The Two Ways
Passage: Psalm 1:1-6
Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm that introduces the whole book.
Overview
The blessed person delights in God's word and is like a tree by water. The wicked are like chaff. The LORD knows the way of the righteous.
Going deeper
Three verbs (walk, stand, sit) show a slide into sin. Meditation (hāgāh) means murmuring the text over. The psalm and Psalm 2 together frame the book: Torah and the King.
Key verses (KJV)
- Psalms 1:2 His delight is in the law of the LORD.
- Psalms 1:3 Like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
- Psalms 1:6 The LORD knoweth the way of the righteous.
From the commentaries
2. A godly man, that he may do that which is good and cleave to it, submits to the guidance of the word of God and makes that familiar to him, v. 2. This is that which keeps him out of the way of the ungodly and fortifies him against their temptations. By the words of thy lips I have kept me from the path of the deceiver, Ps. xvii. 4. We need not court the fellowship of sinners, either for pleasure or for improvement, while we have fellowship with the word of God and with God himself in and by his word. When thou awakest it shall talk with thee, Prov. vi. 22. We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, "What is the law of God to us? What account do we make of it? ...
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706-1721)
2. law—all of God's word then written, especially the books of Moses (compare Ps 119:1, 55, 97, &c.).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
Verse 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord - חפצו chephtso, his will, desire, affection, every motive in his heart, and every moving principle in his soul, are on the side of God and his truth. He takes up the law of the Lord as the rule of his life; he brings all his actions and affections to this holy standard. He looketh into the perfect law of liberty; and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word; and is therefore blessed in his deed. He not only reads to gain knowledge from the Divine oracles, but he meditates on what he has read, feeds on it; and thus receiving the sincere milk of the word, he grows thereby unto eternal life. This is not an occasional study to him; it i
Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke's Commentary (1810-1826)
In the second verse, the Psalmist does not simply pronounce those happy who fear God, as in other places, but designates godliness by the study of the law, teaching us that God is only rightly served when his law is obeyed. It is not left to every man to frame a system of religion according to his own judgment, but the standard of godliness is to be taken from the Word of God. When David here speaks of the law, it ought not to be understood as if the other parts of Scripture should be excluded, but rather, since the whole of Scripture is nothing else than an exposition of the law, under it as the head is comprehended the whole body. The prophet, therefore, in commending the law, includes all
John Calvin, John Calvin's Commentaries (16th century, Calvin Translation Society, 1840s-1850s)
Application
- What do you 'meditate on' most?
- Where are you drifting toward the counsel of the ungodly?
- Plan one time to read Scripture slowly this week.