Characteristics of the Blessed (part 2)

In part 1 of this post, we talked about three characteristics of the blessed (as stated in Psalm 1), in the form of three questions: Whose advice are you following? Which path are you taking? Where are you sitting? Then we talked about what the delight of the blessed is: meditating on the Word of God.

In verse 3, the psalmist speaks of the characteristics of those who are blessed: the productivity of the blessed. The blessed one will be like a tree, planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season. The leaves do not wither and in whatever they do, they prosper. These words say a lot about the productivity of a blessed (or happy) person.

Mercy

In reading Jonah 4, some of us may find it silly that Jonah got angry with God for pardoning the people of Nineveh. God had sent Jonah to this city to warn the people to turn form their wicked ways. After initially running from that call (and we all know how that one turned out), Jonah eventually went and spoke the Word of God to the people of Nineveh. And they listened! And because they did so, God turned his wrath away from them and spared the city. Upon hearing this, Jonah was upset that the people of Nineveh were going to "get away" with their sin and the city wouldn't be destroyed, even though that was the entire point of Jonah going to Nineveh!