The Book of Psalms begins with two Psalms that establish the style and purpose of the book. The first Psalm (Psalm 1) is instructional and in the form of wisdom literature. The second Psalm (Psalm 2) worshipful and in the style of eschatological prophecy.

Two types of people are portrayed in Psalm 1. Both types of people make choices and they both receive the result of those choices. It should be noted that the blessed man is not “rewarded” with blessed happiness and the wicked man is not “punished” with destruction. Instead, both the blessed happiness and the destruction are results of the choices and lifestyle.

The blessed man delights in the “law of the Lord” and he meditates on it. “Law of the Lord” is from the word “Torah” which literally means “instruction, but can be used to refer to the law, the Pentateuch (first five books) and the whole Old Testament. The blessed man focuses on the instruction and revelation given by the Lord concerning truth and reality. They know how the world was put together. They understand what the Lord’s purpose is. They desire to understand his thoughts and values. They conduct their lives in agreement with the Lord’s nature. The result of this is compared to a tree that lives directly by a river of water. This tree cannot wither because it is tapped into the source of life. Every leaf and every blossom is prosperous.

There is an alternative. A man can leave the Word of the Lord and pursue other philosophies, values and purposes. These are identified as the steps, the ways and the company of the wicked, the sinners and those that mock the Lord’s instruction. The result of following the way of the wicked is destruction, just like a tree dries up and dies away from water.  Because the wicked are without the source of life they eventually have no substance. They become lightweight chaff in a kingdom of manifested truth and reality, and are simply blown away as inconsequential.

Those who are blessed will avoid spending time learning and imitating the ways of these insignificant mockers.

“Faith is not a sense, nor a sight, nor reason, but taking God at His Word."
- Arthur Benoni Evans

When Jesus continued to fall while carrying his cross, the Romans made Simon of Cyrene carry the cross the rest of the way to Calvary. (Matthew 27:32; Luke 23:26) Simon was from the North African country of Cyrene which is Libya today. Mark seems to assume that the original readers of his gospel would know Simon’s two sons since Mark writes their names in Mark 15:21: Alexander and Rufus. Mark was in Rome when he wrote his Gospel so it is interesting that Paul also greets Rufus when Paul writes his letter to the Roman believers from Corinth in the spring of 57 AD. (Romans 16:13) Mark would have written his Gospel sometime after 64 AD, but before 70 AD.