The basic message of this opening psalm is simple enough: there are two distinct roads in life, each leading in opposite directions. There is a way of living which will take a person ever deeper into the lawless kingdom of darkness; it is a road which is characterized by emptiness, misery and futility, eventually leading to eternal doom. Likewise, there is another path which will lead a person into the everincreasing riches of God’s kingdom with all the peace and joy it offers.
The psalmist begins with a two-fold promise: if a person will avoid the ungodly persuasions of the world and instead subject his heart to the influences of the Word of God, he will enjoy a blessed life.
One would expect the book of Psalms to open with a rich description of life in God, but surprisingly, it opens with a negative statement. The clear inference is that a godly life is as characterized by what a person doesn’t do as much as what he actually does.
In addition, the way the psalmist articulates this message is nothing short of brilliant. In one three-phrase statement, he not only offers an apt description of what makes up a godly person’s life, but, at the same time, he paints a picture of a person entering into a life of sin.
At first glance, Psalm 1:1 seems to be written in classic Hebraic style: a spiritual truth is presented in multiple forms to reinforce its message. But a closer look reveals that this is actually not the case. The three nouns the psalmist used reveal a sinful person’s deepening digression into evil.
The “ungodly” represents the entire mass of humanity who live without God: un-godly. Matthew Henry poignantly describes them as people who “are unsettled, aim at no certain end and walk by no certain rule, but are at the command of every lust and at the beck of every temptation.” This depicts mankind in their fallen condition.
The term “sinners” describes those who have not only ignored the Lord, but they have taken their rebellion a step further. They have given themselves over to the worship of sin. They are so taken up with their idolatry that their lives are defined by it. Thus, people are labeled alcoholics, sex addicts and so on.
The final descent into wickedness is when a person’s heart becomes so darkened by evil that he makes himself a mouthpiece for the devil’s mocking. What began as doubt, digressed into unbelief and finally settled into open cynicism. He has become so hardhearted that everything sacred is scorned with the utmost contempt.
This first verse serves believers with a loud warning to avoid all influences that originate within godless minds, because, once on that slippery path, it can eventually lead to destruction.