Overview of the chapter: (read it through at least 3 times)
Our righteousness is seen by God. A righteous man does God’s will, and meditates on His law at all times so that he can walk in the right way, and stand before God at the end. The wicked are nothing before a righteous God.
Main Characters:
The man of righteousness as defined in this Psalm, the Lord, trees with fruit and streams, the wicked.
Key Verse: (a verse of scripture that stood out to you)
Verse 6 “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Cross Reference:
Psalm 31:7 “I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul.”
Psalm 37:18 “The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever.”
Psalm 144:3 “O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?”
Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,”
2 Timothy 2:19 “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
Psalm 37:5 “Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Conclusion:
What encouraging verses! God is not blind to the wicked, but he does turn to those who trust him, he acts in favor of those who know him, and all his actions are those of a good shepherd caring for those sheep who are his own. He does not let them go astray or alone, he knows and hears our cries for him, our pain, and our depths.
Jesus in the Psalms:
Psalm 1 divides humanity into two camps, sinners and righteous. Jesus is at that fork in the road giving us the opportunity to become righteous with Him. The very first word of Psalm 1 brings to mind the redemptive presence of God because that is what “blessing” references in Scripture. Mary was called “blessed” because she was carrying Jesus. This Psalm also talks about delighting and meditating on the law. We now know this law became flesh, the Word of God, and that He himself says these Psalms are about Himself. Another key aspect to this Psalm is that we are not going to be able to just use good works. Here in this Psalm the judgment is talked about and that the Lord knows the way of the righteous. We know we will not be perfect, and before Jesus came and gave us the opportunity, no one could know they were destined for Heaven. They had to have a relationship with the Lord. We have to have a relationship with the Lord through Jesus now. Delighting in the law and meditating on it and submitting to Christ is how we are to live a righteous life.
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Please leave your own thoughts, key verses, and comments.
Lisses To Lebanon 
Thank you, Annie, for this look at Psalm 1 with insight.
It helps that it is probably one of the most read “chapters” in my Bible. I hope that I can maintain the excitement as I get to less read Psalms because poetry is not my strong suit. But God knows what He is doing choosing Psalms, and He chose it for everyone reading my blog, too, so I pray it continues to encourage you and others.
The division between the righteous and sinners in this passage caught my attention too, and in particular the influence of relationships. Verse 1 paints a picture of radical, life-altering community where a person becomes more and more like the wicked. Walking, standing, and sitting show their solidifying commitment to this way of life. Verse 2 gives the contrasting option of radical, life-altering communion with God, where we are influenced and formed more by his words than by the words of sinners. Verse 6 even says that God “knows” the way of the righteous, a very intimate, relational word indeed! But if God is all about mission, then communion with him will push us back out into the world. One of my profs wrote a book I want to read called “Contagious Holiness” about Jesus’ relationships with sinners. The danger is not proximity to sinners, as if their sinfulness will literally rub off on us, but influence, and whether we are being influenced more by them or by Christ. But influence goes both ways, and if we are in radical communion with God then we can follow the way of our Lord and offer the “contagious holiness” of faith in Christ to those around us. Great psalm to start the day, I look forward to reading more of these posts!
Thank you so much for your insight! In this time of language barriers with everyone around us, we are glad to be in a position to be a light to others through any way possible. I pray that God will teach us how to be contagious with holiness even before we can tell people how amazing Jesus is.