Ps. 1-2, 10
These first two Psalms contrast those who acknowledge and serve the LORD God, making them righteous, and those who reject God in their wickedness. It says in Psalm 1:1-2 that the one who delights in the law of the LORD is blessed. And Psalm 2:11-12 says that those who serve the LORD with fear and take refuge in Him are blessed. Psalm 2 also states how God has established His son, Jesus, over all the nations. Because Jesus is the fulfillment and the embodiment of God’s law, I see these two Psalms as confirming that a devoted commitment to Christ is what brings righteousness and God’s blessing.
There are times when it looks like the wicked prosper. But Psalm 10 is one of the many that remind us that God sees them and that He will call them to account for their wickedness. I remember the parable about the weeds that the Enemy sowed into the wheat field. We know from that story that the wicked will remain among the righteous until the judgment. God does what He does and allows what He allows for a reason. We may not be able to see, know, or understand that reason, but we can trust that it is good because we know that God is good.
Acts 16:22-40
I love this prison story. Paul and Silas were unjustly beaten and imprisoned and their initial response was to pray and sing hymns to God. At midnight, no less. I don’t know about you, but when I am mistreated, my initial reaction is something pretty far from an all-night singing!! The cool thing, though, is that it says that the other prisoners were listening to them. So when the earthquake came and all the doors flung open – nobody ran! I get why Paul and Silas stayed, but the others? I think perhaps the jailer was not the only man saved that night.
And what a change in the jailer! He was ready to kill himself when he thought he had lost the prisoners, probably because he would have been put to death anyway. After Paul stopped him, however, he was no longer concerned about his own life but gave what he had to help and tend to the prisoners. I also think the whole story is a very cool, real life picture of our freedom in Christ. Paul and Silas were freed, but they didn’t leave. Instead, they stood in their freedom there in their place of ‘bondage’ in order to save others. May I likewise use my freedom not to help myself but to help others.