Psalm 1

1 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;

2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.

3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

PSALM 1

“Joyful You Walk”

Joyful you walk, and do not leave a trace along your path.
You keep your feet from the violent road -
from losing their way in the miserable maze
of anger’s murky and mindless mode.
Cynics can laugh, but they cannot turn you back:
for you’ve set your heart on Wonder’s way -
dreaming of Wisdom all through the night,
and learning the teachings of Wonder by day.
Your body’s branch and the root of your heart
plunge deep and sweet in the unseen flow
of knowledge and goodness beneath the rock.
Your eyes open wide in the sun’s first glow.
The leaves and the fruit of your life are bright,
feeding with nectar the bird’s clear cry,
stretching and reaching up into the light,
weaving and forging the work of the sky.
In times of shadow, you understand
that each of your joys has a darker side,
strafed by storms that leave nothing whole.
There - but for Wonder - our sad world hides,
caught in the coils of a wandering rage -
stumbling, crying, unable to stand,
unwilling to walk in the knowledge of ‘Yes!’
that may still save our hearts from despair in this age.
[Rendered from the Hebrew by Henry Ralph Carse; Copyright 2021 by Henry Ralph Carse]