I'm thankful to have, over the next several weeks, a break from the demands of school. A clearing of the head. And hopefully a cleansing of the heart. I've decided to refresh a bit on my Hebrew studies and am spending some time in the Psalms. Thought I would devote a few posts to writing out my rough translations and even rougher reflections.
Psalm 1:1-6 (a rough beginner's translation)
Happy is the man who does not live life according to the advice of the wicked ones, or does not stand in the way of sinners and in the seat of scorners, he does not sit. Because in the law of the LORD is his delight and in his law he will pour out his energy in the daytime and at night. And he will be like a tree which is transplanted next to a stream of waters in which its fruit will produce in its time and its leaf will not wither and all which he will do will be made to thrive. Not so with the wicked, for like the chaff, they will be scattered to the wind. So then they will not stand, the wicked in the judgment and the sinners in the gathering of the just because the LORD is the one who knows the way of the righteous and the way of the sinners will perish.
I am struck with the necessity of Christ in this passage. For without His perfection, we would all be walking, sitting and standing in the way of death and perishing. Christ's perfect demonstration of obedience to the Father, found in his loving and keeping of the law, day in and day out, becomes the stream by which we are all transplanted. His living water gives us life and allows us to bear fruit and not wither and find eternal prosperity. The pattern of living, the model for loving the Law of God, is found in the perfection of Christ and his obedience to His Father. The prayer, LORD, is that I would find my sustenance, my livelihood and my nourishment in the stream of Christ rather than in the empty signposts of foolish council, desert roads of sinful pursuits or temporary seats of cynical power. May I drink deeply of the grace found in Christ.
