[Preliminary Note: Reminder, the psalms, as songs, are both for touching the mind and the heart, therefore with some of the shorter psalms (say less than 12 verses), after the section with helps, we invite you to read the psalm (out loud perhaps) and let it touch your heart.]

Psalm 1: Contrast the Righteous & the Unrighteous

v.1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

v.1 Blessing from God comes on the one who avoids the life of evil

v.2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

v.2 Blessing comes on the one whose heart delights in God’s design, His law, His will, who has it on his heart, so yearns after it day and night

v.3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

v.3 they will know a life-bringing supply that results in a most fruitful life, never succumbing in the tough times and simply doing well all the time.

v.4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

v.4 the wicked, by contrast will get blown away, they will not stand

v.5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

v.5 such people will not be able to face God on Judgment Day, for they have no place among God’s righteous people

v.6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

v.6 the contrast is clear: God guards the righteous in their walk with Him, to keep them for eternity, but the path the wicked takes will bring destruction down on them.

[Additional Comment: This brief psalm contrasts what it describes as ‘the righteous’, the person who seeks to follow God’s way and God’s will, and what it describes as ‘the wicked’, the ones who don’t but who go after their own desires regardless of the effects they have on others. Although ‘the wicked’ may appear to ‘get away with it’ for a while, God decrees judgment on them, either in their time on earth, or on Judgement Day. On the positive side blessing is promised for the person who follows after God, blessing that v.3 shows is resourcing and fruit-bringing, a life of achievement and fulfilment. After perhaps going back and meditating on individual verses, now read it meaningfully out loud straight through:

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither –
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: