Daily Bread

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Two Kinds of People

Date: Aug. 1, 2015

Passage

Psalm 1:1-6

Psalms

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1:1   Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
  nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2   but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
3   He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
  that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
  In all that he does, he prospers.
4   The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5   Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6   for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Key Verse: Psalm 1:2

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

First, a fruitful life (1-3). This Psalm describes two kinds of people. The first one is happy because his life is fruitful. He became this way because he knew what to avoid and what to do. He does not accept the counsel of wicked men. He does not hang around people who are looking for trouble. He does not join in with the smart, sophisticated people who mock God or his people. Like a fruitful tree that puts down deep roots by a stream of water, he puts down roots in God's word. He fills his mind and heart with God's word. A tree bears fruit in season because its roots drink from an ever-flowing stream. A person bears good fruit if his roots are in the word of God.

Second, chaff (4-6). A person without roots thinks he is smart and free--but he is neither. The Bible calls the rootless man wicked. He will perish in the judgment. Like the restless wanderer Cain, he is rootless, fruitless and miserable.

Prayer: Lord, help me to hold your word in my heart until my life produces good fruit.

One Word: Like a tree planted by streams of water

God is Our Deliverer

Psalm 78:40-72

Key Verse: 78:65

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.

Today's Question

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