Psalm 1

Psalms

Psalms is a great place for when we are down and depressed

God made us emotional beings and gave us an emotional book

Psalms shows us responding to joy, heartache, pain and grief

God knows how we feel and He gave us a book to help us as we feel

is perhaps an introduction to the book of Psalms

Much of the imagery is like in proverbs

There are only two people in this Psalm - the wicked and the Godly

The Way of Life (1-3)

God starts with the negative — defining a person by what they do not do

English Standard Version Psalm 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;

Not in the counsel of the wicked — follow the advice of the wicked— Thinking

Not stand in the way of sinners—Behaving

Does not sit in the seat of scoffers— Belonging

It all starts with thinking — what do we think on? Our thoughts are the gateway to how we act

Then we start behaving —

Finally, we start belonging — we feel more at home with the lost than with the saved

The blessed man has his delight in the law of the Lord (vs 2)

God doesn’t continue more, the whole is focused on the law of God

He meditates on it day and night

It is not about positive thinking but truth thinking from God’s word

The results of the blessed man

He is on a firm foundation — like a tree planted by the water

Producing fruit in his season

The Way of Doom

English Standard Version Psalm 1

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;

The wicked are like chaff

The wicked aren’t just what they do, but what they are (1:4)

Whereas the blessed man is firm like a tree by the water, the wicked are like chaff

Chaff is worthless and weightless — the husk of the corn, the grass blown away leaving the grain behind

Ultimately, because of this, they will be judged

Both Psalms and Proverbs shows that the wicked can look all right on the outside — but they will be judged

They will not belong

Parting of the ways

English Standard Version Psalm 1

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

God knows the righteous

Not just informed but deeply knows and understands

The wicked will perish

There is no third way