Dear God, Thank You for Psalm 1. Help us as we look into Your Word today and meditate on it. Give us understanding and wisdom. Help us as we seek to apply Your Word to our lives today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
1 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;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1: Setting the Scene
I. Two Roads, vv. 1-2
A. Walking with the Wicked
B. Walking in Wisdom
II. Two Plants, vv. 3-4
A. The Righteous Tree
B. The Wicked Chaff
III. Two Ends, vv. 5-6
A. The End of the Unrighteous
B. The Future of the Righteous
Key: We must delight in God’s Law! Our lives depend on it!
So many of the Psalms are so familiar to us, and Psalm 1 might be one of the most familiar. I still find myself humming a tune I learned as a kid when I read this one. Funny how those old melodies stick with us, isn’t it?! Maybe that’s part of what God intended when he gave us a book of songs–something to help us remember His words better!
Looking at Psalm 1 and 2 together and seeing them as an introduction to the whole book was a new concept for me, and it gave me a fresh way of reading it. One way we see this is by noting the Bookends of the word “blessed” at the beginning and end of these two psalms. Psalm 1:1 starts “Blessed is the man…” and it goes on to describe what he delights in…the Law… Then, the last verse in Psalm 2, verse 12, ends “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
Saint Jerome called Psalms 1-2 the “entrance” into the “large house,” that is the book of Psalms. Tremper Longman III goes a step further, calling Psalm 1 “a gatekeeper of the literary sanctuary” (35). Just like the temple had Levitical priests who acted as gatekeepers, only letting the righteous in, Psalm 1 shows us the righteous and the unrighteous. He went so far as to say that Psalm 1 acts as a “warning [to] the wicked to proceed no further” (55-6).
Themes in Psalm 1.
We know that Psalms 1 and 2 introduce most of the major themes of Psalms, so which themes do we see in our text today? The Psalm starts with the theme of blessing for the righteous and ends with the theme of destruction for the unrighteous, so that’s one of our major themes we’ll see throughout the book of Psalms.
Then in verse 2, we see the major theme of The Law or Torah. The Psalms constantly point us towards learning, loving, and obeying the law of God.
And we see the theme of relationship–specifically, our relationship to the Law are we delighting in it or disregarding it? Delighting in the Law points us to the theme of praise, and the congregation of the righteous in v. 5 reminds us of the temple. And by the end of our lesson, I hope you’ll see the theme of Messiah in Psalm 1 as well.
Structure of Psalm 1.
In Psalm 1, we have word pictures to help us break up the text into 3 main points. In the first two and last two verses, we see “two ways” of walking, standing and sitting. Then the middle two verses picture plants and nature. In each section, we’ll see a contrast of the Righteous vs. the Unrighteous. We’ll start with…
I. Two Roads, vv. 1-2
Verse 1: The first word of this psalm (and, consequently, of the entire book) is “Blessed.” Now, we live in the South, so we hear the word “Blessed” thrown around a lot! We might think of this word meaning happy, prosperous, thriving, or even used sarcastically or sympathetically, as in, “Bless your heart.” The Oxford Dictionary describes “Blessed” as “made holy; the opposite of cursed; endowed with divine favor and protection” or “those who live with God in heaven.” It comes from the “Old English for ‘blood,’ similar to the mark of blood on the doorposts at the first Passover in Exodus. There was blessing (and not destruction) associated with that mark! Wow!
I. A. Walking with the Wicked.
“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” (v.1).
Note the progression. Each line builds upon itself and progresses in a downward spiral. Let’s look at each line a little more closely and remember that this is what we are NOT supposed to be doing.
We start with “walking in the counsel of the wicked.” The caution here is to be careful who or what we let speak into our lives. Who are we listening to? Whose counsel or advice are we listening to? These could be people we know or even personalities we don’t know personally–articles, podcasts, newsfeeds, even billboards. Does the counsel we listen to push us towards this first step of doubting God and His Word? Either by tempting us to add to Scripture or take away from it? We need to be cautious of our counselors!
