PRAY Ask God to make you a
fruitful tree. Meditate on verse 3.
