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“Meditating on Psalm 1: Two Paths, One Choice”
Categories: Magnify the Lord!(by Michael Walls)
The book of Psalms opens with a striking contrast between two ways of life: the path of the righteous and the path of the wicked. This is a key theme throughout Scripture. There is no third option. There is no fence-sitting. Life is not a spectator sport, it is real and the choices we make have eternal consequences.
The psalm begins with a description of the one who is truly blessed—not by worldly success, but by his relationship with God: "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:2) Rather than following the advice of the wicked, the blessed man fills his heart and mind with God's Word. He is compared to a “tree planted by streams of water”, thriving, bearing fruit, and standing firm even in adversity (v.3). His stability and prosperity come from being deeply rooted in the truth of Scripture. Note the connection to passages like Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” and Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
In contrast, the wicked are described as “chaff”—light, useless, and easily blown away (v.4). They lack true substance and will not stand in judgment. Their end is destruction because they have rejected the way of the Lord (v.6). We are not to be “chaff”, rather we are to be grown ups Who are grounded in truth. Mature people who know what they are about, (Ephesians 4:11-14) “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” There is teaching involved, of course. But where there is teaching there must be listening.
Jesus echoes this same theme in Matthew 7:13-14, 24-27, where He speaks of two paths—one leading to life, the other to destruction. Similarly, Jeremiah 17:7-8 describes the one who trusts in the Lord as a tree planted by water, reinforcing the image of stability and nourishment found in Psalm 1. This is not a secret, not something that required special knowledge or special training. It does, however, require faith!
Psalm 1 presents us with a choice:
- Will we be like the tree, drawing life from God's Word, or like chaff, blown away by the winds of this world?
- Will we delight in Scripture, meditating on it day and night, or will we follow the counsel of the ungodly?
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5). Like the tree in Psalm 1, those who abide in Christ will be spiritually nourished, strong, and fruitful. But those who reject Him will wither away and die.
Psalm 1 is not just poetry—it is a call to action. It challenges us to examine where we are rooted. Are we planted in the rich soil of God's Word, delighting in His truth? Or are we drifting like chaff, unanchored and vulnerable to the winds of this world? This begs another question: are we cultivating our hearts so that it can produce fruit a la the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13?
The choice is yours. Which will you take?
