English · KJV

Psalms 1

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The Way of the Righteous 1–3

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. ​

The Fate of the Ungodly 4–6

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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 1

Verse 1

Blessed is the man — Ashre, a plural exclamation, 'O the happiness of…'. It opens the Psalter, and the same word closes Ps 2:12: 'Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.' Three verbs (walketh, standeth, sitteth) meet three nouns (counsel, way, seat), and the man avoids all three.

Verse 2

doth he meditate — Hagah, to murmur or speak low. It is the verb of Josh 1:8: the book of the law 'shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night'. The same verb describes the peoples who 'imagine a vain thing' in Ps 2:1.

Verse 3

planted by the rivers of water — Shathal is to transplant, and the 'rivers' (peleg) are small channels of water, as in irrigation. Jer 17:8 says the same of the one who trusts in the LORD, and Ezek 47:12 of trees whose 'leaf shall not fade'. 'Prosper' (tsalach) is the word of Josh 1:8, 'thou shalt make thy way prosperous'.

Verse 4

the chaff — Mots, the husk threshed loose from the grain. 'Driveth away' (nadaph) is to scatter; Hos 13:3 has the same picture with another verb, 'the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor'. It stands against the tree whose 'leaf also shall not wither' (v.3), and John says Christ 'will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire' (Matt 3:12).

Verse 5

shall not stand in the judgment — The ungodly cannot 'stand' (qum) when the matter is judged: 'The foolish shall not stand in thy sight' (Ps 5:5). 'Congregation' is edah, the assembly of Israel. Mal 3:18 gives the division as one that will be seen: 'between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not'.

Verse 6

the LORD knoweth the way — Yada, to know with regard, as in Amos 3:2, 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth'. 'Way' (derek) closes the psalm as it opened it in v.1, and 'perish' (abad) returns in Ps 2:12, 'ye perish from the way'. Christ says, 'I… know my sheep' (John 10:14).