The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

 Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.       The first song, Psalm 1, for that is the meaning of “psalm,”is essentially a hymn, a poem, or a song of praise to God. The author of the first two Psalms is unknown. This psalm leads off Book One and in this book there are 40 more songs of Praise. In all, there are Five books of songs.

2.       There are 73 songs of David, 11 by the Sons of Korah, 12 by Asaph, 2 by Solomon, 1 by Moses, and for the other 50, no author is stated.

3.       The Hebrew for Psalms is Tehillim, which means “praises.”

4.       Psalms is the best known book of the Wisdom Books, which are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

5.       The first word in verse one is translated “Blessed” and it translates something like, “Oh how happy.”

5.       In this Psalm we find a series of contrasts. In verse one we find that the blessed one “walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” Then the contrast of verse is that the blessed man (read person) delights in the law of the Lord upon which he and she meditates, or thinks about and focuses on daily.

6.       The next contrast shows the blessed one prospering greatly just like a well watered plant.

7.       However, “the wicked are not so.” These are scattered to the wind.”

8.       The greatest of the contrasts we find in the last two verses. At a time of judgment, the wicked are condemned. Those who merely pretended to be righteous within the congregation will be found out and rejected.

9.         God knows those who belong to Him, those who follow righteousness, but “the way of the wicked will perish.”