Mystical Psalter: Psalm 1

THE MYSTICAL PSALTER

Psalm 1
1 Blessed the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of
sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the Law of Yahweh; and in His Law he meditates day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither. Whatever he does, he shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, not so! But they are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Psalter begins with a blessing (Greek makarios), and this is significant, for it reveals God’s desire to bless His people. But this blessedness, this happiness, cannot rest upon us unless we shun the paths of darkness and follow His Law. Thus the man whom God will bless with happiness in this age and in the age to come walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. He refuses to follow the advice of those whose hearts are not set on God, however persuasive their counsel may sound. He will not stand in the way with those sinners and impious, "hanging out" with them (as we would say), taking them for his closest friends. He will not sit in the seat of those scoffers, those worldly cynics to whom religion and all things holy are a joke. We are all weak, and inevitably become like our friends. It is for this reason that St. Paul warns, "Do not be deceived: bad company ruins good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33). Instead, the man who aspires to God’s blessing takes his delight in the Law of Yahweh, and in His Law he meditates day and night.

In David’s day, there were those who were prepared to do whatever it took to get ahead, just as there are today. Such men did not care what Yahweh said in His Law about mercy, generosity to the poor, love to neighbour, or honesty. They were only out for themselves.

But there were others who, like David, delighted in God. They really cared about what God had commanded in His Law, and strove to fulfil it. The image of meditating day and night is one of constant preoccupation with what God wants. The word rendered meditate is the Hebrew hagah, to murmur, to mutter, to ponder. The righteous man therefore is so taken up with God’s will that he repeats it to himself, over and over, as his constant preoccupation. (Thus the Desert Fathers used to literally repeat passages of Scripture under their breath, as their constant meditation.)

The one who delights in doing God’s will shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, having a close and unfailing water source. That tree will bring forth its fruit in its season, a delight to those who planted it. God Himself has planted us as "plants of truth in His holy catholic and apostolic Church" (according to the prayer for those being baptized), and we are live for His delight and pleasure, bearing fruit for His glory. In this way, whatever we do, we shall prosper and know the warmth of His Presence.

The ungodly, those who spurn the way of righteousness, are not so, emphatically not so! Though they boast of big plans, they are insubstantial and worthless as the chaff which the wind drives away when wheat is winnowed. David affirmed that when the judgment of God comes (through disease, famine, or other earthly disaster), these impious will not be spared. They will not stand upright. Instead, they will be blown flat, prostrate before the wind of His fury, struck down by those earthly disasters.

For us in the Church, we can see this reference to not standing in the judgment as prophetic of their overthrow before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ on the Last Day. When Christ returns at the Second Coming, all the righteous will be gathered to Him and glorified (2 Thess. 1:10). The ungodly will find no place in that glorious congregation. Yahweh knows and approves of the way of the righteous; He preserves them, so that Christians will stand uncondemned before that awesome Throne. But the way of the ungodly shall perish, and they shall be cast headlong forever.

The duality of this psalm therefore reveals the duality of the fates awaiting all the children of men. The grey twilight of this age will end, and light will be once again divided from darkness (compare Gen. 1:4). The sun of righteousness, Jesus Christ, will rise with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2) and flood the Age to Come with His light, illumining all whose delight is in God. On that Day, all the ungodly will be swept into the darkness, which will cover them forever. All people in the world are hurtling towards one of these two fates.