There is a plain located on a fault line on the southwestern side of North America, where the Pacific Plate meets the North American Plate. These two plates slide past each other, the Pacific to the north, and the North American to the south. “For years the plates will be locked with no movement at all as they push against one another. Suddenly the built-up strain breaks the rock along the fault, and the plates slip a few feet all at once. The breaking rock sends out waves in all directions, and it is the waves that we feel as earthquakes.” (Lynch, see Bibliography)
A hill rises along the highway at the northwestern end of this plain which lies along the fault line. Visitors can walk up its short but steep incline to a view point and see the entire plain stretched out before them. It’s an exciting and breathtaking view, as various geological features can be noted. Such a view point is Psalm 1 at the head of the Psalter. Psalm 1 in six short verses sketches out the fault line between the blessedly happy righteous person, whom the Lord guards and protects for all eternity, and the wicked, whom the wind blows away like chaff and who ultimately perishes.
Psalm 1 describes real life in condensed form. As we live our lives, we see the righteous and the wicked side by side. Often they seem locked with no apparent movement as they push against one another. The righteous do not seem to be blessed, confer Psalms 22, 31, and 88 among many others, and the wicked apparently prosper, confer Psalms 37 and 73. Suddenly–for us, not for God–the built up strain causes breakage, as in an earthquake, slippage occurs, and the final outcomes for the righteous and the wicked are revealed. The righteous of earth continuously move toward God’s blessings, while the wicked move in the opposite direction. Psalm 1 describes the fault line between these two.
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