The Mind of Christ

Meditations on the Psalms

July 5, 2022

The Mind of Christ 

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Jesus’ teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount, and his prayer life are grounded in scripture, especially the Book of Psalms. In his teachings, Jesus quotes from the Psalms more than twenty times.  If we want to go deeper into the heart of Christ and the mind of Christ, the Psalms will teach us much. Recently, my wife, Cheryl, recalled being in a teaching session with Dudley Hall in 2007. Hall mentioned how Jesus is revealed throughout the Old Testament. That revelation changed how she reads the OT. My goal in these meditations on the Book of Psalms is to find Jesus in the Psalms. Here, in the very first psalm, we will find Jesus described.

While some newer Bible translations render verse one gender neutral as “happy are those” or “blessed are those”, the original text uses a word that is very gender specific and should be translated, “Blessed is the man.” Jesus is this perfect man who delights “in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” As followers of Jesus, yielding ourselves to be transformed to become like him, Psalm 1 gives us a clear example of how to order our lives. Is it really possible for a mortal human being to get excited about meditating on God’s law day and night?

When the Psalmist refers to ‘the law’ they do not mean just the Ten Commandments or other rules and regulations. They mean law, as in God’s nature. God is love. God’s nature is to forgive. God’s law includes:

His love that cannot fail;

His Word that does not return to Him void; and

His mercies that never come to an end.

I especially love this line in the prayer to Jesus we use in our liturgy for Holy Communion which reveals God’s law:

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies; . . . But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy.

The Psalmist has in mind the law of God that looked at a world that did not exist and brought it into being by the power of His Word. The law of God can be summed up in one verse:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Psalmist pronounces God’s blessing on us as we take time to reflect on all the ways we have experienced God in our life. Psalm 1 is our invitation to mediate on how we have experienced God’s mercies and forgiveness, His favor, and how we know God to be our Shepherd.

My Takeaway: As we take time to remember that the LORD watches over our path, I believe we will agree with the Psalmist in saying

“Oh, the joys of those who delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night”

Psalm 1:1-2

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.