“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. … Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? … He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ … Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.”
Devotional thought: With these words from Genesis still fresh in our hearts and minds from two days ago, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you do eat of it you shall die.’” And these from yesterday’s reading in Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.” The Psalmist’s opening thoughts are attention grabbing! Happy are those who delight in, chew on and constantly speak the law of the LORD, happy are those who take refuge in him. While those who disobey, those who attempt to lead others away are drive away. Let us learn to live out the lesson, stand firm with God, be trees planted by the river of life, yield spiritual fruit in every season, be full of life, life abundant in all that we do. Let us not be led astray by tempters whose presence and voices for a moment fill the spaces in front of our eyes and ears. Like a close-up shot on TV, that can wrongly portray the truth of what is happening in a certain place by covering up the big picture with one or two in a close-up. Let us constantly delight in the law of the LORD!