Psalm 1

The first thing that I need to do is apologize that I had forgotten to add the next bookmark onto the site for everyone. I am so sorry that I forgot to do that yesterday!

Now, I want to encourage you all to again celebrate that we have made it through a third month of daily Scripture reading together! If you feel that this practice has impacted you in some way, please let us all know in the comments. What you have to say just might be what encourages someone to either pick it up or to keep going.

So as you can see, we are starting into Psalms this morning. We aren't going to read through the entire book all at once, but we will spend the entire month reading a Psalm a day. With that, take a look at this overview of the book from The Bible Project.

As I sit with Psalm 1 this morning, I feel the stark, beautiful clarity of the choice it presents. It doesn't offer a middle ground; it offers two paths, two identities, and two destinies.

The Two Paths

The Psalmist begins by describing the blessed man through what he doesn't do. He doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. There is a progression there—from walking to standing to sitting—that warns how easily we can become settled in a life apart from God.

The Tree and the Chaff

The contrast is most vivid in the imagery. The righteous person is like a tree planted by streams of water. This isn't a wild tree; it is "planted"—intentional, cared for, and deeply rooted. Its life comes from a source outside itself, ensuring that even in seasons of drought, its leaf does not wither.

In contrast, the wicked are like chaff. Chaff is weightless, rootless, and useless. It is the husks that the wind simply blows away. While the tree has substance and permanence, the chaff has no staying power when the judgment comes.

A Commitment to Delight

The secret to being that rooted tree isn't just avoiding the "wicked," but actively delighting in the law of the LORD. It's about what we meditate on day and night.
Today, I want to renew my commitment to that delight. In a world that feels increasingly like "chaff"—restless and shifting—I choose to sink my roots deep into the Word of God, trusting that He knows the way of the righteous and will sustain me in every season.

The call to meditate "day and night" is not a demand for constant reading, but for a constant orientation of the heart. The Hebrew word for meditate suggests a low, repetitive sound—like a lion growling over its prey or a person murmuring truth to themselves. It is the process of mentally digesting God’s Word until it moves from the page into our very character, shaping our reactions to the world around us throughout the entire day.

The Final Distinction

The Psalm concludes with a sobering promise in verse 6: "The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." To be "known" by God is to be under His intimate care and protection. Conversely, the "perishing" of the wicked's way isn't necessarily a sudden strike of lightning, but the natural end of a life built on things that do not last. It is the ultimate fading of the chaff, reminding us that only what is rooted in God possesses eternal weight and significance.