Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 1:5

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 1:5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand — This refers to the winnowing mentioned in the preceding verse. Some of the versions have, The ungodly shall not arise in the judgment - they shall have no resurrection, except to shame and everlasting contempt. But probably the meaning is, When they come to be judged, they shall be condemned. They shall have nothing to plead in their behalf. That the impious were never to have any resurrection, but be annihilated, was the opinion of several among the Jews, and of some among Christians. The former believe that only the true Israelites shall be raised again; and that the souls of all others, the Christians not excepted, die with their bodies. Such unfounded opinions are unworthy of refutation.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Pslam 1 The godly and the ungodly

This psalm is really an introduction to the whole collection. It shows the life of the godly and the reward it brings, and the life of the ungodly and the judgment it will receive. God is the supreme controller of each person’s destiny, and he orders everything according to his own righteousness.
In both their thought and their behaviour, the godly are different from others. They are constantly increasing their knowledge of God’s Word, and as they allow that Word to change their outlook and attitudes, their character becomes more and more like God’s. Their lives are marked by freshness, strength and growth (1-3). Sinners, by contrast, have no quality or stability in their lives. They have chosen the way that is worthless, and therefore their lives will bring disappointment and end in despair (4-5). God is in control of all human affairs, and he determines the reward or punishment that will result from the way each person has lived (6).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."

The simile of the chaff is found often in the Bible and is drawn from the old method of threshing grain, the chaff being worthless was blown away by the wind or burned. The New Testament use of this same figure begins with John the Baptist's declaration with regard to Jesus Christ, that, "He will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12).

"The wicked shall not stand." Not only will the wicked be unable to stand in the judgment of the Last Day, but they will also be unable to maintain themselves as stable members of the believing children of God through Christ. Here is the explanation of why so many fall away from their faith and "drop out" of established congregations of the faithful.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Therefore - Because they are thus worthless.

The ungodly - See the notes at Psalms 1:1. The wicked in general; the wicked of any kind or degree.

Shall not stand - Compare the notes at Psalms 1:1. The idea is, that they will not be found among those who are acquitted by the Judge, and approved by him. The idea seems to be derived from the act of standing up to be tried, or to receive a sentence.

In the judgment - The Aramaic Paraphrase renders this, “in the great day” - understanding it of the day of judgment. The Septuagint and Vulgate render it, “the wicked shall not rise - ἀναστήσονται anastēsontai - resurgent - in judgment.” Most of the Jewish interpreters, following the Aramaic Paraphrase, understand this as referring to the last judgment. Rosenmuller, in loc. The truth stated, however, seems to be more general than that, though that is probably included. The meaning is, that they would not share the lot of the righteous: in all places, and at all times, where character is determined, and where the divine estimate of human character is manifested, it would be found that they could not stand the trial, or abide the result, so as to have a place with the righteous. Their true character would in all such cases be shown, and they would be treated like the chaff that is driven away. This would be true alike in those situations of trial in the present life when character is determined, and at the last judgment, when the sentence will be pronounced which will determine the final doom of mankind.

Nor sinners - See the notes at Psalms 1:1.

In the congregation of the righteous - Be reckoned or regarded as belonging to the righteous. That is, in all the places where the righteous, as such, are assembled, they will have no place: where they assemble to worship God; where they meet as his friends; where they unitedly participate in his favor; when, in the last day, they shall be gathered together to receive their reward, and when they shall be assembled together in heaven. The sinner has no place in the congregations of the people of God.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

In the fifth verse, the prophet teaches that a happy life depends on a good conscience, and that, therefore, it is not wonderful, if the ungodly suddenly fall from the happiness of which they fancied themselves in possession. And there is implied in the words a kind of concession; the prophet tacitly acknowledges that the ungodly please and enjoy themselves, and triumph during the reign of moral disorder in the world; just as robbers revel in the woods and caves, when beyond the reach of justice. But he assures us, that things will not always remain in their present state of confusion, and that when they shall have been reduced to proper order, these ungodly persons shall be entirely deprived of their pleasures, and feel that they were infatuated when they thought themselves happy. We now see how the Psalmist pronounces the ungodly to be miserable, because happiness is the inward blessing of a good conscience. He does not deny, that before they are driven to judgment, all things succeed well with them; but he denies that they are happy unless they have substantial and steadfast integrity of character to sustain them: for the true integrity of the righteous manifests itself when it comes at length to be tried. It is indeed true, that the Lord daily executes judgment, by making a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, but because this is done only partially in this life, we must look higher if we desire to beholdthe assembly of the righteous, of which mention is here made.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn to the Psalms, beginning tonight with the first psalm.

