As I read through this Psalm a clear picture quickly emerges and is repeated throughout the 6 verses written. It’s black and white contrast between walking toward God or away from God; standing up for righteousness or self-serving agendas; or sitting at the feet of God to learn from Him or in defiance of The Creator.
In some Bible translations this chapter is entitled “The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted”. Wicked?!! I suspect that my idea of wicked (like the witch that wanted to steal the powerful ruby slippers so she’d have more control over Oz) and God’s idea of wicked are two different things.
The wicked.
Wicked = ungodly or hostile to God, condemned or guilty , an unrighteous or actively bad person. That most definitely describes the “wicked witch of the west” in my mind. She was consumed with taking the slippers from Dorothy, and concocted all kinds of schemes that would achieve her goal without care for Dorothy, her friends, or the land, even her own servants. Truly wicked!
This is who the wicked are. What is God’s relationship with the wicked? In verse 4 “they are like chaff”, expendable, useless, and will just blow away in the wind. They “will not stand” (v.5) I would use the term “make it”, going on it says the wicked will not stand “in the judgement” literally meaning the verdict. So God is saying the wicked are not going to “make the cut”. They are not going on to the next round, they won’t be part of the assembly of the righteous (v.6) Finally the verdict is repeated in verse 6, “the wicked will perish” or be exterminated. I don’t know what would possibly be darker than this verdict.
The blessed.
The blessed one, delights in the law, meaning the word of God, and meditates on it. How do you avoid the penalty of the wicked? By hanging out with good. What was the stat I heard today. Something like, you’re going to be elevated or descend to the level of your 10 closest friends. And don’t you find that to be true? If you hand with smart people, you’re going to learn. If you hang out with fit people you’re going to be more active. If you hang out with God, by reading, studying, and dwelling on His word, you’re going to become a more like Him. He is righteous and you are going to be challenged and encouraged to be more righteous.
What is God’s relationship with the blessed?
The blessed person is provided for, nourished, given the opportunity to bear fruit, and watched over. In other words thoroughly cared for.
God doesn’t only describe the repercussions of living against His will, but the blessings of following Him closely. It really widens the gap between the two.
Life or death. Purpose or useless. Fruitful or failed.
Side note: I didn’t read anything about needing to be perfect. About not making mistakes. About not being this verdict being assigned to anyone. I read: follow God. Love His words. Walk with Him and He will walk with you. He will bless you. He will feed you and give you a purpose. Or don’t. The choice is yours – it black or white.