The Way of the Righteous

Series: A Summer in Psalms Week 1 Title: The Way of the Righteous Text: Psalm 1:1–6 (KJV) Theme: The foundation of a blessed life Focus: Delighting in God’s Word and walking in His ways

Psalm 1 KJV 1900

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.

Introduction:

We live in a culture obsessed with being blessed. Hashtags like #blessed fill social media feeds—usually under pictures of new cars, exotic vacations, or perfectly plated food. But Psalm 1 invites us to see blessing through a much different lens. It shows us that true blessing is not about what you have—it’s about who you walk with and what you delight in.

Psalm 1 stands as the gateway to the entire book of Psalms. It lays the foundation for a life of worship, devotion, and lasting fruitfulness. This Psalm doesn't offer vague encouragement; it presents a clear contrast between two paths: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.

And only one leads to the blessing of God.

So let’s walk through this Psalm and consider what it means to live “The Way of the Righteous.”

I. The Walk of the Righteous (v. 1)

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…”

“It is not ‘Blessed is the king, blessed is the scholar, blessed is the rich,’ but, ‘Blessed is the man.’ This blessedness is as attainable by the poor, the forgotten and the obscure, as by those whose names figure in history, and are trumpeted by fame.” (Spurgeon)

The first thing the Psalmist tells us is what the blessed person does not do. Why? Because living a righteous life requires choosing the right influences and refusing the wrong ones.

Psalm 1:1, 2 describe an ideal man, the kind of person God is looking for.

The blessed man does not do certain things. There is a way he will not walk, a path he will not stand in, and a seat he will not sit in.

We can say these speak of thinking, behaving, and belonging. The righteous man and the ungodly man are different in how they think, how they behave, and to whom they belong.

The Blessed Man Does not sin...

This ideal man is known first by what he does not do.

There is a downward spiral in these three negative descriptions. A man or woman settles into sin by stages—he walks, then he stops and stands, and finally he sits down. First he is influenced by the sinners, then he identifies with them, and finally he spreads sin to others through his laughter and sarcasm. Sin will take you from bad to worse.

A. He Rejects the Counsel of the World

First, you will be influenced; you start by listening to what the wicked say. You laugh at sin on talk shows and movies. You look up to an ungodly woman at work. You admire a celebrity who is far from God. You spend more and more time with a questionable friend. You listen to music that makes sin sound appealing.

As you listen to sinners, you want to be like them. You meditate on sin, although you might not call it that. You begin walking “in the counsel of the ungodly”

The blessed person doesn’t “walk in the counsel of the ungodly.”

That means he doesn’t take his cues for life from those who reject God’s truth.

Proverbs 3:6 KJV 1900

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

Our direction in life should come from God, not pop culture, politics, or peer pressure.

B. He Resists the Behavior of Sinners

He doesn’t “stand in the way of sinners.” That word “stand” implies identification. He doesn’t join in or adopt their lifestyle.

Next, you identify with sinners. You stop and take your stand with them. The word “way” refers to a lifestyle, a path you follow through life. Their sinful lifestyle becomes your lifestyle; their attitude is your attitude; their habits become your habits.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us...

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The righteous can have the confidence of Psalm 16:11

Psalm 16:11 KJV 1900

11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The way of the righteous is understanding God has a path, and it is a good road to take.

C. He Refuses the Fellowship of the Scornful

He doesn’t “sit in the seat of the scornful.” He’s not comfortable around those who mock righteousness, laugh at purity, or scoff at truth.

Scornful (Scoffers) are funny—they’ll make you laugh as you turn away from God. Mockers are missionaries of wickedness. They tell jokes as they call good evil and evil good.

They want to make you feel stupid for trying to follow God. If you listen to them long enough, you will walk in their counsel, you will take your stand with them, and you will become like them.

2 Corinthians 6:17 says, “Come out from among them and be ye separate…”

“The great lesson to be learned from the whole is, sin is progressive; one evil propensity or act leads to another. He who acts by bad counsel may soon do evil deeds; and he who abandons himself to evil doings may end his life in total apostasy from God.” (Clarke)

🪜 Notice the descent: Walking → Standing → Sitting. This is the path Lot followed in Genesis 19—and it ended in tragedy. The righteous person chooses a different path. He separates from worldly ways and stays rooted in God’s truth.

This is a problem because the grammar of verse 1 requires complete obedience. The blessed man has never sinned. Willem VanGemeren, a noted Old Testament scholar, points this out.

The perfect mood of the verbs in each case emphasizes that the godly are never involved with anything tainted with evil.

