He is like a tree planted by streams of water.
- Psalm 1:3
The apostle Paul knew the benefits of good company, as well as the dangers of bad. He witnessed both firsthand in Corinth. The Corinthian believers’ faith was being harmed from spending extensive time with people who denied the resurrection. Quoting the Greek poet Menander, he exhorted the Corinthians to be careful of their associations. “Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” (1 Cor. 15:33).
On the other hand, Psalm 1 paints a vivid picture of the kind of company a righteous person chooses and the good results that follow. This contrast between righteous and wicked company recalls the choice between the two trees we looked at earlier. In fact, we can read this psalm as a picture of someone who chooses the Tree of Life instead of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is the first of five images we will examine that symbolize the righteous person.
The psalm begins by describing the company that the righteous person, the person called “blessed,” does not choose. The verbs the psalmist uses show the progression of those who start down the “way of sinners”: first they “walk,” then “stand,” then “sit” (v. 1). What begins as a casual visit ends as a permanent residence.
But how then does the righteous person spend his time? In delight and meditation on “the law of the Lord” (v. 2). He feeds on God’s counsel. Together with the psalmist, this person exclaims, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Ps. 119:97). God’s Word is his good company, night and day. He takes it in to his inmost being by frequent contemplation.
The apostle Paul knew the benefits of good company, as well as the dangers of bad. He witnessed both firsthand in Corinth. The Corinthian believers’ faith was being harmed from spending extensive time with people who denied the resurrection. Quoting the Greek poet Menander, he exhorted the Corinthians to be careful of their associations. “Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” (1 Cor. 15:33).
On the other hand, Psalm 1 paints a vivid picture of the kind of company a righteous person chooses and the good results that follow. This contrast between righteous and wicked company recalls the choice between the two trees we looked at earlier. In fact, we can read this psalm as a picture of someone who chooses the Tree of Life instead of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is the first of five images we will examine that symbolize the righteous person.
The psalm begins by describing the company that the righteous person, the person called “blessed,” does not choose. The verbs the psalmist uses show the progression of those who start down the “way of sinners”: first they “walk,” then “stand,” then “sit” (v. 1). What begins as a casual visit ends as a permanent residence.
But how then does the righteous person spend his time? In delight and meditation on “the law of the Lord” (v. 2). He feeds on God’s counsel. Together with the psalmist, this person exclaims, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Ps. 119:97). God’s Word is his good company, night and day. He takes it in to his inmost being by frequent contemplation.
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