The Risky Ground

The first Psalm with its words about the ungodly and the righteous seems to divide the world into two separate groups.  To be reading those words of David surely puts us in the category of the righteous.  After all, the ungodly ones would not be spending their time reading the Word of God.  In this world where the righteous and the ungodly are so clearly divided, we must be careful that we do not end up praying like the Biblical Pharisee who prayed, "I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector..." (Luke 18:11).   

This ground defined by "I thank you that I am not like the ungodly" is risky ground upon which to kneel and pray.  The Apostle Paul exposes this risky ground which is filled with self-righteousness in the first few chapters of his letter to the Roman Christians.  After setting forth the human predicament of the ungodly, he turns to the predicament of the Jewish people, who viewed themselves as God's chosen and speaks to their assumption of righteousness.  In the middle of chapter three he asks, "What then?  Are we (the Jews) any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all...are under the power of sin."  (Romans 3:9).  

Instead of reading the first Psalm and praying like the Pharisee, it would be more acceptable for its words to lead us to a prayer of heartfelt confession.  Instead of gloating over our perceived righteousness, it would make more sense for us to ask God to forgive us for spending too much time listening to the voices which speak compromising words.  It would make more sense to acknowledge that we have taken on the ways and the attitudes of the ungodly to the point that we must surely seem like one of them to Him.  Such honest confession would lead us to a prayer asking Him to restore our hearts to a place where we once again delight in His Word and where our spirits are once again rooted in the river of living water where He abides.