Psalm 1 Be Like A Tree Planted By The Rivers Of Water

by Chuck Ness

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish.

Unlike all the others, this psalm has no title. Many call it “The Preface Psalm”, in that it introduces the whole book of psalms. While others simply refer to it as, “The Psalm of Psalms”. In the metaphrase of Apollinarius it is given the title, “A Song of David, the Prophet and King”. Thomas Watson may have said it best when he wrote in his book “The Saints Spiritual Delight”,

This Psalm begins where we all hope to end: it may well be called a “Christian's Guide”, for it discovers the quick-sands, where the wicked sink into perdition, while the saints find a firm ground to tread the narrow road to glory.

David officially credited with writing 72 of the psalms, unofficially he wrote 75 of them. The Jews have Psalm 1 & 2 joined as one in their writings. It is in Acts 4:25 where we learn that David is the author of Psalm 2, and Hebrews 4:7 tells us that he also wrote psalm 95.

There is no record as to what precipitated the writing of this psalm, nor when it was. Like the vast majority of the teachings in the Bible, the sentiments this psalm relates to could be applicable to all times, all lands, and all people. After reading it however, you get a better sense of why it was categorized as the first psalm. Psalm 1 is a proverbial psalm, contrasting two opposites to make its point.

Verses 1 & 2 shows us the blessedness of the righteous, in their avoiding every appearance of evil.
Verses 3 & 4 points out the ungodly, under the metaphor of chaff driven away by the wind.
Verses 5 & 6 gives us the contrasting results of living either a righteous or an unrighteous life.

I pray my message on Psalm 1 blesses your heart, and enlightens your mind as I attempt to explain the meaning behind the words so eloquently penned some 3000 years ago.