1Blessed 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;2but his delight is in Yahweh’s law.On his law he meditates day and night.3He 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.4The wicked are not so,but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked shall perish.
What’s happening. Psalm 1 is the doorway into the whole book of Psalms. It sets out two ways to live before the prayers and songs begin.
What it means. The happy, flourishing person does not drift into the ways of cynics and mockers, but delights in God’s teaching and turns it over day and night. Such a person is like a tree planted by water: rooted, fruitful and alive even in dry seasons. It is an invitation to let God’s word shape your life.