Psalm 1 is a doorway. The first word, ashrei—“blessed”—is actually plural in Hebrew: “Oh, the blessednesses.” It is not mere happiness, but a layered flourishing. This gateway Psalm shapes the reader before a single lament or hallelujah is sung. It pairs with Psalm 2 (note “blessed” again in Psalm 2:12), forming an entrance into a life ordered by God’s instruction and God’s King.
The Psalm describes a downward choreography: walk, stand, sit. First, one walks “in the counsel of the wicked,” then stands “in the way of sinners,” finally sits “in the seat of scoffers” (New International Version). Western readers may miss that “seat” is political. Archaeology has uncovered benches in Israelite city gates (Dan, Beersheba), where elders and influencers sat. To sit is to belong, to rule. The righteous resist not only immoral acts but the identity-forming communities that mock God’s wisdom. Augustine saw here two cities being built—one by listening to God, the other by scorning him; one nurtures love of God, the other love of self.
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (New International Version). Torah means instruction, a gracious map rather than a mere rulebook. The verb for “meditate,” hagah, also means to murmur or even to growl (cf. Isaiah 31:4). Ancient readers would not silently read; they would mouth the text, letting it settle into their bones. Imagine lectio not as a task but as a low, steady rumble that steadies the soul.
The tree “planted by streams of water” is literally by palgey-mayim—divided channels, likely irrigation runnels rather than a wild river. In the parched Judean hills, farmers cut terraces and stone-lined channels to catch winter rains. The image is not of accident but cultivation: deliberate channels bringing hidden water. Holiness is irrigation. Create channels—fixed hours of prayer, whispered Scripture, Sabbath boundaries—so that dry seasons do not decide your future.
Early Christians often read Psalm 1 Christologically: Jesus is the Blessed Man who perfectly delights in the Father’s instruction. Calvin noted that our delight in God’s law becomes true as we are joined to Christ. In him, we are replanted. Then fruit arrives “in season”—not on demand, not every week, but faithfully. Jeremiah echoes this: leaves do not wither when heat comes (Jeremiah 17:7–8). The Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5:22–23) ripens gradually, not theatrically.
“The LORD watches over the way of the righteous” (New International Version). The verb can mean “knows”—an intimate, covenantal knowing. The final word, “perish,” carries the sense of being lost, disintegrated. Life is not mainly what path you choose, but whom you are known by on that path. The Psalm does not offer moral self-improvement. It offers rootedness in a Person whose gaze guards your steps.
Suggested hymn: “How Firm a Foundation.”
Cross-references: - Deuteronomy 30:15–20; Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 17:5–8 - Matthew 7:13–14; John 15:1–7; Galatians 5:22–25 - Psalm 2:1–12
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Blessed Man and living Torah, plant me where your waters run. Carve channels through my habits, my speech, my schedule, until your word hums in me day and night. Keep me from the counsel that corrodes, the way that hardens, the seat that scoffs. Make me a tree—steady, fruitful, and known by you. Amen.