Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
Many commentators believe that Psalm 1 serves as an entrance into the Psalms as a whole, setting the tone for all others.[1] In other words, this psalm serves as a way to enter into the entire collection of psalms.
This first psalm speaks of the essential activity of spiritual meditation. If the reader can learn meditation, they will possess a key that unlocks the rest of the psalms. If they refuse to meditate, the deep vault of God’s truth will remain locked. Jacobson and Tanner write, “The placement of this wisdom psalm at the front of the Psalter is not an accident… The reader is invited to read the entire book of Psalms as a guide to life in God—a life that the psalm describes as happy. Likewise, because the key characteristic of the happy life is depicted as a constant meditation on God’s torah, the book of Psalms itself is commended to the reader as torah.”[2]
Psalm 1 warns of curses for those who reject God’s teaching, and it promises blessing for those who meditate on God’s word and practice these truths in their lives. It can be classified as a wisdom psalm or torah psalm.[3]
(1) The INWARD RESULTS of biblical meditation
(1:1) 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.
“Blessed” (ʾašhrê) is an archaic word in English. How would you define the word “blessed”? In his book Happiness (2015), Randy Alcorn describes taking an informal survey of over 900 people, asking them, “What does the word ‘blessed’ mean?” The answers ranged from “covered,” “favored,” “lucky,” or “grace.” These answers are wrong.
“Blessed” means “happy.” Jacobson and Tanner,[4] Wilson,[5] Alter,[6] Kidner[7] and VanGemeren[8] all translate this word as “happy” or “happiness.” VanGemeren adds, “[This] condition of ‘bliss’ is not merely a feeling. Even when the righteous do not feel happy, they are still considered ‘blessed’ from God’s perspective. He bestows this gift on them. Neither negative feelings nor adverse conditions can take his blessing away.”[9] It seems that traditionalism has kept the word “blessed” in modern translations. This is sad because older readers would know that the word “blessed” meant “happy.” But modern readers do not make this association. More modern and dynamic translations render this word as “happy” (CSB) or “joys” (NLT).
Where do you think happiness comes from? Money? Fame? Sex? The Bible teaches that happiness comes from meditating on God’s word and delighting in it. Many Christians sense that something is wrong in their lives, but they can’t put their finger on it. If you are in that position and you don’t meditate on God’s word, look no further! Learn this important skill and watch it change your life!
“Blessed is the one.” Some of the psalms were written for the nation as a whole or for the purpose of corporate worship. Not this one. This speaks to the individual—to the “one” person who chooses to meditate on God’s word. This is the one who stands against the plural “wicked… sinners… mockers.” This shows us that we are not determined by our culture, circumstances, or surroundings. Each person has the choice meditate on God. Will you choose to passively follow the way of the world? Or will you actively choose to delight in God’s word? (Rom. 12:2)
“Walk… stand… sit.” We agree with Wilson[10] and Jacobson and Tanner[11] that this describes a progression of falling into a lifestyle of ungodliness. In other words, the person begins by walking with the ungodly, then he stands around and lingers with them, and finally he feels comfortable enough to sit down and enjoy fellowship with them. This progression leads to a slow but sure conformity to the ways of the world.[12]
The “wicked” (rešaʿim) are those who have been judged guilty by God.
The “sinners” (ḥaṭṭaʾim) have “not just committed an isolated act of evil but live lives dominated and shaped by their inclinations.”[13]
The “mockers” (leṣim) are “the defiant and cynical freethinker.” This is “the person who will not live by wise and moral teachings and is not content to let others do so without his cynical mocking.”[14] Consider several instances of the “mocker” in the Proverbs:
- “Scoffers delight themselves in scoffing” (Prov. 1:22).
- “Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out” (Prov. 22:10).
- “Scoffers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance” (Prov. 21:24).
- “Scoffers set a city aflame, but wise men turn away anger” (Prov. 29:8).
- “If you scoff at wisdom, you will be the one to suffer” (Prov. 9:12).
(1:2) But whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.
In contrast to the walking, standing, and sitting of the unrighteous, the wise man “meditates.” The description of the wicked focuses on the outward actions, while the description of the righteous focuses on the inner transformation of the mind and the heart.
“Delight” refers to the person’s “chief desire.” VanGemeren writes, “‘Delight’ (ḥep̱ṣô) expresses all that makes the man of God happy. The law is more than his delight; it is his chief desire.”[15] As we meditate, God’s word becomes delightful to us. It becomes the desire of our heart. Over time, we discover that we don’t want to spend a day or two away from spending time with God in the word.
“The law of the LORD.” The “law” doesn’t refer to the Ten Commandments alone, but to the entirety of the Old Testament. The word “law” (tôrāh) means “instruction” or “direction.” VanGemeren,[16] Kidner,[17] Jacobson and Tanner,[18] and Wilson[19] understand the “law of the LORD” to refer to the entirety of the OT, including the rest of the Psalms. This explains why Jesus referred to the Psalms as God’s “law” (Jn. 10:34). See comments on Psalm 1:2.
“Meditates” (hāg̱āh) is an onomatopoeia—a word that sounds like the action (“Bam!” “Whap!” “Ribbit”). This word means to “murmur” or to “mutter.”[20] It refers to the “growling” of animals over their prey (Isa. 31:4; 38:14) or the moaning and “wailing” of a person in distress (Isa. 16:7).[21] Elsewhere, the term is translated as “treasured” (Ps. 119:11). It’s used in Psalm 2:1 for “devising” or “plotting.”
