2nd - 8th February 2026
It all begins with an idea.
The Biblica Study Bible notes that Psalm 1 is a poem about God’s blessings, promises and laws for people, describing two ways of living. One way of living, the way of living well, is deciding to obey God. This way leads to enjoying the blessings that God has promised to give.
For the Israelites this meant obeying the law of the Lord as given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God’s law helped the Israelites understand what He wanted them to do and how He wanted them to live.
People who want to be blessed by God do what He wants done – and are compared to healthy trees that bear good fruit, that are strong and steady no matter what happens.
The other way of living is to refuse to obey God – a way that destroys people and leads to death – God bringing judgement against those who choose this way.
Written by Robert Young
MONDAY
We need to remember that the Psalms were meant to be sung – and repeatedly sung! The more it is sung the greater and deeper will be the memory of a Psalm’s teaching – consider how we have remembered the words of a favourite hymn or child’s chorus. The hope is that those who sing the Psalm will own its values – namely, they will want more and more to be people who love and believe the law and seek to carry out its instructions. They ‘delight in the law of the Lord’ and meditate on it throughout the day.
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
God, thank You for teaching me through Your Word and thank You for placing people in my life that inspire me to draw close to You. Thank You for those who faithfully prepare to teach us from Your Word as we gather on Sundays; for those who give of their time, energy and knowledge as they come alongside our children and young people; for the members of our home groups and for those we are indebted to as, in deep friendship and commitment, they hold us accountable. Please surround us with opportunities to learn more about You and apply what we learn. May we always seek to deepen our relationship with You and the people You love and seek opportunities to read and consider Your Word.
TUESDAY
Verses 1 and 2 contrast the values of the two groups. The truly happy, blessed person guides his life by God’s instruction rather than by the advice of those who reject that instruction – those who ‘walk in step with the wicked’, stand with the sinners and sit with the mockers. Meditation describes an active pondering of Scripture which allows the believer the ideal of facing every situation, be it ever so ordinary, with a view to pleasing the Lord by knowing and following His Word.
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
God, I want Your Word to be active in my life. Scripture helps me examine my thoughts and convicts me to live as Jesus did. I cannot live apart from Your Word because it offers me a way to know You more deeply. Please continue to reveal Yourself to me through Scripture and sustain me through Your Word. Thank you that we have free access to Your Word in printed form, online, and through audiobooks and social media. We pray for those who have difficulty obtaining the Bible in their own language and ask Your blessing on Bible translators, that they might be skilled and accurate in their work and protected from those who would threaten them and seek to obstruct their work.
WEDNESDAY
By its sustained contrast – the man who knows God’s blessings contrasted with the scoffers and mockers; the fruitful, strong tree contrasted with chaff and the ways of the righteous contrasted with the wicked – the Psalm reminds us that in the end there are only two ways to live; God’s way of obedience or the way of rebellion and destruction. The way of blessing is to delight in the law of the Lord – in these days the whole of Scripture – and to read and obey it, remembering the words recorded in James:
Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)
Heavenly Father, empower us to engage daily with Your Word, turning our attention to Your Word, meditating on it and considering where our thoughts, actions, attitudes and words need to change that we might bring glory to Your name. We pray using the words of Psalm 103:
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
THURSDAY
The Psalmist uses two examples from agriculture in ancient Palestine, describing the effects of the two kinds of people. The first image is that of a tree which thrives because of its constant supply of water.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither —
whatever they do prospers.
The ESV study Bible notes that the tree bears fruit, not for itself, but for others; thus, when the faithful prospers, he succeeds in bringing benefit to others.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 stands alongside this image:
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Father, as we consider the picture of the tree planted by water bearing fruit in season, we seek to live lives filled by Your Spirit and drawing on Your Word, that we might produce actions and attitudes that honour and bear witness to You. We remember Jesus’ teaching – ‘Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’ (John 15:4). May we continue, through reading and obeying Your Word, prayer and fellowship to maintain a daily, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, that we might trust in Him and bear fruit.
FRIDAY
The Psalmist draws a sharp contrast between the flourishing tree and the lives of those who reject God’s ways using the stark statement:
‘Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.’
Chaff is the husks and straw removed by threshing and winnowing. It is much lighter than the edible kernels so, when a farmer tosses threshed wheat into the air, the slightest breeze drives away the chaff while the heavier kernels fall to the ground close by him. Chaff is a symbol of a faithless life that drifts along without direction while the good grain symbolises a faithful life that can be used by God – and we can choose!
Father, we consider the two similes of the flourishing tree that bears fruit and the useless chaff, blown to and fro by the wind and of no use to anyone. We seek to live lives of service to You and others by obeying Your Word and seeking to do what You require of us – to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before You. May we give thanks in all circumstances, pray continually and praise You with all our hearts. Deepen our conversations and enrich our relationships with You and each other as we daily seek You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
SATURDAY
Verses 5 and 6 continue contrasting the ways of the wicked and the righteous and where the two kinds of life are eternally headed. The word ‘therefore’, at the beginning of verse 5, indicates that these verses are the conclusion of the Psalm, the final judgment, which allows some to enter the ‘assembly of the righteous’ while excluding others – a promise which is developed in Ecclesiastes 12:
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
The Psalm concludes:
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Father God, we praise You because You are all knowing, all powerful and ever present. You know us completely including ‘every hidden thing’. The writer of Hebrews proclaims that nothing in all creation is hidden from Your sight but that everything is laid bare before Your eyes. We pray that we might live lives of obedience to You, humbly seeking You to direct our paths, remembering You watch over us and know our every movement, thought and deed. We are amazed that You know everything about us but still accept us and have lavished such love on us that we should be called the children of God – not because we deserve it or have earned it but because we have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection.
SUNDAY
Jesus talked about these two ways of living in Matthew 7:13-23 where He contrasted the narrow and wide gates; the true and false prophets and the true and false disciples. He said that we will be able to recognize the true and false prophets by their fruit and that only the disciples who do the will of His Father will enter the kingdom of heaven.
The gate that leads to eternal life is referred to as ‘narrow’. This does not mean it is difficult to become a Christian but that there is only one way to live eternally with God and only a few who decide to walk that road. We are reminded of John 14:6 where Jesus stated, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Believing in Jesus is the only way of salvation because He alone died for our sins and made us right before God.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Holy God, we acknowledge the spiritual, moral and social decline in our land and intercede for forgiveness and restoration. Please stir up your people to pray in repentance and to stand up for righteousness. We are encouraged by Bible Society reports of a ‘quiet revival’, showing a 50% rise in UK church attendance since 2019, with 16% of young adults, particularly men, now coming to church at least monthly. Please grant wisdom to Christian leaders, particularly in Glenabbey, in their desire to see new believers discipled well. We give you thanks for local reports of many sixth form students coming to faith and pray for success in the outreach initiatives in Glenabbey, asking that we might be encouraged by the Glenabbey Storybearer Shorts.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.