Blessednesses/Psalm 1

In many ways, this first psalm is a preface to all the psalms. In the space of a few short verses, we have the entire compass of righteous and unrighteous living set before us. Not every word is spoken, but the fundamental issues of life are all here. “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 . . .” (Ps. 1:1-6).

There is a great contrast here. The psalmist shows us that there are two, and only two, ways of living. The first kind of man is richly blessed. The phrase translated “blessed is the man” could literally be rendered “O the blessednesses of the man . . .” In this fallen world, genuine happiness is a live possibility, and it is set before us. God in His grace offers it to us (v. 1).

This blessed man is negatively described. In the first place, this blessed man is one who does not. The beginning of blessedness is an understanding of the antithesis. Without this wisdom, without this antithesis, everything gets blurred and smudged, including the difference between happiness and wretchedness (v. 1).

We see that sin progresses. We can identify a natural movement here—walk, stand, sit (v. 1)— compromise, dalliance, allegiance. The blessed man has no truck with the wisdom of fools; he rejects the counsel of the ungodly. The concern here is with the teaching, the philosophy, the wisdom of those who do not walk with God. It does not end here, but it does begin here. The ungodly say, look, here is true wisdom. Examples are not hard to find—pop-therapy psycho-babble, scientism, or preachy sitcoms. Ungodly counsel, the way of sinners, and the seat of scoffers are all opposed to the law of God.

But the godly man does not just shun that which is wicked. That by itself would be mere moralism. If we do not begin with the antithesis, we will soon belong to the devil’s party. If we live by a truncated antithesis, shunning things that are “bad,” we will soon find ourselves as Pharisees, belonging to . . . the devil’s party.

The godly man finds true delight. The law of God entrances him. He can’t get over it. He reads it again and again. He meditates on it constantly — day and night. The word here for “meditates” comes from muttering, or mumbling. This man delights in the law of God to such an extent that we find him talking under his breath to himself about it (v. 2).

What is the result? He is like a tree planted by the waterside. Note first that he is planted. He did not do this for himself (v. 3). Since this is the case, his leaf does not wither, and his fruit is yielded in season. Now what is the nature of his fruit?

This passage says that it includes whatever he does (v. 3). The Bible teaches us that temporal prosperity is to be subordinated in our hearts and minds to spiritual prosperity, but the Bible does not set them necessarily at odds with each other. Consider what Paul teaches in 1 Tim. 4:8. For the righteous man, as a general rule, whatever he does prospers.

So whatever the godly are, the ungodly are not. There are really only two ways to live. One way is to live as chaff. A tree is rooted and fruitful. But if we think about chaff, few things could be found that are more clearly rootless. Not only is this the case, but chaff is also worthless, and the wind drives it off (v. 4). Who wants it?

It is a grave error to assume that the Old Testament saints knew nothing of the final judgment. Here the great congregation of all the saints is gathered by God (v. 5). The ungodly shall not stand there; they fall in the judgment. These are the ones who stood in the way of sinners, so they shall not stand in the judgment.

God knows the different between wheat and chaff. So we find here the motive that many have to deny the omniscience of God — whether practically or doctrinally. God knows the way of the righteous, and we know from this that the way of the ungodly shall perish (v. 6).

What should we do? How should we walk? First, we should read all the psalms, sing all the psalms, mediate on the psalms, talk under our breath about the psalms, with this antithesis in mind. Second, we must ditch the counsel of the wicked. We must not listen to these people. They reject the Word of God; what wisdom could they have? Third, we have to abandon ourselves to the Scriptures. Think of something, anything, that you truly delight in. How do you behave toward that thing? Now compare this with your approach to the Word. Fourth, we must seek blessedness. God prospers the work of those who fear Him. Seek this kind of prosperity, and accept no other kind. And fifth, remember the day of judgment. God knows and considers every step we take. He knows which road we are walking on. He will bring everything into judgment. We must remember and fear Him.