Bible Reading Notes Day 4

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Bible Reading Notes from Christ Church Greenbank

Day 4

Read: Psalm 1:4-6

We come this morning to the second of two sections looking at Psalm 1.  Psalm 1 describes two ways to live – the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked.  It is a wisdom Psalm - it talks about the right way to live under God.

Yesterday we saw how Psalm 1 begins with a description of the righteous – and how they should live, meditating on the law of the Lord.  Today, we come to the wicked, and their end.

In verse 4, the wicked are like chaff – the light bits of grain left over when the grain is threshed to get at the good stuff – traditionally threshing floors were built in the open so that when the grain was beaten (threshed) the chaff would blow away.  Such a contrast to the imagery of the tree in verse 3!

Then verse 5 looks to the future and to the judgement – the wicked will not stand, and will not be part of the congregation of the righteous – they will not enjoy everlasting fellowship with God.  Finally, verse 6 draws the two ways to live together, and reminds us that the Lord knows the way of the righteous - and by implication, the wicked also.

As we read through this Psalm, we should heed the warning of this section about what happens to the wicked – to those who oppose and ignore God.  Whatever appearances might seem – however much they might appear to prosper, ultimately when we all stand before God on the last day, only those who know Jesus as Lord and saviour and can therefore truly be counted righteous – only they will stand.

And so this Psalm also leads us to recognise our failure to live up to God’s standard, and to recognise our need of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.  The only truly blameless man ever is Jesus Christ – this Psalm draws us to recognise afresh our need for forgiveness in his name, and draws us to renew our trust in Christ, our saviour and Lord

At the same time, we can draw comfort from the fact that God watches all our ways.  He has not forgotten us – nor has he forgotten the conduct of those who do evil.  God is watching –he is active and he will act.  We need to be reassured that God is in control, and will achieve his purposes and make sure justice is done.

So today

Ask forgiveness for the ways in which you have opposed or ignored God

Ask for God’s help in avoiding walking in the ways of the wicked

Thank God that he is in control

 

Activity for Families with Children

A few ideas on how to share what you have learned about God’s word with your children.

Starter:  get a small tray of objects and show them to your children for a few moments, then cover up the tray and see if anyone can remember what was on the tray

In this part of the bible, the Psalmist tells us that God is always watching:

Read Psalm 1:6

What are the ways the Psalmist talks about?

Who sees what we do?

Read:  God knows all our ways – he is watching us!  When we live our lives each day, we live knowing God is watching us – and we seek to please him.

How can we please God today?

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, thank you that you are watching everything that happens in your world.  Help me to please you today.

Amen.

Go to Day 5 

 

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