See the Big Picture. Dig In. Live It Out: A 5-Day Reading Plan in Psalms 1-50Sample

The Big Picture

Both Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 provide an introduction to the Psalms. Psalm 1 emphasizes how happily blessed is the individual who lives a godly life in commitment to God’s Word. It is an invitation and exhortation to immerse oneself in the psalms by knowing and meditating on them because they provide instruction and perspective concerning every aspect of life. These ultimately lead to a life that gives honor and joyful praise to God as depicted in Psalms 145–150. This happily blessed life contrasts with the meaningless lives of the ungodly who ultimately will perish. All must decide which path to take but must do so by recognizing that everyone will someday answer to God in the judgment.

Digging In    

The first three verses of Psalm 1 describe the kind of person who lives a truly happy, joyful, blessed life. Such blessedness is more than mere emotion, but at the same time, it involves deep emotion and great satisfaction. These verses indicate this life is characterized by what one doesn’t do (Ps. 1:1), by what one does do (1:2), and is naturally characterized by the abundant blessing resulting from this lifestyle described in the first two verses (1:3). What are the three things the happily blessed person does not do? 1) The happily blessed person does not listen to the advice of unbelievers no matter how upstanding they may appear. 2) The happily blessed person does not conform to the ways of those who live in disobedience and rebellion against God, and 3) the happily blessed person does not align with those outspoken individuals who derisively mock God and the people of God (1:1). Even if unbelievers appear to be morally good people and upstanding citizens, they know nothing of the things of God and have no desire to serve him. Their way of thinking is completely foreign to faith in God and a commitment to his Word. Regardless of how people with no faith in God conduct themselves, either quietly or loudly, the happily blessed person recognizes their inadequacies and rejects their godless influence. 

Instead, the happily blessed person delights in God’s Word and continually meditates on it (1:2). Meditation on God’s Word requires first reading God’s Word and then knowing God’s Word. The Hebrew word for “meditates” literally means “to utter” the words with the sense of doing it repeatedly as one ponders its meaning. It might be likened to talking to oneself. Immersing oneself in God’s Word shapes one’s mind and then naturally shapes how one lives. But it is more than just an activity. This happily blessed life begins with delighting in God’s Word because of one’s delight in the Lord, the object of one’s desire and affection. When one delights in something or somebody, one delights in that which pertains to them. 

What does the person who lives this way look like? “He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (1:3). The water is God’s Word, strengthening the happily blessed person producing the fruit of righteousness. “Season” implies times of planting, times of growth, and times of harvest. It is the picture of taking in God’s Word, allowing it to take root within, and finally seeing its fruit. It describes the ongoing, seasonal work of sanctification in a believer’s life. Moreover, his “leaf does not wither.” The continual watering of God’s Word will sustain the happily blessed person, resulting in a thriving life lived unto God; this is true prosperity. Such logic underpins one of the reasons this psalm brings to mind the Wisdom writings of the Old Testament, especially the book of Proverbs. Not only does it employ the motif of contrasting two ways of life, but when one orders one’s life in such a way as to shun the way of the wicked and cling to the way of God’s Word, the divinely ordered result established by the Creator will be abundance and joy. Proverbs 10:28 states, “The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” 

Consequently, Psalm 1:4–5 describes the wicked and what they should expect. They are nothing like those described above (1:4a). Those who reject the ways of unbelievers and immerse themselves in God’s Word are firmly rooted. However, the wicked “are like chaff that the wind blows away.” In ancient Israel, upon harvesting the wheat and barley, farmers brought their crops to the threshing floor to crush them and thereby separate the grain from the stalks. Once that was done, they winnowed the stalks. Winnowing involved waving or tossing the stalks into the wind so that the chaff, the inedible, useless covering of the grain, would blow away and the edible grain would fall to the ground. The wicked ultimately are both rootless and useless when it comes to spiritual matters. Psalm 127:1 states, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor over it in vain.” Therefore, the wicked “will not stand up in the judgment” nor “in the assembly of the righteous” (1:5). We must live circumspectly, recognizing all of us one day will face God in the final judgment and give an account for our lives. On that day, God will separate the wicked from the righteous. 

In conclusion, verse 6 indicates “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” Literally, in its original language of Hebrew, it reads the Lord “knows” the way of the righteous. This truth should give great comfort to believers. Such knowledge is an intimate relational knowledge God has for his children alone. It is both the evidence and security of our salvation. It is a wondrous thing to know the Lord, but just as wonderful is the truth that he knows us. The “righteous” are those who, like Abraham, have placed their faith in God and become his covenant people. On the other hand, “the way of the wicked leads to ruin.” Their dreams, their plans, their way of life will come to ruin. All of it is meaningless apart from faith in God.

Living It Out 

There are two paths to living. One path leads to life and the other to death. The key to living a happily blessed life is by faith in God and by living for God, rejecting any influence that would detract one’s commitment to him. It involves delighting in God’s Word and being completely immersed in it, daily reading it, meditating upon it, and living one’s life in accordance with it. It means looking to Christ, the only one to truly live in perfect obedience to God’s law. Consequently, everyone will stand before God when the final judgment comes. The unbeliever must recognize life is meaningless apart from placing one’s faith in the Lord and living for him. Otherwise, everything is temporary, ultimately meaningless, leading to ruin in the final judgment.