Thematic Selections from the Bible

Ps 1:1-6

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1 opens the book of Psalms with a summary of two kinds of people: one who worships God and the other who does not. It contrasts a righteous man with a wicked man; and it contains a wealth of information about the righteous and the wicked. The psalmist describes them literally and figuratively; he portrays their attitudes and actions; he relates their respective destinies. The first and last words of the psalm, in themselves, point out the differing destinies of the righteous and the wicked: the righteous will be “blessed”, the wicked will “perish”.

As for the structure of this psalm, vs 1-3 describe the righteous man; vs 4-5 describe the wicked man; vs 6 offers a summary contrasting the righteous and the wicked.

Who are the righteous and what are the marks of the righteous? What do you learn about the natural outcome of the righteous and the wicked? What would you want the outcome of your life to be? Pray and meditate on the passage again and write down what God is saying to you today.

Note: The word blessed has several meanings. Over in this passage, the Hebrew word is esher and its translation is “happiness.” Another word commonly used in OT is taken from the Hebrew word barak, which is “to kneel to bless God as an act of adoration, and vice-versa, as a man receiving benefit, or to praise, salute, or to thank.” The word blessed used in the beatitudes is taken from Greek word makarios. This word can be used to mean: “to enlarge or to lengthen; -- to greatly enlarge -- to be supremely blessed.” Another Greek meaning for blessed is eulog?tos, meaning ‘well spoken of, praise’. Used when we “Bless the Lord”.