Psalm 1, together with Psalm 2, stands at the doorway of the Psalter. These opening psalms do more than begin the first book (Psalms 1–41); they introduce the themes that shape all the Psalms that follow. Here we are taught how to read the Psalter, how to sing it, and ultimately, how to see Christ within it.
The psalm opens with a word full of promise: “Blessed.” This theme echoes throughout the Psalms and captures the deep longing of the human heart—to know true life, stability, and joy before God. Yet Scripture is clear that this blessedness does not arise from human effort or moral resolve. As both Augustine and Luther observed, the “blessed man” of Psalm 1 is, in the fullest sense, Christ Himself. He alone perfectly delights in the law of the Lord. He alone walks in complete righteousness, bearing fruit in season, never fading, never failing.
This truth guards us from reading Psalm 1 as mere instruction or aspiration. Before it is a description of what we ought to be, it is a proclamation of who Christ is. And it is only as we are found in Him—by grace, through faith—that we share in His blessedness. United to Christ, His righteousness is counted as ours, and His life becomes the source of our life.
From that place of grace, Psalm 1 also shapes our discipleship. By the work of the Spirit, we are drawn to meditate on God’s Word, not as a burden, but as a delight. We learn to walk in the way of wisdom, not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it in Christ. The life described in Psalm 1 is not the root of our salvation, but its fruit.
Ultimately, Psalm 1 points us to a greater theme that runs through the entire Psalter: Christ is the fulfillment of the law. He is the living Word of God and the true source of all wisdom. As we sing and pray the Psalms, we are being formed to look to Him, trust in Him, and delight in Him—until the day when faith gives way to sight, and the blessedness promised here is fully realized.
Lyrics
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who doesn’t walk astray
In the counsel of ungodly men
Nor stand in sinner’s way
Found not amongst the scoffers
Instead he places his delight
Upon the law of God
He meditates both day and night
He shall be like a tree that grows
Planted by the river
bearing fruit in time
In it's season, oh by living waters set
It bears the fruit of holiness
Sinners shall not stand
Before the judgement seat
And the wicked won’t be found
In God’s assembly
The way of Godly men
Is known unto the Lord
But the way of wicked
Will soon be overthrown.
He shall be like a tree that grows
Planted by the river
bearing fruit in time
In it's season, oh by living waters set
It bears the fruit of holiness
For the wicked they will fly away like dust
And all their works will crumble into rust
But the sons of grace will all appear
With Christ at His right hand
He knows their name, He knows their ways
He'll guard them in the land.
He shall be like a tree that grows
Planted by the river
bearing fruit in time
In it's season, oh by living waters set
It bears the fruit of holiness
A discussion of Psalm 1
ESV
Psalm 1
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
[1] Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
[3] He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
[6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. (ESV)