Reflection on Psalm 1:
1. What does this psalm show me about God’s character?
I think verse 6 truly sums up God's character that is revealed in this Psalm. It says, " For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."
God delights in righteousness.
In verses 2-4 it also talks about His faithfulness that comes out of that righteousness. Verse 3, "He is like the tree planted by steams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
Whereas the wicked will be like chaff, that will be blown away.
He is faithful. He will bless the righteous but punish the wicked.
2. How does this aspect of God’s character affect me in my life?
I think, based on the above, knowing that God delights in righteousness, I need to choose to be on the path of righteousness. Knowing that through this, I will grow (yielding fruit & prosperity) & I will delight Him.
This links back to another verse in Psalm 37. Verse 4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Of course, this choice should not be one that is selfish and self centered. Where we are seeking for prosperity.
Rather, it should come from a heart where we we want to delight in the Lord because we love Him and long to please Him because He is worthy!
(i could go on and on about why he's worthy and thats where the attributes will all come out and it'll boil down to love and it'll go on and on and on!)
I believe and trust that you get what I mean :)
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Friday, 27 June 2008
Reflections on Psalm 1
In the mere 6 verses of this Psalm, verse 2 is the line which is most revealing about God's character - "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." It brought up a few questions - What is law? Why does God value someone who delights / abides by His laws? - and in finding answers to them, some light was shed on a few aspects of God's character.
Firstly, to understand what is law, we must start from justice. The best definition of justice I found which links with law is this - "Justice is love built into structures". Thus, law is the structure by which love prevails.
What does this then, coupled with the contents of the Psalm, tell us about God's character?
1) God is loving. For instance, look at the ten commandments as an example of His laws. If we put ourselves in the shoes of those who have been sinned against as such, we can see that they are designed out of love for both ourselves and others.
2) He is just, as revealed by the psalm's example, that He blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.
3) Surprise surprise... God values order (and by that I mean, "a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical or harmonious arrangement"). Why? Because He creates things with purpose. Since He created us out of love, He gave us His laws so that we may act according to His purpose, ie. to choose to love and to make the choice freely, not merely loving because He designed (or programmed, for a better contrast) us to love.
How do these aspects of God’s character affect me in my life?
On the one hand, knowing that God is loving and that we are created to love and be loved, has given me a lot more security and/or confidence since I first came to Christ. It's also helped a lot in the way I relate to other people, and is in a way much less of a struggle than before, however it's still not over.
Personally, after having reflected on this psalm, I find that it is harder to ignore the consequences of not choosing the (most?) loving option in anything I do, or regarding anyone I deal with. (If this seems off-tangent to the above conclusions on God's character and how all the law stuff ties in, let's just say that I'm thinking about the simplified version of God's laws - "Love the Lord your God etc" and "Love your neighbour as yourself".) It's so easy to choose not to love or be loving if it will cost me more than what I am willing to give. And I have been selfish, too many times to count, without giving any thought to the consequences. It is indeed a sobering thought when you know that God is will judge everything we have done. Like Bao Qing Tian.
In view of that blessing God grants to those who love Him and abide by His laws accordingly (as described in verse 3), perhaps every time I have to think about what would the most loving thing to do, I should seriously consider whether or not I would like to receive such blessing.
Firstly, to understand what is law, we must start from justice. The best definition of justice I found which links with law is this - "Justice is love built into structures". Thus, law is the structure by which love prevails.
What does this then, coupled with the contents of the Psalm, tell us about God's character?
1) God is loving. For instance, look at the ten commandments as an example of His laws. If we put ourselves in the shoes of those who have been sinned against as such, we can see that they are designed out of love for both ourselves and others.
2) He is just, as revealed by the psalm's example, that He blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.
3) Surprise surprise... God values order (and by that I mean, "a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical or harmonious arrangement"). Why? Because He creates things with purpose. Since He created us out of love, He gave us His laws so that we may act according to His purpose, ie. to choose to love and to make the choice freely, not merely loving because He designed (or programmed, for a better contrast) us to love.
How do these aspects of God’s character affect me in my life?
On the one hand, knowing that God is loving and that we are created to love and be loved, has given me a lot more security and/or confidence since I first came to Christ. It's also helped a lot in the way I relate to other people, and is in a way much less of a struggle than before, however it's still not over.
Personally, after having reflected on this psalm, I find that it is harder to ignore the consequences of not choosing the (most?) loving option in anything I do, or regarding anyone I deal with. (If this seems off-tangent to the above conclusions on God's character and how all the law stuff ties in, let's just say that I'm thinking about the simplified version of God's laws - "Love the Lord your God etc" and "Love your neighbour as yourself".) It's so easy to choose not to love or be loving if it will cost me more than what I am willing to give. And I have been selfish, too many times to count, without giving any thought to the consequences. It is indeed a sobering thought when you know that God is will judge everything we have done. Like Bao Qing Tian.
In view of that blessing God grants to those who love Him and abide by His laws accordingly (as described in verse 3), perhaps every time I have to think about what would the most loving thing to do, I should seriously consider whether or not I would like to receive such blessing.
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