The Psalms are actually divided into five books. It was really the hymnbook for the nation of Israel. They were sung in their original forms. In the Psalms there is really much prophecy, because we are told by Peter that David was a prophet and that he spake by the Holy Spirit. And much of what he spake was prophecy in regards to the coming Messiah, and did have its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. There are many psalms that are known as Messianic psalms. That is, psalms that refer directly to Jesus Christ. We'll get one of those tonight as we get into the second psalm. Each of the five books of the psalms end with a doxology. The first of the books is from Psalms 1:1-6; Psalms 2:1-12; Psalms 3:1-8; Psalms 4:1-8; Psalms 5:1-12; Psalms 6:1-10; Psalms 7:1-17; Psalms 8:1-9; Psalms 9:1-20; Psalms 10:1-18; Psalms 11:1-7; Psalms 12:1-8; Psalms 13:1-6; Psalms 14:1-7; Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 16:1-11; Psalms 17:1-15; Psalms 18:1-50; Psalms 19:1-14; Psalms 20:1-9; Psalms 21:1-13; Psalms 22:1-31; Psalms 23:1-6; Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 26:1-12; Psalms 27:1-14; Psalms 28:1-9; Psalms 29:1-11; Psalms 30:1-12; Psalms 31:1-24; Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 33:1-22; Psalms 34:1-22; Psalms 35:1-28; Psalms 36:1-12; Psalms 37:1-40; Psalms 38:1-22; Psalms 39:1-13; Psalms 40:1-17; Psalms 41:1-13, the second is 42-72, the third is 73-89, the fourth is 90-106, and the fifth book of the psalms is from 107-150. The majority of them were written by David. Asaph was an author of some of them. Moses wrote some of them, but they were the songs of the children of Israel.

They speak of human nature. Man's cry after God; man seeking to relate to God. And they cover all of the gamut of man's feelings. They are poetry, but as we have pointed out, poetry to the Hebrew was not rhyming words or sentences, nor was it a rhythm, but it was a rhyming of ideas or a contrasting of ideas. Many of the psalms are known as acrostic psalms. We'll point them out to you as we get to them. That is, that each verse begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We have several acrostic psalms. With the Psalms 119:1-176 probably is the best example of an acrostic psalm, however, you find that about eight verses begin, each verse within the eight begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet successively, so that the first seven or eight verses begin with aleph, the next begin with beyth, and then daleth, and giymel and so forth. So you go through the Hebrew alphabet with 119 Psalm and it, of course, is the longest chapter in the Bible.

Psalms 1:1-6

The first psalm deals with the godly man and the ungodly man. There is a contrast. And the contrast is probably best expressed by the first and the last words of the psalm. Concerning the godly: blessed. Concerning the ungodly: perished.

Blessed is the man ( Psalms 1:1 ),

The word blessed in the Hebrew has as a meaning, "oh how happy" is the man. First of all, we see this happy man in a negative context. That is,

he is walking not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful ( Psalms 1:1 ).

And there does seem to be a progression here. First a person begins quite often just walking in the counsel of the ungodly. The next thing he finds he is standing around in the congregation of the sinners. And finally, he is settled down and is seated in the seat of the scornful. That is the negative side. The blessed man doesn't do this, but contrariwise,

His delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate both day and night ( Psalms 1:2 ).

So from a negative standpoint, the happy man is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, but from a positive standpoint, he is being directed by the counsel of God. He is meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. Now the effect or the results of this:

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

So we see, first of all, "Like a tree planted by the rivers of water," in contrast to a tree that is growing out in a barren wilderness. "Bringing forth fruit in his season." An interesting thing about unseasonable fruit, it never matures; it never becomes ripe. You may plant watermelon seeds in August when you eat your watermelons, and the vine might grow and watermelons might come on it, but it is unseasonable. It will never get ripe. It will always be green.