So the blessings of Psalm 1 are for those who are and always have been separate from sin. Who can inherit this blessing? Who can hope to have the truly happy life this psalm lays out for us? Is the psalmist tempting us with something we can never have?

A man named Joseph Flacks was visiting Palestine in the early twentieth century. He had an opportunity to address a gathering of Jews and Arabs and decided to speak on the first psalm. He read it in Hebrew and discussed the verb tenses. Then he asked the question, “Who is this blessed man of whom the psalmist speaks?

This man never walked in the counsel of the wicked or stood in the way of sinners or sat in the seat of mockers. He was an absolutely sinless man.”

Nobody spoke. So Flacks said, “Was he our great father Abraham?” One old man said, “No, it cannot be Abraham. He denied his wife and told a lie about her.”

“Well, how about the lawgiver Moses?” “No,” someone said. “It cannot be Moses. He killed a man, and he lost his temper by the waters of Meribah.”

Flacks suggested David. It was not David; he committed both murder and adultery.

There was a long silence. Then an elderly Jew arose and said, “My brothers, I have a little book here; it is called the New Testament. I have been reading it, and if I could believe this book, if I could be sure that it is true, I would say that the man of the first Psalm was Jesus of Nazareth.”

Amazingly, the very first verse of the Psalms points to Christ. Ancient Jews who read this psalm would recognize that David and the kings after him did not live up to the ideals of this opening psalm.

Like this elderly Jewish man, Psalm 1:1 would prompt them to look for the kind of messiah who did please the Lord and who did not sin against him. Now that Jesus has come, we can see that he is the only one whose sinless life and delight in God’s Word has earned him God’s blessing. He is the one truly and supremely happy man (cf. 45:7). Jesus is the blessed man of Psalm 1!

So where does this leave us? The good news, the gospel, is that all the blessings of Psalm 1 become ours through his obedience. We have been joined together with Jesus by trusting in his death and resurrection. If you are in Christ, your life is wrapped up in him, and his life is wrapped up in yours. On the cross he took our sin and gave us his righteousness. The Scriptures say,

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV 1900

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God gives us Jesus’ righteousness—his obedience is counted as ours. And since Jesus’ righteous obedience is imputed to us, then all the blessings of Psalm 1 are ours as well. Not only that, but if the Spirit of Christ is living in us, Christ himself will help us turn away from sin, delight in his Word, and meditate on his Word. To live out Psalm 1, we need to become like Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

II. The Word of the Righteous (v. 2)

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord…”

The righteous life isn’t just about what you avoid—it’s about what you pursue. And the righteous person finds his joy, his satisfaction, his delight in God’s Word.

A. He Delights in the Word

God blesses the one who constantly and intentionally focuses on his Word.

To him, the Bible is not a burden—it’s a blessing.

Job 23:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Psalm 19:10 KJV 1900

10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

🕊️ He doesn’t read the Bible out of obligation—he reads it out of love.

One important sign that someone has genuinely come to faith is that he or she has a new hunger for God’s Word. He or she loves to read it. The word “law” is the Hebrew word torah, which means instruction. This often means the Law of Moses, but in this context it refers to the Scriptures as a whole and especially the Psalms.

The blessed man finds unspeakable joy in God’s Word because he loves God and he wants to learn how to please God. You will only delight in God’s Law if you already delight in God himself.

B. He Dwells in the Word

“…and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

Meditation is not just reading—it’s ruminating, like a cow chewing the cud.

Joshua 1:8 says meditation leads to prosperity and success.

Joshua 1:8 KJV 1900

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

📖 The Word of God is many things:

Milk for the newborn – 1 Peter 2:2

Meat for the mature – Hebrews 5:12–14

Bread for everyone – John 6:51

Honey for the hurting – Psalm 19:10

Light for our path – Psalm 119:105

Water to cleanse and refresh – Ephesians 5:26

Seed that grows – 1 Peter 1:23

Fire that burns – Jeremiah 20:9

Sword that pierces – Hebrews 4:12

💬 “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” – James 1:22 📝 The rooted believer internalizes the Word and lets it shape every decision and direction. Blessed is the man who turns away from sin to find joy in God’s Word.

III. The Wealth of the Righteous (v. 3)

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…”

Here we come to a beautiful image—a rooted life, like a well-watered tree. What a picture of stability, fruitfulness, and spiritual prosperity.

A. He is Planted with Purpose

“Planted” means placed intentionally. This is not a wild tree—it’s a tree transplanted by grace.

The psalmist paints a picture of the green and growing blessings of the righteous. These blessings are even more compelling because they stand in contrast with the empty wasteland of the ungodly.

He draws daily from the water of the Word.

