Book I
Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.
They don't follow the advice of evil people.
They don't make a habit of doing what sinners do.
They don't join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, the law of the Lord gives them joy.
They think about his law day and night.
3 That kind of person is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don't dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw
that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won't have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of godly people.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.
1:1–6 Psalm 1 is a poem about God's blessings, promises and laws for people. It describes two ways of living. People choose which way they want to live. One way of living is to obey God. This is the way to live well. It leads to enjoying the blessings that God has promised to give. For the Israelites, obeying God meant obeying the law of the Lord. This was the Mount Sinai covenant recorded in the Law of Moses. Being faithful to it led to the covenant blessings. God's laws helped the Israelites understand what God wanted his people to do. People who want to be blessed by God do what God wants done. This leads them to a life full of joy. These people are like healthy trees that bear good fruit. They are strong and steady no matter what happens. God provides for them like a stream provides water for a tree. The other way of living is to refuse to obey God. It's making a choice to do evil things. It's a way that destroys people and leads to death. God brings judgement against those who choose this way. Many years later Jesus also talked about these two ways of living in Matthew 7:13–23.