The next step along this path is “standing in the way of sinners.” You had started listening, now you’ve slowed down and stopped in your tracks. You’re lingering, showing curiosity in what the ungodly ones do, letting yourself be caught up in it and enamored by it! In Bible times, the teacher was the one sitting and the students would stand out of respect for the teacher. So, we have a student here. Deception has turned from doubt to disbelief…
Finally, the student becomes the teacher. “Sitting in the seat of scoffers.” He’s bought the deception and is now doing evil. He’s not just keeping friends with the mockers; they’ve become his close companions, so much so that he begins instructing others and leading them down the path of mocking God. We certainly don’t want to think of ourselves as mockers, but do we look down on people who are different than us? Since every person is made in the image of God, when we look down on others, we’re actually mocking their Creator (God) too. How about when someone confronts us, or an authority asks us to do something? Do we roll our eyes at them or laugh? God is the one who places these people as authority figures in our lives; so, when we mock them, are we not also mocking God? How we respond to rebuke and how we treat others matters. Both reveal our heart.
Where else in Scripture do we see this pattern: Deception–Doubt–Disbelief–Doing Evil–Destruction? Think of the story of Lot and his family in Sodom. What about the days of Noah, in which the world at large were known to be mockers? And we’ll see the same pattern in James 1. It’s kind of the pattern of the history of man, isn’t it? It started with Eve in the Garden, remember? Eve was deceived by the Serpent, doubted God, began to Disbelieve what He had said, and Did Evil, which ultimately brought Destruction (the Curse) on all of mankind!
Thankfully, we aren’t left there. We have a contrast word: “BUT!”
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (v. 2).
I. B. Walking in Wisdom.
Here, we have an example of how Hebrew poetry takes two lines and the second line expands upon the first one: “delight” and “meditates” are connected ideas, but meditating gives us a practical way to apply the principle of delighting. In other words, the one who is blessed does not walk with the wicked but rather walks in wisdom!
Now, I know the word “wisdom” isn’t necessarily found in this psalm, but the psalms are wisdom literature. Wisdom Literature teaches us how to live in light of the wisdom of God and His Law. Walking in wisdom means applying the doctrines of Scripture to our everyday lives.
The Key to walking in wisdom is Delighting in God’s Law! Or more rightly put, the Key to walking in wisdom is following the steps of Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law!
Think about it this way. Children are happiest when they have clear and loving boundaries placed around them; in fact, it actually helps them thrive and flourish. As children of God, He has lovingly given us a clear set of boundaries–His Law. And more than being a set of boundaries, God’s Law shows us His heart for mankind! His desire is that we thrive and flourish under them. He wants to have a relationship with us, and He delights to bless His people! The point of the Law is to teach us our great need for this good God! The message of the Law is that we need a Savior–we must repent of our sin and trust Jesus as the fulfillment of the law. We must dwell on what God says to us in His Word! He is the one who draws us to Himself and to His Word. He will change our hearts and cause us to delight in them.
This is something God has been growing in me over time…especially in recent years. It takes time and effort, and we are feeble and sinful creatures. So, at times, we will stumble or have seasons of disinterest. If we’re honest, there are days that we just don’t feel like reading our Bibles. Those are the days that we have to pray that God will complete the work He started in us and continue to cause us to delight in Him and His Word, asking Him to give us the energy and desire to know Him better. We are learning to sit at Jesus’ feet and praise Him, even when our hearts are weary; and when we do, we allow ourselves to experience overwhelming joy and confidence in God and His Words to us.
How do we practice delighting in God’s Word? Consider reading a psalm together as a family at the breakfast table–that way we start our day in the Word! Think of it like a toddler developing a taste for a new food…you keep introducing little bits until it’s familiar and eventually well received. The more we read it, the more we delight in it! Because it is seriously the best story that’s ever been written, and it’s all true!
Let’s look at our verse again: Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
What is Meditation? Simply put, Meditation is intentionally setting our hearts and minds to dwell on God’s truth (aka, His Law). Rather than emptying our minds and focusing internally, we are called to use our minds and hearts to focus and ponder on God and His glories.
David Mathis says, “There is a place in Bible reading for ‘raking’ and gathering up the leaves at a swift pace [this would be reading], but when we ‘dig’ in Bible study, we unearth the diamonds. In meditation, we marvel at the jewels.” (Habits of Grace, p. 45-46).
Or consider art critics. They don’t just go to an art museum and walk through the whole thing in an hour or two. They find out that a particular piece of art is on exhibit at a particular museum. They research the piece; they travel to the museum; then, they find that one painting and focus on it intently. They examine the details and ask themselves how the painting makes them feel, how it relates to real life. They let themselves be affected by the art–changed by the lingering.
