A writer once proclaimed, “Songs shape minds, laws matter less.” Might this claim seem exaggerated? Not in my view. Repeated songs mold thoughts and beliefs. This truth resonates in our own society.
The same is true of our worship songs. In college, I knew a boy who knew his church songbook so well, that I could say a number and he would tell me the song on that page. His songbook was called, “Songs of the Church.”
I think Jesus knew his worship songbook that well also. Today we know the name of his songbook. It is called, “The Book of Psalms.”
Psalms is not merely a book in our Bible but was the songbook of worship among the Jews in the time of Christ. Over the next few days, we will briefly examine that songbook. We will begin with the first song in the songbook of Jesus, Psalms 1. It is only 6 verses long and reads as follows:
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;
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Let me call to your attention three great teachings in that first song of worship.
The first thought in the first song tells the importance of choosing godly companions: The psalm begins by highlighting the blessedness of those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners. It emphasizes the significance of surrounding oneself with those who follow godly principles and avoiding the influence of those who are ungodly. This is one of the great teachings of Godly parents for their children. It is a teaching for the parents as well. Be careful who you pick as your friends.
Secondly, the song teaches the value of delighting in God’s Word: It says, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.”
Finally, we note that the idea of the entire song is to show the contrast between the righteous and the wicked: It describes the righteous as flourishing and prospering, while the wicked are described as chaff blown away by the wind.
Psalms 1 can be summed up in a sentence this way, Blessed is the one who delights in the law of the Lord and prospers in righteousness.
Lonnie Davis