June 24, 2025
Why the Psalms Matter Today
The book of Psalms has been called the prayer book of the Bible—a collection of raw human experience meeting divine truth. For over three millennia, these ancient songs have given voice to our deepest joys, fears, questions, and worship. They bridge the gap between the mundane and the sacred, offering both comfort in suffering and language for praise.
The Psalms don't give us shallow platitudes or quick spiritual fixes. Instead, they model honest wrestling with life's complexities while maintaining an anchor in divine truth. They are mirrors that reflect back the full spectrum of human experience while pointing us toward transcendent hope.
Whether you're facing uncertainty, celebrating breakthrough, dealing with conflict, or navigating an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, there's likely a psalm that captures your experience and offers divine perspective.
The Gateway Psalm
We begin with Psalm 1, which serves as the gateway to the entire collection. This wisdom psalm lays out two paths, two ways of living, and two ultimate destinies. It asks the fundamental question that every other psalm assumes: What does it mean to live a blessed life?
Psalm 1 provides the foundation for everything that follows, establishing the worldview that makes sense of all the other psalms—the conviction that there are two ways to live, and one leads to flourishing while the other leads to emptiness.
Whether you're already familiar with the Psalms or approaching them for the first time, I invite you to read slowly. Let these ancient words do their work in you.
Psalm 1 (NIV)
1 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,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 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.4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Two Paths, Two Destinies
The Blessed Life (verses 1-3)
The psalm opens with ashre - "blessed" - meaning deep-seated joy and divine favor that comes from being rightly aligned with God.
The blessed person avoids a progression of spiritual compromise:
- Walk in ungodly counsel (casual influence)
- Stand with sinners (deliberate participation)
- Sit with mockers (settled belonging)
Instead, they delight in God's law and meditate on it constantly.
The Tree Metaphor
The blessed person is like a tree that is:
- Planted by streams of water (constantly nourished)
- Fruitful in season (naturally productive)
- Evergreen (whose leaf does not wither)
- Prosperous (whatever they do succeeds)
The Wicked (verses 4-6)
In stark contrast, the wicked are:
- Chaff (worthless, dead husks)
- Wind-blown (no stability or control)
- Unable to stand in judgment
- On a path that leads to destruction
The Secret of Fruitfulness
The contrast is striking: the tree is rooted, stable, naturally fruitful, and enduring, while the chaff is rootless, weightless, dead, and completely subject to external forces.
The tree doesn't strain to produce fruit - it's the natural result of being properly planted and nourished. Similarly, spiritual fruit flows naturally from a life continually fed by God's Word.
Your part isn't to produce fruit through willpower but to stay planted. Focus on positioning your life to be continually nourished by God's truth:
- Are you planted where you can thrive spiritually?
- Is your intake of God's Word consistent and deep?
- Are you part of a community that reinforces spiritual growth?
When you're properly planted and nourished, fruitfulness becomes natural rather than forced.
Practical Application
Guard Your Inputs
The "walk, stand, sit" progression shows how spiritual compromise typically unfolds - from listening to ungodly counsel, to participating in ungodly practices, to finding your identity among those hostile to God.
Ask yourself:
- What voices are shaping your thinking?
- Do your relationships reinforce or undermine spiritual growth?
- When facing choices, does this honor God and build up others?
Cultivate Delight
Moving from duty to delight in God's Word requires intentional cultivation:
- Schedule it - Treat time in God's Word as your most important appointment
- Pray first - Ask the Holy Spirit to be your teacher before reading
- Meditate deeply - Choose one verse to carry with you throughout the day
- Apply immediately - Ask "How does this change how I think, speak, or act today?"
The Foundation Question
Psalm 1 establishes the foundation for everything else in the Psalms: there are two ways to live, and one leads to flourishing while the other leads to emptiness.
The blessed life isn't about perfect circumstances but about being rightly rooted. It's about finding your source of life, stability, and fruitfulness in God's unchanging truth rather than in the shifting winds of circumstance.
The question Psalm 1 poses is simple but profound: Where are you planted?