Psalm 1--The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Psalm 1
English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

​5 Therefore the wicked will 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 wicked will perish.

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I wanted to wait until we were done with the Law (or mostly done with the Law) before studying the book of Psalms because it has much to day about how we should view the commandments, precepts, and commandments of the LORD.

We've taken a look at Psalm 1 in other contexts before, specifically comparing it to the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount and showed that the standard that Jesus was setting there was the same as God's holy and righteous standard that always been set for all of His people.  Unfortunately there is no one who meets those qualifications other than Christ, and so in a way, this is a Messianic Psalm (in fact, we'll find much, if not all, of Book 1 to be Messianic Psalms), because Jesus is the only one who can be the Blessed One.  All of us are the "foolish men" without Christ.  It is only because of Christ's finished work that the Father looks on us and sees His Son and receive the blessings of this Psalm that belong only to Him.  

​Who is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers?  We have very few such people described for us in the entire Bible that the Bible would call "blameless" and "upright" in all their ways or "above reproach."  The names that come to my mind (besides Jesus) are Job, Daniel, and Joseph.  We should aim not only to walk holy and blameless in His sight through the power of the Holy Spirt, but we should love the Law of the LORD because it is an extension of His character and nature and if we love Him, we will naturally love His Law.  There are many who act as if they hate the Old Testament, especially the first five books of the Bible.  We do not have that option from this passage if we are to be made into the image of the Son of God and we are told that He loves the Law of the LORD and meditates on it day and night--it is always on His mind and always on His lips.  He was quick to answer from the book of the Law (the book of Deuteronomy) when tempted three times by Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4.

"He is a like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither."  Now compare this to the Tree of Life that we see described in the book of Revelation 22.


Revelation 22:1-5
English Standard Version
​
The River of Life
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

"All that he does prospers." 


Philippians 1:6
English Standard Version6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

The LORD and Jesus Christ by the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit will accomplish the good work that they set out to do from before the beginning of time.  Everything He has ordained and predestined will come to pass, including saving a remnant unto Himself.

The wicked are not only like the chaff that the wind will blow away, but Jesus tells us in the New Testament that the wheat and the chaff will be separated from each other in the final judgment and that the chaff will be burned in the fire.  The wicked will not be counted among the righteous in the kingdom of God and these promises and blessings are not for them because they have chosen to take the curses that they deserve instead of laying their curses on Christ and receiving His blessings in exchange.

"For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."
This is our promise that the LORD sees everything and that nothing is going to escape the final judgment.  We can have our sins judged now under the blood of Jesus, or we can try to bear the punishment of our own sins in the final judgment and spend an eternity in hell and the Lake of Fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels because we rebelled against God's Law and His gospel message that was the one and only way of salvation.


John 14:6
English Standard Version6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Hebrews 2:1-4
English Standard Version

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Also see Psalm 118:14 and Isaiah 12:2 as our salvation is found only in the person known as the LORD (the I AM) and Jesus identifies Himself as the I AM in the Gospel of John with at least seven different I AM statements.


2 Peter 3:9
English Standard Version9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.