Psa 1:6 | KingComments | STEP | The word “for” with which this verse begins indicates that the reason, or summary, follows from the judgment of the previous verses. “The way”, both that “of the righteous” and that “of the wicked”, refers to the entire walk of life of both groups. The LORD knows what both ways are like and what they end in. Of the way of the righteous we read that “the LORD knows” it. This “knowing” has a deeper meaning than that He is familiar with it, that He knows which way they are going. It is not a purely intellectual knowing, but a knowing grounded in experience through communion of life, a knowing from love. Knowing the way of the righteous means that He has fellowship with the righteous on the way they go. He shares in their experiences. They go their way with Him and therefore He goes with them. “But”– this indicates the contrast with the previous line – ”the way of the wicked will perish.” Their way is a way that leads to destruction and death. The LORD does not know their way. They live their lives in a way that He abhors. Their whole life will perish, like the chaff. When He judges them, He will say to them: “I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS” ( ). They will not enter the realm of peace, but will be eternally unhappy and miserable. This last verse clearly identifies the difference between the reason for the happiness of the righteous and the reason for the calamity of the wicked. God knows, approves, loves and rejoices over the life of the righteous, but He has no part in the life of the wicked. That life He does not approve, He does not love it, and He does not rejoice over it. Their eternal destiny depends on His appreciation of the lives of both groups. The psalm begins with God’s blessing on the single person, on the righteous (singular). The psalm ends with the warning that one who nevertheless chooses the way of the wicked (plural), the way without Him, will end in destruction. Also in the sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus begins with a multitude of blessings: Happy, happy, happy … ( ). The sermon on the Mount ends with the two ways: the broad way, on which many walk, and the narrow way, on which few, some, walk ( ). Reference is also made to two builders: one who builds on the sand and one who builds on the rock. The latter is the one who obeys the words of the Lord Jesus, “these words of Mine” ( ). We do not yet find this last in Psalm 1. Here we hear about the way with God, but we hear nothing about believing in a person, the Christ, the Immanuel or the God with us. All subsequent psalms are about Him.

‏ Psalms 1:6

Two Ways, Two Destinations

The word “for” with which this verse begins indicates that the reason, or summary, follows from the judgment of the previous verses. “The way”, both that “of the righteous” and that “of the wicked”, refers to the entire walk of life of both groups. The LORD knows what both ways are like and what they end in.

Of the way of the righteous we read that “the LORD knows” it. This “knowing” has a deeper meaning than that He is familiar with it, that He knows which way they are going. It is not a purely intellectual knowing, but a knowing grounded in experience through communion of life, a knowing from love. Knowing the way of the righteous means that He has fellowship with the righteous on the way they go. He shares in their experiences. They go their way with Him and therefore He goes with them.

“But”– this indicates the contrast with the previous line – ”the way of the wicked will perish.” Their way is a way that leads to destruction and death. The LORD does not know their way. They live their lives in a way that He abhors. Their whole life will perish, like the chaff. When He judges them, He will say to them: “I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS” (Mt 7:23). They will not enter the realm of peace, but will be eternally unhappy and miserable.

This last verse clearly identifies the difference between the reason for the happiness of the righteous and the reason for the calamity of the wicked. God knows, approves, loves and rejoices over the life of the righteous, but He has no part in the life of the wicked. That life He does not approve, He does not love it, and He does not rejoice over it. Their eternal destiny depends on His appreciation of the lives of both groups.

The psalm begins with God’s blessing on the single person, on the righteous (singular). The psalm ends with the warning that one who nevertheless chooses the way of the wicked (plural), the way without Him, will end in destruction.

Also in the sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus begins with a multitude of blessings: Happy, happy, happy … (Mt 5:1-11). The sermon on the Mount ends with the two ways: the broad way, on which many walk, and the narrow way, on which few, some, walk (Mt 7:13-14). Reference is also made to two builders: one who builds on the sand and one who builds on the rock. The latter is the one who obeys the words of the Lord Jesus, “these words of Mine” (Mt 7:26).

We do not yet find this last in Psalm 1. Here we hear about the way with God, but we hear nothing about believing in a person, the Christ, the Immanuel or the God with us. All subsequent psalms are about Him.