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. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 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. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1 portrays two kinds of firmness. One kind of firmness is artificial, perverted, barren, and temporary. The other is natural, rooted, fruitful, and eternal.
The first is that of one who grows increasingly stubborn in sin. Such a man often feels the falseness of his position, though he begins to walk in such ways, he eventually comes to stand in them, until finally he sits and will not be moved out of such habitual wickedness. At first he heeds the counsel of the wicked; he ends be sitting in their very seat, as one of them, as an authority, as one who cannot be persuaded otherwise, despite conscience.
The second kind of firmness is that of rootedness, of delight, of attention. Such a man gives head to the Law of God which is his delight. It is his heart which is rooted and thus his mind which soaks in the nourishment of the word. It is such a man who is as a tree planted by waters.
Unlike the unnatural man who becomes fixed and immobile, the righteous man is fixed as a tree is, as a living being, not as a dark and sullen king, but as one in his proper place.
The result of such rootedness is that the righteous will withstand the judgment, will remain even after the judgment for his roots are in God himself and mercy holds him fast and makes him fruitful. The wicked are not so, but are as the chaff which the wind drives away. The wicked have roots in themselves alone and so when the judgment comes are cast out, nothing truly holds them fast.
Same & Other 