Dale Ralph Davis, in his book The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life, says that this psalm tackles matters of supreme importance right at the start. Two ways, two destinies — essentially two humanities — are laid out before us. This psalm captures the direction, the description, and the destiny of the believer’s life.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the direction of a believer’s life. In Psalm 1:1-2, that direction is largely captured by what the righteous man or woman does not do. Yet there is also an aspect of what the righteous do: he takes signals for living from the law of God (the “torah“). The believer is preoccupied with the Word of God, working it into her very being.

The blessings that describe the believer’s life flow from living out of the Word of God. Psalm 1:3-4 describes the believer’s life as a life filled with stability (“planted”), marked by vitality (“by streams of water”), given to productivity (“yields its fruit”), established in durability (“does not wither”), and grown in prosperity (“prospers”). But we must not over-read what the Psalmist is saying. This psalm shares many qualities with wisdom literature. It uses stark contrasts at a summary level, with broad brush strokes but few qualifiers. Later psalms (such as Psalm 3 and 4) should disabuse of the notion that all is always well for the Christian.

The psalm culminates with two destinies; it is a very serious and solemn ending. The wicked have no justification, no communion with the righteous, and no hope. “The way of the wicked will perish.” Yet the destiny of the righteous is different. The Lord continually knows the way of the righteous. The God who cares for every step the righteous takes will also care when he steps into judgment.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)