Meditations on Psalm 1
Verse 1
How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
Or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers!
This first verse is a synonymous couplet, where the second line extends the idea of the first.
The blessed one is someone who does not follow, stand or sit with the wicked. They do not listen to them, share space as compatriots or join in the mocking crowd.
The blessed one remains separate to those who are against God. He takes God’s advice, walks in the path of righteousness and communes with the people of God.
Verse 2
Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;
He meditates on his commands day and night.
This couplet is a synthetic parallelism. It is also antithetical to Verse 1 and tells us what a blessed man does.
He obeys God’s commands, all the time. Whether he is in the daylight, when all can be seen. Both the upcoming opportunities and open threats. Or in the night, when vision is limited and the way forward is difficult to assess.
In other words, no matter the situation, the blessed one relies on God’s direction alone.
Verse 3
He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts.
Again, this couplet is a synonymous parallelism.
It likens the blessed man to a tree by flowing streams. There is a sense of the Garden of Eden here, where the four rivers flowed. It is as though the blessed man is established in Paradise.
It also reminds me of Christ, who when crucified, was nailed to a ‘tree’. His blood flows like rivers throughout all time and space.
The blessed one never succumbs to the season of decay. But is in fruit at the right time, in line with God’s order. He never fails, because he is walking in line with God’s direction.
Verse 4
Not so with the wicked!
Instead they are like wind-driven chaff.
This couplet is another synthetic parallelism and is antithetical to the previous couplet.
It describes the wicked as the opposite to the blessed one. The wicked will always fail, they produce ‘fruit’ out of season and will decay. This verse goes on to describe them as chaff.
Chaff is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seed. The farmer throws the chaff and seeds into the air and uses the wind to blow the chaff away. As the seed is heavier, it falls to the ground. But the chaff, it scatters.
Verse 5
For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment,
Nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.
This synthetic couplet continues the argument from the previous one.
The chaff cannot withstand the wind, the judgement of God’s Spirit. They are scattered far and therefore cannot join the heavenly assembly, the Kingdom of God.
Verse 6
Certainly the Lord guards the way of the godly,
But the way of the wicked ends in destruction.
This couplet is an antithetical parallelism.
It reminds me of the story of Noah, where the godly are saved and those outside the Ark are drowned.
God protects and knows all those that walk in His ways. He knows them and allows them to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The wicked exist outside of God’s Kingdom and will be barred entrance. And on the Judgement Day, all those who are not on God’s path, will be forever lost.