Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of the sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
-- Psalm 1 (NIV)
Here is Psalm 1 from The Message:
How well God must like you--you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,
you don't slink along Dead-End Road,
you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.
Instead, you thrill to God's Word,
you chew on scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month,
never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.
You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust--
without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people.
God charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.
Now we can look at Revelation 22 to see the future --
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
as clear as crustal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