Neuroscience says that through meditation, patients can create new paths in their brains to heal or create new nerve paths damaged through trauma. How much more, through meditating on God’s Word, can God create new paths in our minds to heal or replace the ones damaged by sin, making us new creatures in Christ, and helping us train our brains to delight in God. It’s not natural for us to want this, so by giving us the law, the God who made our brains gave us His Word to teach us who He is and changes our desires to follow His path. This is what Paul tells us to do in Ephesians 4, when he talks about “renewing our minds” and in Phil. 4:8, when he tells us to think on things that are “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.”
You might be thinking, “I’m just not good at meditation.” If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us are actually pretty good at this–maybe not when it comes to Scripture, but when something is bugging us, we know how to dwell on it. We chew and stew on it; we rehearse the conversation in our heads. Fuming and Fearing are both negative examples of meditation. In a very real sense, both groups in our first two verses are meditating on something–in v. 1, the unrighteous one is practically meditating on wickedness; and in v. 2, the righteous one is meditating on the Word. We need to take our critical thinking skills and rehearsing narratives and redeem them by using them with the Word!
Application: So, which group do you fall into? What are you intentionally setting your heart and mind to dwell on today? Let’s break it down the same way our psalm does:
1. What are you meditating on by day? Is it a task list? (I can definitely relate to Martha here! Anyone else?!) Maybe you’re dwelling on a social interaction? or a dream project? Consider keeping your Bible open on the counter and coming back to it throughout the day…or tape a verse over the sink or changing table. I’m trying to remind myself to turn on music that’s word for word Scripture so we can work on memorizing the Word as a family.
2. What are you meditating on by night? Do you get to the end of the day and think, “I’m done!” I need some “Me time”? Confession: Anyone else binge watch an entire series of TV shows during a particularly challenging season? I actually had to delete the video apps from my phone because drama series are like Pringles to me–I can’t watch just one episode. Yah, it wasn’t pretty. Now, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with watching a TV show or keeping up with news and friends on social media. We all need to rest our brains and bodies, but we need to be careful that instead of letting our culture drive us, we’re letting the Word guide our hearts and minds. We can be thankful that God gave us these laws so we would know the next right thing to do. Because I know I would be clueless and miserable without them! Consider journaling what God is teaching you about Himself or how His Word is changing you through these weird times we’re living in.
Remember, Meditation is a Spiritual Discipline! It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes Practice and Effort, but it yields rich rewards! And it is totally worth it!
II. Two Plants, vv. 3-4
This is our stanza with nature imagery, so look for that as we read. Again, we’ll compare the righteous with the unrighteous. We’ll start with the Righteous.
II. A. The Righteous Tree
Let’s read verse 3: “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” (v.3).
Trees are a common symbol throughout Scripture. We have the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and most significantly, the tree of Calvary. Here, the one who is to be blessed, the righteous one, is compared to a tree. “Planted” is passive: the action is done by God, the Divine Tree Planter. This means that we do not plant ourselves, but rather God does the work of uprooting us out of our sin and transplanting us in a fruitful place in His Kingdom! And where does He plant us? Next to streams of water to make us flourish and fruitful. This points to the river in Zion (Rev. 22), but it also points us to the Word, the Law from Psalm 1:2. God’s Word is described as the Water of Life. And so, God plants us in His Word, which is His Son, Jesus! (John 1, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus is the Word of God incarnate!)
GOSPEL CONNECTION: Have you ever considered that Psalm 1 might actually be pointing to Jesus as the Blessed One? Thomas Schreiner points out in his book The King in His Beauty that, “The one who fully and completely delighted in the Torah was Jesus of Nazareth.” (p. 8). This was a new and beautiful thought for me! And it helps us see Psalms as all about Jesus.
Let’s look at that phrase in v. 3, “In all that he does, he prospers.” Okay, wait, “in ALL that he does, he prospers”??? What does this mean? Is it like King Midas where everything he touches turns to gold? No. Does God bless His people with financial gain or good health? Sometimes, yes. But we can’t claim this verse as a blanket statement that if we’re saved, we’ll be rich and have lives of ease (that would be one of those deceptions in v. 1 that we’re not supposed to be walking in). We know that God doesn’t always bless us in these ways on earth; sometimes God’s people have to wait to experience the promised blessing. God’s Word does not return empty. What He wills will happen; and when we are planted in Him, God promises to prosper His people, despite the hardships we experience in this sin-cursed earth. The word “prosper” has the idea of flourishing or thriving, so it actually makes sense with our fruitful tree analogy here. Before we trust Christ, we are dead in our sins; but when we are in Christ, we have life and hope and peace; we know we will one day be co-heirs with Christ and experience the same blessing He does, by His grace!
