Blessing

             Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-- whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. (Psalm 1) 

Over the past four days, I’ve driven far enough that I listened to Genesis 1 through the end of the Psalms. As I listened to the psalms, I decided that going through them might be a good way to practice faith. I find it easy to find fault and to worry, but not so much to take up the shield of faith. If the next six months are about blessing, where better to start than with the first of the songs in the book of Psalms?

So, the person who doesn’t travel or hang out with the wicked, sinners, or mockers is blessed. The one who enjoys thinking about God’s law is blessed. Such a person is like a tree that is planted in a place with readily available water. God’s law is like the streams of water.  When you’re hot (angry) its water cools you down. When you’re dry, it refreshes you. It carries nutrients for your soul. It loosens the soil so your roots can dig deeper and that allows leaves, flowers, and fruit to develop.

The comparison with the wicked reveals one more thing about the tree. It’s not a quick-growing plant. The wicked are like chaff. Chaff is the stuff that separates grass seeds, including corn and grain, from each other. They are quick-growing plants that only last one summer. It has no nutritional value. Generally speaking, farmers throw it out or burn it. It may seem to be a better plant because it grows and produces seeds quickly, but it doesn’t last long, while a tree generally lasts for decades.

More importantly, than those things is the little verb involved. It says “blessed is” not “blessed will be.” There seem to be two sides to this. The first is that the person who doesn’t travel or hang around with wicked people is less likely to get into trouble. It’s not that if you do X, you’re going to receive some mysterious, supernatural reward, the reward is a function of the activity (or lack of activity.) There is more room for happiness in a life that isn’t crowded with bad company that corrupts good character. The other side is that our not traveling and hanging is itself the blessing.

So, not traveling or hanging around with is both the cause of the blessing and the result of the blessing. We’re blessed coming and going. We might not feel happy (which is what we tend to see as the meaning of “blessed,” but it’s like being privileged, one doesn’t always feel it or notice it unless it’s taken away.