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Today's Psalm is a delightfully structured piece illustrating the Deuteronomic Principle common to the Old Testament.

Two ways. On the one hand, the good person becomes like a flourishing tree providing fruit and prosperity. On the other hand the ungodly person is like chaff blown away.

The structural parallelisms are fun. Notice the woody contrast between tree and chaff (verses 3 & 4). Notice the opposing uses of the word "stand" (verses 1 & 5).

The opposites highlighted here through structural parallelism are troubling, however. I've lived long enough on earth to observe that folk I consider good don't always appear to prosper, and folk who seem to hurt lots of people appear to get all the breaks. It's not fair! Read it for yourself!

I don't have the answers about the unfairness of life versus the goodness of God. That's right, I won't argue with the debater on that issue.

However, the very last verse intrigues me. Have you ever wished to be known? Really known? Deep down known? Lastingly known?

Well, this tells me that God knows me. If I lose my job, God knows me. If I die in an accident, God knows me. If I don't seem to prosper today, God knows me. And since God is eternal, the knowing of me will go on everlastingly.

That feels good enough to cause me to look at verse 2 to find out how I can know this God.

For the blessed person, "his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."