Psalm 1

The first psalm introduces the book of Psalms.

Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm and shares many features
common to the book of Proverbs and to other psalms
designated as wisdom psalms (34; 37; 49; 73; 111-12;
119; 127-28; 133). It is also a didactic psalm with an
invitation to wise—“godly”—living by contrasting God’s
rewards and his judgment.1

The Way of the righteous (1:1–3)

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of
the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat
of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

The opening phrase of the psalm (“Blessed is the

man”) is an appropriate introduction to the book of
Psalms. Blessedness is not deserved; it is a gift of God.
God declares sinners to be righteous and freely grants
them newness of life in which he protects them from the
full effects of the world under judgment (Ge 3:15-19).
Outside of God’s blessing, people are “cursed” and
1
Willem A. VanGemeren, Psalms, The Expositors Bible Commentary, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008),
126.
ultimately lead meaningless lives (Ecc 1:2). 2The term
“Blessed" in this verse occurs in 2:12 forming an inclusio
binding these two psalms together. Likewise the
reference to the "way" in this verse occurs again in 2:11-
12. While one’s “happiness” is a free gift from God, it
must be promoted by two kinds of activities—
dissociation from the wicked and association with God
(v.2). Dissociation is brought out by means of three
negative sentences. The godly person does not (1) walk
(hālak) in the counsel of the wicked, (2) stand (ʿāmād) in
the way of sinners, or (3) sit (yāšāb) in the seat of
mockers; rather, such a person reflects on the Lord in his
or her walking, standing, and sitting(cf. Dt 6:7).

The three terms for the people of the world are

“ungodly,” “sinners,” and “scorners.”3 The “ungodly” are
unbelievers, people who have no part in the covenant
and so remain guilty before God. The word “sinners” are
those who are either ignorantly or intentionally failing to
obey God. The verb “sin” means “to miss the mark, goal,
2
Ibid.,127
3
Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 1 (1-41) , (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications,
2011), 182-183.
or way” (s.v. Ps. 51:2). It can be used in secular contexts,
such as the warning in Proverbs that if one hastens he
may miss the way (19:2), or the passage in Judges of the
stone slingers who do not miss (Judg. 20:16). In the
religious sense it describes missing God’s standard
revealed in his Law, and so sinning against God. Finally,
there are the ‘scorners”, those who ridicule the righteous
and try to destroy their integrity. These people are
vicious in their words, often using double meanings and
cutting taunts; they are an abomination (Prov. 24:9). In
the three descriptions of the unrighteous there is a
growing intensity, signifying that what may start as a
harmless bit of advice from an unbeliever may end up
with a dangerously close connection to those who want
to destroy the faith. From describing what the godly
person does not do, the psalmist proceeds to point out
what he does do. The godly allows the Word of God
(Heb. torah, i.e., instruction that comes from God) to
shape his conduct rather than the wicked. His meditation
(lit. "to mumble" or "speak to oneself") on it involves
prolonged thinking about it that takes place in study and
review throughout the day (cf. 4:4).
 The third verse gives a lovely picture of the success
of the person who lives according to divine
revelation. The simile of the tree represents a
flourishing and fruitful life; first, the tree is planted
by channels of water or irrigation ditches. If the tree
represents the individual, then the water represents
the word of God, for as the water makes the tree
grow, the word causes the person to grow spiritually.
Similarly, Apostle Paul says that some have to water
the seed that was sown, meaning teach the new
believer so that there would be growth (1 Cor. 3:6).
Secondly, the tree produces fruit in its season—not
all the time, but when it is supposed to bear fruit. If a
tree is alive and being watered, it will show the
proper growth; likewise, if true believers are in the
word, they will produce righteousness (see Apostle
Paul’s discussion of the “fruit that the Spirit
produces” in Gal. 5:22—23
Thirdly the faithful are like a well-located tree that
keeps producing fruit and foliage. Fruit and foliage
balance each other: fruit is what the tree lives for,
but without foliage there will be no fruit. At the
center, the expression “in season” hints at the fact
that the fruit-bearing season is also the one that
brings the most pressure. The summer sun is both
essential to the ripening of fruit and also threatening
because it may make fruit and foliage wither.4
The psalm began by talking about good
fortune but implicitly recognizes that the godly face
the prospect of withering, not because they are
ungodly but because they are godly. This
assumption links with the nature of the psalms that
will follow, which often presuppose an experience
more like withering than flourishing. Psalm 1
promises that this is not how life will work and that
those subsequent psalms reflect exceptional rather
than regular circumstances.
The Way of the Ungodly (1:4–6)

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in

season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not
so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore
the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of
the righteous.

The image of chaff illustrates the absence of

blessing for the wicked. Chaff is the worthless husk
around a head of grain that is light in weight and blows
away in the winnowing process. It is neither admirable
4
John Goldingay, Psalms, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2006),76-77.
nor beneficial to others. In the future there will be a
winnowing judgment of people in which God will
separate the righteous from the wicked (cf. Matt. 13:30).
Then He will blow the wicked away (cf. Isa. 2:10-21).
The last verse summarizes the two ways in life—
the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. The
Lord watches over the way of the righteous, which means
far more than that he is informed about their ways.
Rather, he has a personal, intimate relationship with the
godly and is involved with them in order to guard, guide,
and grace them. But the way of the wicked will perish.
The ungodly sinner, judged and condemned in the final
judgment, will be damned forever.