Psalm 1 in 1628 printing with tune, metrical version by Thomas Sternhold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous may not stretch out their hands to do wrong. Psalm 125:3

In his analysis for this week, John suggests that the “sceptre of wickedness” may have been a subtle rebuke by the psalmist of powerful Israelites who were tempted to follow “foreign influences” to corrupt the “righteous.”

Aren’t we all tempted at times to ignore the Message of the Christ seen in our agapé relationship with God, so that we can “stretch out our hands” and do what we want, rather than what we know is right?