Authenticity

Psalm 1 introduces us to the doctrine of the two ways, which is a very common concept. Most Americans are acquainted with Robert Frost’s use of the idea in the poem “The Road Not Taken.”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

There are examples in scripture that speak of this doctrine. The most important is the use of the idea by Jesus toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount as he contrasts, between which choices must be made: two gates and two roads, two trees and their two types of fruit, two houses and two foundations. Psalm 1 is the clearest and most carefully developed .

Tags: Divergent Ways, fruit, Path, Right Path, Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, their two types of fruit, two foundations., two gates, two houses, two roads, two trees, Way, Ways

A brief summary from:  Psalms: An Expositional Commentary by James Montgomery Boice

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1 is probably one of the best known psalms in the psalter. This Psalm brings forth a message of hope and confidence in God’s Word. Psalm 1 is a practical psalm and introduces us to the way in which we may find happiness and fulfillment in life. This psalm also helps us to meditate on the goodness of God’s law and the consequences of living a life devoted to and entirely brought under the authority of God’s Word.

Tags: best known psalm, Blessed is the man, Commentary, Expositional, Expositional Commentary, Fast Lane, James Montgomery Boice, Lane, Path, Psalms, Psalter, Right Path, Summary