Psalms 1

Psalm 1 opens the book of Psalms by setting two ways of life side by side. One person delights in God’s instruction and is steady and fruitful like a well-watered tree. The other lives without God and is as light and worthless as chaff. The psalm ends with God’s own verdict on both.

Psalms 1:1

The psalm begins with happiness, and it first says what the blessed person avoids. The picture moves downward: walking, then standing, then sitting. Bad influence starts with listening, grows into joining in, and ends in settling down with those who scorn God.

BSA: Blessed (“happy, joyful”): This is more than a passing good mood. It is the deep gladness of a person whom God favors. mockers (“scoffers, those who scorn”): These are people who have grown so hard that they laugh at God and at what is right.

Hebrew: אַשְׁרֵי (ashrê, H835) — “oh, the happiness of.” The Hebrew is an exclamation, not a plain statement. It cries out how fortunate this person is, as if marveling at him.

See also: Jeremiah 17:7-8.

Psalms 1:2

In place of wicked advice, this person takes in God’s instruction, and he enjoys it. It is not a burden to him. He keeps turning it over in his mind all through the day and into the night, until it shapes how he thinks and lives.

BSA: delight (“pleasure, joy”): God’s Word is what he wants and loves, not merely what he feels bound to obey. meditates (“ponders, reflects”): He goes over God’s Word again and again, the way a person quietly repeats words to himself.

Hebrew: יֶהְגֶּה (yehgeh, H1897) — “murmurs, mutters, ponders.” The Hebrew word can describe low speaking. Meditation here is more than silent thought. He softly repeats and chews over God’s words.

See also: Joshua 1:8.

Psalms 1:3

The one who lives on God’s Word is like a tree set beside flowing water. It does not depend on rain, because its roots always reach a supply. So it bears fruit at the right time, its leaves stay green, and its life is healthy and lasting.

BSA: streams of water (“flowing constantly, never drying up”): The source is steady and does not fail, even when the weather turns dry. in season (“at the right time, in due time”): Fruit comes in God’s timing, so we are not to expect it all at once.

See also: Jeremiah 17:7-8; Revelation 22:2.

Psalms 1:4

The wicked are the opposite of the tree. Chaff is the dry husk thrown into the air when grain is threshed, and the wind carries it off. They have no root, no weight and no lasting worth, however solid they may look for now.

BSA: chaff (“the loose outer covering of grain, worthless”): It is the part of the harvest that has no value and is simply blown away.

See also: Matthew 3:12.

Psalms 1:5

Because they are like chaff, the wicked will not hold their ground when God judges. They will not be found among the righteous when God’s people are gathered. Their way of life cannot survive the day when everything is made plain.

BSA: stand (“rise, survive”): This speaks of being able to remain upright and be acquitted when God examines us.

Psalms 1:6

The psalm ends with God’s own view. The LORD knows and watches over the way of the righteous, so they are never unseen or abandoned. But the way of the wicked leads nowhere and simply comes to an end. This gives the reader a reason to hope.

BSA: guards (“watches over, knows”): God does not merely look on. He knows his people closely and cares for them. perish (“be destroyed, lost, come to an end”): The wicked path ends in a dead end, with nothing left.

Hebrew: יוֹדֵעַ (yodea, H3045) — “knows.” The Hebrew word here is the ordinary word for knowing. It means close, caring knowledge, which is why many translate it as the LORD watching over or being intimately aware of the righteous path.

See also: Psalm 37:18; Matthew 7:13-14.