Wednesday, March 5

The book of Psalms is the first hymnal of God’s people, filled with songs of celebration and songs of pain and grief. Some are communal, while others are personal. Some are songs of confident faith, while others are filled with questions for God and honest doubt. And the collection starts with Psalm 1.

I envision the composer crafting this hymn to do what Moses urged the community to do in Deuteronomy 6: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” So sing, says the psalmist, sing of God and God’s way of life.

Psalm 1 begins with a picture of all God’s people. Some are happy and blessed, whose lives are fruitful and righteous, firmly rooted in and nourished by God. Others are labeled wicked, scoffers, and sinners, whose lives are dry, dusty, and fruitless.

The big word here is righteousness: right relationships with God, one another, and all creation. For the psalmist, it means to live in accord with the Torah, and be guided by the stories of God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah, the stories of Joseph and his brothers, the stories of Moses, Pharaoh, and the Exodus.

The way of the wicked is the way of Pharaoh, the way of broken and twisted relationships. But the way of the Lord is the way of right relationships, the way of life and blessing.

These are difficult days, with divisions and the destruction of relationships happening daily, streaming out of Washington DC. Fear abounds – fear of immigrants, fear of the poor, fear of minorities, fear of The Other. But the songs of God’s people are stronger than fear, nourishing us with blessing, hope, and life.