🌊 In Israel’s arid climate, trees by a river never wither. So it is with those rooted in Christ.

A tree by a river has a continual source of water. It will never wither away, because it is always getting what it needs. If we are constantly needy, it may be worth examining if we are planted by the rivers of water or not.

“This would also be a tree that is strong and stable, sinking down deep roots. The life of the righteous man is marked by strength and stability.” David Guzik

B. He is Productive in Fruit

“…bringeth forth his fruit in his season.”

Like fruit trees, believers may not bear fruit every day—but in season, they will.

“There are no barren trees in God’s orchard, and yet they may have their fits of barrenness, as an apple tree sometimes hath; but they will reflourish with advantage.” John Trapp

John 15:5 KJV 1900

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

🍎 Others feed off your life. Your fruit is a blessing to others, even when you don’t realize it.

C. He is Persistent in Strength

“…his leaf also shall not wither.”

In the middle of summer, the grass might be brown as the sun beats down and turns the land into a skillet. But this man has roots that go below the surface to drink from the waters his gardener supplies. When an unbelieving world sees a man put out leaves while he is torched by the hot winds of life, there can only be one explanation.

He’s like an evergreen tree—steady, faithful, dependable.

1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV 1900

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

D. He is Prosperous in Life

“Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

This doesn’t mean material riches, but spiritual success and eternal reward.

In God’s economy, the work he gives us often prospers through our own suffering and humiliation. The blessing, though, is that this pain and confusion is not pointless. The work God gives us to do in the place he plants us will prosper as we faithfully turn from sin, delight in God’s Word, and meditate on the Word.

God blesses the life that is rooted in Him.

🌳 Illustration: A tree planted by the river doesn’t worry about drought. It stays vibrant because it taps into an unseen source. So it is with the believer who draws strength from the Word and presence of God.

“Brown, dead, withered leaves are signs of death and dryness. The righteous man does not have these signs of death and dryness; his “leaves” are green and alive.” David Guzik

IV. The Warning to the Rebellious (vv. 4–6)

“The ungodly are not so…”

Now comes the sobering contrast. The wicked are not like a tree. They are like chaff—the dry, worthless husk of grain that the wind blows away.

No root

No fruit

No future

A. Their Life is Empty (v. 4)

Chaff is lifeless, rootless, and directionless.

The picture here is of the threshing floor during harvesttime. First the heads of wheat were crushed to separate the kernel from the husk. Then it was tossed in the air so that the wind would carry away the lighter husks, the chaff, while the heavy kernels fell back down to the ground. To picture chaff today, think of a combine harvesting a Kansas wheat field. Dust and bits of straw blow in a cloud across the open prairie behind it.

Nothing could be farther from the picture of the blessed man. Instead of a solid tree, the wicked is a hollow shell. He doesn’t produce fruit; his life is a husk. He has no roots to hold him steady and reach the water. He is blown by the wind. The wicked are rootless, weightless, useless, worthless. In fact, chaff is in the way; you have to remove it to find the useful grain.

An empty husk is not always obvious on the surface. Many who are chaff mask it well, even some who go to church. But eventually the winnowing and the winds will reveal the truth. Sometimes a crisis hits them or one they love, and they do not survive spiritually; the wind blows them away

The life without God may appear full—but it’s hollow at the core.

B. Their Judgment is Certain (v. 5)

“Shall not stand in the judgment…”

The end of the wicked may not be visible in this life. But since they are chaff, they will not survive the day of judgment. They will collapse; they “will not stand” (v. 5). They will also be driven away because they don’t belong with God’s people.

The path of the wicked leads to destruction.

C. Their Way is Doomed (v. 6)

“The way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Ex. Desmond Bishop (2011 GB Packers)

The reason the godly flourish is because God is watching over them. When all is said and done, the real question in life is not whether I know God but whether he knows me.

Only one path leads to life. The other ends in ruin.

🚧 Jesus said in Matthew 7:13–14: “Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction… narrow is the way that leadeth unto life.”

Conclusion:

Psalm 1 gives us two roads, two lives, two destinies. One is rooted, fruitful, and blessed. The other is rootless, empty, and perishing.

The question is simple: Which path are you on?

Are you walking with God or with the world? Are you delighting in His Word or dabbling in sin? Are you like a tree by the river—or like chaff in the wind?

If you’re rooted in God’s Word, walking in His ways, and drawing strength from His presence—Psalm 1 says you are “blessed.” That word means “Oh how very happy!”

🌱 And if you're not? Today can be the day you step off the path of destruction and onto the way of righteousness. Let God plant you near the river. Let His Word take root in your heart. Then you’ll not only be blessed—you’ll be a blessing.