Ps-01
The Text
Blessed is the Man Who Doesn’t Walk in the Counsel of the Wicked
v1
Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
v2
v3
He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
Not So For the Wicked
v4
The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
v5
Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
v6
For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
My Notes
Commentary
Through The Word
Psalms 1: Two Paths, Two Destinations - Through the Word
Psalm 1 is not praise or lament. It is wisdom literature. Which makes it quite unique from the other psalms.
v1 notes
Notice it doesn't say that he never spends any time with the wicked. It doesn't say that he utterly removes himself from society. No, it says that he doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. He doesn't take their advice. He doesn't follow their way of living.
v2 notes
Delight is similar to joy, but with more wonder. It's a stunningly effective path to learning. Rote memorization may teach you the content, but it will not teach you to believe and appreciate these teachings.
The hebrew word for meditate is the same word used to describe a cow chewing the cud.
v4 notes
When a farmer threshes, they take the crops and beat it in the wind. The good crop is weighty, it has Kavod, glory. But the chaff is light and worthless. It blows away in the wind. The chaff is not edible. The chaff is trash.
The fruit of righteous living have substance that endures. It has weight. The Bible calls that glory. But the fruit of the ungodly have no lasting substance. The Bible calls that vanity.
v5 notes
On the day of judgment sinners shall not stand. They already had their stand in the past (see v1).