psalm the first

It's not often you hear, "psalm the first." I always just say "psalm one," or "the first psalm," but apparently in Spurgeon's day you said it the other way around. There is actually a bit of a language barrier when you first read anything by an author from the 1800's, but since I have read over a hundred of his sermons I was prepared for phrases like "joyful acclamation of the gracious man's felicity." (no that's not his wife or daughter or cat for that matter)

I will tell you this, the next 149 days are going to be rich.

Something to just grab on to today and think about as I drove and may have played golf. Verse six of psalm the first says "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish." The contrast in this verse is jolting. The original language carries with it the idea that God is constantly watching over and knowing the way of the one who is following in the right way of living. This is an amazing place to be. A promise that when we are following the way of Jesus, we are being watched and cared for in an ongoing way. But the flip side is just as true. We know from scripture that those who do not follow Jesus with their lives will perish, but this passage reiterates the idea that their way of living will perish. No one who is living in the way of the ungodly will be a part of the eternal kingdom of God because their way of living will be non-existent. They would serve no purpose.

Spurgeon closes the verse with a benediction of sorts that I love..."May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may escape the doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of the righteous!" What an amazing reminder since our first reaction would be that we must "try harder" to live like Jesus. We can't do it on our own and Spurgeon makes it clear that it will be the Spirit's work in our life that will move us toward Christ-likeness.

This benediction will be my daily prayer (maybe worded a bit differently)that God would strip me of my ways so that I won't come to an end as one of the ungodly but that I would be able to enjoy the blessing given to those who follow in the way of Jesus.