September 26, 2025 - Psalm 1 - "Christ the Blessed Man"

Psalm 1

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

At the very outset of the Psalms, God sets before us not humanity in general, not believers in particular, but One specific Man—Christ Jesus the LORD. He is the Perfect One, the Just One, the Blessed One in the sight of God. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

The Psalms are not first about us, but about Him. “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Psalm 1 is not moral advice, but a portrait of the Man Who came in flesh, the Man Who is the Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Blessed is this Man, for He alone walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful. From eternity, He delighted to do His Father’s will (Psalm 40:7-8).

“His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth He meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This is Christ. He magnified the law and made it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The law was never grievous to Him, for He is the One Whose meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him (John 4:34). In every thought, word, and deed, He fulfilled righteousness on behalf of His people.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Psalm 1:3). Christ is the Tree of Life. He is the true Vine, and His people are the branches (John 15:1-5). He brings forth fruit in His season—the fruit of His perfect obedience, the fruit of His finished sacrifice, the fruit of a people given Him from eternity. “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me” (John 6:37). His leaf does not wither, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). All that He does prospers, for He has accomplished redemption (John 19:30).

The ungodly are not so. They are like chaff which the wind drives away (Psalm 1:4), sinners by nature, unable to stand in the judgment, without righteousness, without hope (Romans 3:10-12). But Christ stood in the place of His elected ones. He bore their sin, and in Him they are made the Righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6). That way is Christ Himself—“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). God knows His way because it is His own way, the way of His Son’s obedience unto death. And all who are found in Him are righteous, accepted, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). The ungodly shall perish in their way, but the way of the righteous shall stand forever in Christ, the Blessed Man.

So we look to Him, rest in Him, and rejoice in Him. He is the Blessed Man, our Mediator, our Surety, our Savior. Blessed is He—and blessed are all who are in Him (Psalm 2:12).