Some people claim that meditation is too difficult for them to master. Not true! You “murmur” and “mutter” throughout the entire day! You murmur to yourself about how your boss treated you, about your credit card debt, about your health issues, about family or marital conflict, and surely about many other subjects that fill your mind and heart. Properly understood, you are an expert in meditation because you engage in it all day long. The goal is to learn to shift this focus onto God and his truth, rather than yourself and your problems.
Meditation implies that we begin by listening to God—not by talking. Rather than starting the conversation in prayer, we listen and think about what he has said to us first.
“Day and night” is a merism[22] that describes the totality of our lives. While not literal, this teaches that the meditations of our hearts should be on God’s truth—not our worries, bitterness, conflicts, etc. This is the key to avoiding the lifestyle of the ungodly in verse 1. Indeed, this is the only difference between the righteous and the wicked: one chooses to meditate on God’s truth, while the other does not.
(2) The OUTWARD RESULTS of biblical meditation
Biblical meditation isn’t just an inward activity that produces psychological health and renewal. It does that. However, it also produces change outwardly in the life of the believer—changes that are noticeable to us and others.
(1:3) 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.
“Like a tree planted by streams of water.” This tree is strategically placed by the source of life (“by streams of water”). In a dry and arid climate, trees would grow or wither depending on the seasons and circumstances. But if the tree had a direct line to streams of water, it would be unaffected by the circumstances of drought. In the same way, the person who meditates on the word of God will gain stability among life’s circumstances.
This is a slow but steady process. Jacobson and Tanner observe, “Like a tree that quietly, invisibly, constantly receives strength and life through its roots, so are we given God’s Word as a steady source of life.”[23]
“In season.” Biblical meditation doesn’t change us overnight (any more than “fruit” appears overnight on a tree). But over time, meditation will produce fruit in our lives and the lives of others: “whatever they do prospers.”
“Whose leaf does not wither.” The person who meditates on God’s word possesses access to a transcendent source of living water. They won’t “wither” when a drought occurs. This is because they are planted by “streams of water.”
“Whatever they do prospers.” This carries the idea of “being successful” or “bringing to a successful conclusion… Like the tree, the work of one who is rooted and grounded in God’s guiding Word is also fruitful.”[24]
To summarize, the person who meditates and delights on God’s word is stable, fruitful, able to endure hard times, and prosperous during the good times.
(1:4) Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
“Chaff.” Winnowers strike the wheat in order to break apart the flimsy and papery husk of the wheat from the heavy kernel within. As the winnower throws them into the air, these lightweight husks float away with the wind, separating the wheat from the chaff. Consequently, the chaff flitters away in the wind.
The chaff is far different from the sturdy and immovable tree. The “wicked” are the same way. They are both useless and transitory. At times, the wicked might appear to be stable and immovable like a tree (Ps. 37:35). But God has a different perspective on the lives of such people. They are like chaff blowing away in the wind.
(3) The FINAL RESULTS of biblical meditation
(1:5) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
At the beginning of the psalm, the righteous man shouldn’t “stand” with sinners. Here, the word “stand” occurs in contrast to verse 1. The unrighteous can’t stand in God’s presence at the judgment. Alter writes, “Against the self-destructive sitting in the sessions of scoffers, the court of judgment is a place where the wicked will have no leg to stand on (like chaff).”[25]
(1:6) For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
“Watches over” (yada) literally means “knows.” The reason why there is judgment is because God “knows” what’s happening. The word “knows” can also be translated as “concerned” (cf. Ex. 2:25) or “watches over” (NIV, NLT) or “guards” (NET). Wilson describes the great contrast between the righteous and the wicked: “[God] is the great pathfinder who has blazed the safe and secure trail for those who come behind. By contrast, the way of the wicked seeks to explore territory in which God is absent and consequently will lead to separation from God and destruction.”[26]
Questions for Reflection
Why do so many commentators think that this psalm serves as a key that unlocks all of the psalms?
According to this chapter, what are the benefits of biblical meditation? What are the costs of neglecting biblical meditation?
What is the one key difference that separates the righteous from the wicked? The key between the two is not moral self-effort or religious works. The only difference between the two is that one dwells and meditates on the word of God, and the other does not (v.2). Without the word of God, we are no different than the wicked. We can easily become just like the wicked if we lack the stability that God gives us.
What do you meditate on throughout the day besides God’s word? How many hours do you spend thinking about yourself or your circumstances?
According to this passage, what is the central reason people fall away from God?
Devotional Paraphrase of Psalm 1
“You will be happy if you do not conform to the lifestyle and mindset of people who are very far from me. You will only be happy if you find happiness in my words. It takes some time to meditate on my words to you. But as you do this, you will be strong like a tree planted by a river. You’ll be strong, fruitful, and stable—no matter the circumstances. The people in the world who don’t love me don’t have this stability. Their lives are like dust in the wind. In the end, they won’t even be able to stand when I come in judgment. But not you. I’m going to watch over you at all times.”
[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 52.
[2] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 58-59.
[3] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 93.
[4] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 60.
[5] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 94.
[6] Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), 3.
[7] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 64.
[8] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 53.
[9] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 53.
[10] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 94.
[11] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 60-61.
[12] Others, like Kidner, hold that these are all merely synonyms, and we shouldn’t read into the text too much. Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 64.
[13] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 95.
[14] Allen Ross, Proverbs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 910, 949.
[15] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 55.
[16] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 54.
[17] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 65.
[18] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 61.
[19] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 96.
[20] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 96.
[21] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 55.
[22] Merisms use contrasting examples to refer to everything in between. For example, we commonly use the merism of searching “high and low” or in every “nook and cranny.”
[23] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 64.
[24] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 98.
[25] Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), 4.
[26] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 99.