Most of this blog will be Scripture itself, with some of my thoughts along the way and at the end. Here we see that Psalm 1 is often viewed through the “confessions” or complaints of Jeremiah.

Psalm 1: Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. (NIV)

This seems pretty straightforward. It seems to say that if you follow these moral prescription, all will go well. However, life is rarely straightforward. Few people knew that better than the prophet, Jeremiah. He was chosen before his birth to be the LORD’s voice to his own people announcing the judgment of God. It would be a judgment leading to exile to and captivity in Babylon. This was hardly a popular message, and trouble was the constant companion of the messenger. Jeremiah appears to be familiar with the message of Psalm 1, but struggled with how he experienced its seeming assurance.

As did his contemporary, Habakkuk, and the writer of Psalm 73, Jeremiah didn’t find that the righteous were prospering and the wicked failing. In fact, it seemed quite the other way around.

Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O Lord,
    when I complain to you;
    yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
    they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
    and far from their heart. (NIV)

Rather than the righteous being planted, it was the wicked! Further, Jeremiah followed Psalm 1 and did not join the wicked, but instead of the peaceful prospering of which the Psalm spoke, here was his experience:

Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words became to me a joy
    and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
    O Lord, God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the company of revelers,
    nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
    for you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unceasing,
    my wound incurable,
    refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
    like waters that fail? (NIV)

Rather than an ever-flowing stream of water, was God a dry wadi to Jeremiah. God found this complaint over the line, but it was, in his dark hours, just how Jeremiah felt.

And yet, listen to Jeremiah two chapters later. The allusions to Psalm 1 are unmistakable.

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (NIV)

How do we understand this about face? Perhaps it is in seeing that the truth of Psalm 1 is not an iron-clad promise that the righteous would never suffer. We all know that the righteous suffer. The righteous can be poor, mourning, hungry, oppressed, and even persecuted (the beatitudes, anyone). They can be sick, disabled, or even martyred. The early Christians, many of whom were martyred, understood this well. They looked, and we look, to Jesus, the truly righteous One, who was crucified.

So how is Psalm 1 true? It was never intended to be a fail proof guarantee of constant happiness, but, rather, a word of true wisdom. Whatever the immediate experiences we have, the path of this wisdom is true. This is what the writer of Psalm 73 finally understood. Don’t just look at the snapshot of today but look at the panorama of time. Justice will come for both the righteous and the wicked. It will come in this life or the next. In fact, the events in Jeremiah’s time demonstrated just that. Living contrary to Psalm 1, brought the Babylonians!

The way of wisdom for us cannot be reduced to do good and then get good. It is rather to be in a loving relation to God which includes obedience. God will be the good spring of water that sustains us, even if it seems for a time to have dried up. This wisdom relies on God’s constant grace, which is sufficient even with the thorns we experience. What we will find on the path to His arms is that He sustains us through those times we imagine that He abandoned us. The LORD does know the way of the righteous.

Tim Kelley