II. B. The Wicked Chaff
“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away” (v.4).
What is chaff? Well, we’ve been reading through the Little House on the Prairie series at night, so we’ve seen this word a lot recently. Basically, when farmers harvest corn or wheat or hay, they gather it and actually beat it (or thresh it). Then they take pitchforks and toss it up in the air so the heavy good grain drops down and can be saved to turn into flour or feed, and the useless part (the chaff) gets blown away.
If you think back to our recent series on Daniel, Pastor Abe shared with us how the three young Israelites who trusted in God were not consumed by the fiery furnace in chap. 4, as compared to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in ch. 2 of the great statue, representing the wicked nations of the world, which was shattered and “became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace.”
In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist speaks of Christ’s work as the harvester or winnower of men, when he says, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Christ will sift the believers from the unbelievers. The righteous will be gathered into His own barn; but the unrighteous will be destroyed by fire. This is a serious, eternal matter! It is God, the Righteous Judge, who looks down and discerns the good from the evil, the worthless chaff from His precious, sweet grains of wheat.
God’s Big Plan: That His People will be Planted for Delight and Prospered by the Divine instead of Punished for Disobedience!
Finally, we see God’s Response to both groups.
III. Two Ends, vv. 5-6
III. A. The End of the Unrighteous
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; … the way of the wicked will perish” (v.5-6).
One day, Jesus will come again. On that day, there will be a great judgment by God. Everyone will give account of their lives to this Great Judge King. But it says here that the wicked will not stand but will rather be cast out. Those who did not call on the LORD and seek to know and obey His law will not be counted among the congregation of the righteous. They’ve lost their chance to learn from the Lord; they’ve missed their opportunity to stand before Him and sing His praises!
Psalm 9:6 says, “The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.” What a drastic difference: we just saw the righteous being rooted in rich soil, and here the wicked are uprooted! Talk about poetic imagery to make a point!
Let’s look at that last line of Psalm 1: “The way of the wicked will perish.” Not only will the wicked themselves be destroyed in the lake of fire, but their way will perish! There will be no more evil. There will be no more sin. There will be no more curse! There will be no darkness, no tears, no death, no pain, no grief. Satan Himself will be defeated!
III. B. The Future of the Righteous
“The LORD knows the way of the righteous!” (v.6).
Since the LORD knows the way of the righteous, there is no reason to be seeking advice from the enemy (remember v. 1?). The ways of the righteous are intimately known by the Rescuer himself, for He has planned them and “will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).
“The LORD knows the way of the righteous!” (1:6) Let that sink in! The LORD, YHWH God, our Savior, knows our ways! He knows all of it! Every last detail! Every step and thought and emotion. God knows. And he begins and ends with blessing!
- From Genesis, where God made His people and planted them in the Garden of Eden to be blessed and have dominion and bless all nations… God knows.
- What about our sinful nature? He remembers that we are dust. God knows our sin, and He can’t stop loving us… So he made a plan, to send the Curse-Crushing Rescuer, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins on the cross, blessing all who believe and trust in Him… God knows what we need!
- And in the final chapter, God finally and forever blesses His people and gathers them together to know Him and worship Him around His throne… God knows our end!
- God’s watchful eye and providential care is there, all along the way, protecting us and preparing an Eternal Zion where He will finish His great work and consummate the glorification of His people! Oh, what a day!
CONCLUSION: In Summary, we saw the one who delights in God’s law is called blessed. Whereas the one who disregards God’s law will experience judgment. God responds to us based on how we respond to His Word. So, how we treat God’s Word is important–both for this life and for eternity! We must delight in God’s Law! Our lives depend on it!
Dear Lord, Thank you for this time in Your Word together today. We pray that You would plant us firmly in Your Word and cause us to delight in it and be fruitful for Your Kingdom. Thank You for Jesus, the Blessed One, in whose Name we pray. Amen.
For Further Study: Read the following passages. How does each one help you to understand Psalm 1 better?
- Psalm 2:12
- Joshua 1:7-9
- Jeremiah 17:5-10
- Revelation 22:1-3
- Matthew 3:12
Word-Filled Women 