The Valley of Vision

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1 ESV)

Recently a friend, Ed Braswell, sent me some of the pages from a book he has read and ordered for me, The Valley of Vision. My copy is somewhere in the shipping maze that is common today because of Covid-19. It is the compiled prayers from the works of Thomas Shepherd, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, William Williams, Philip Doddridge, William Romaine, David Brainerd, Augustus Toplady, Christmas Evans, William Jay, Henry Law, and Charles Haddon Spurgeon. You may be familiar with some of these men. They are from a different era, all with the common theology of Puritans. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the little prayer book. Here’s an excerpt:

 

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

 

Reading through these meditations is the genesis of the beginning of today’s series. I thought it might be encouraging to all of us to walk through some of the Psalms. Our reading today is from Psalm 1. In this psalm I see a perpetual oasis formed by the trees of the righteous planted around the throne of God. What a picture that would make for a calendar, row upon row of cedars, palms, firs, olive trees, and other evergreens in every shade of emerald surrounding the presence of God, each one a symbol of a thriving life watered by the study of God’s Word. The psalmist says the truly blessed are those who learn from God’s Word and live it. Unlike people who treat God’s Word flippantly, the faithful believer trusts Scripture to be a reliable guide to life. Happiness is found in loving and living by God’s teachings. Our delight, the psalmist says, is in those teachings, the law of God. We learn this in the “Valley of the Vision.” I hope you enjoy the journey as we are encouraged together!