There are some people who never mature, that is, really bring forth mature fruit. Jesus tells us that the seed planted on various types of soil result in various developments of fruition. Some planted by the wayside, immediately is plucked up. On the stony ground, may grow for a moment, but will never bear fruit, never develop because it lacks the depth. That which is thrown among the thorns will grow, but the thorns will choke out the fruitfulness of it ultimately. The cares of this life, deceitfulness of riches the desire for other things. It is only that which falls on the good ground that brings forth good fruit. In varying degrees, thirty, sixty, one hundred fold. Now Jesus said, "Herein is my Father glorified that you bring froth much fruit." Then later on in that fifteenth chapter of John, He said, "You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you and ordained you that you should bring forth fruit. That your fruit should remain." And so as children of God we should be interested in being fruitful, bringing forth fruit. And then we should also be interested in bringing forth fruit that remains, or lasting fruit in our lives.

So often the test of a ministry is the lasting fruit that is brought forth from that ministry. "So like a tree bringing forth fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither." That is, there is a freshness to his life, a continual freshness. "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Now, what is this man doing? He is meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. God has given to us the rules of happiness. God has given to us the rules of prosperity. They are there in His law. "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Moses, when he turned the reigns over to Joshua, said unto Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart from out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success" ( Joshua 1:8 ). Meditate, stay in the Word, the law of the Lord, and then thou shalt be prosperous, you'll have good success. So much the same is declared here in Psalms 1:1-6 .

Now the contrast. And here is where the Hebrew poetry comes in, in contrasting ideas.

The ungodly are not so: but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away ( Psalms 1:4 ).

Now, this is contrasted to the tree planted by the rivers of water bringing forth fruit in his season, but the ungodly is like chaff, which the wind driveth away.

Now when they threshed their grain... of course, when you gather in your barley or your wheat, it has the hull on it. And so they would pick it up in their hands, and they would get in a place where there is a good stiff breeze. They would rub it in their hands, and they would throw it up in the air. And the wind would take the hulls, the chaff, and blow it away, and just the grain would fall back down. And that was their form of removing the hulls from the grain after they had harvested. Just rubbing it in their hands and then throwing it up into the air and the wind. So it was a very familiar sight to the people, the fellow standing on a windy ridge rubbing his hands, throwing the grain in the air, and watching the chaff just blow away and just the grain falling back down again. So the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish ( Psalms 1:5-6 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 1

This psalm is one of the best known and favored in the Psalter. It summarizes the two paths of life open to people, the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked (cf. Deuteronomy 30:11-20; Jeremiah 17:5-8). It also deals with God, godly living, and the hope of the godly in view of the Mosaic Covenant promises. Therefore it is an appropriate one to open the collection of 150 psalms. The editors probably intended it to be an introduction to the whole Psalter for this reason. Its figures of speech recur throughout the rest of the book. In view of its content, it is a wisdom psalm and a didactic psalm designed to give understanding to the reader (cf. Proverbs 2:12-22).

"Only three psalms, Psalms 1, 19, 119, can be called Torah psalms in the true sense of the word; that is, their major concentration is the Torah. Torah psalms do not comprise a literary genre of the Psalms, since there is no standard literary pattern comparable to what we have seen with some other literary genres. On the basis of their content, however, they nevertheless form a legitimate category.

"Other psalms dealing with the notion of Torah, although it is not their key idea, are Psalms 18, 25, 33, 68, 78, 81, 89, 93, 94, 99, 103, 105, 111, 112, 147, 148." [Note: Bullock, p. 214.]

This psalm contrasts the righteous person, who because of his or her behavior, experiences blessing in life, with the unrighteous whose ungodly conduct yields the fruit of sorrow and destruction. VanGemeren gave a structural analysis of each of the psalms.

"Bible history seems to be built around the concept of ’two men’: the ’first Adam’ and the ’last Adam’ (Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15:45)-Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, David and Saul-and Bible history culminates in Christ and Antichrist. Two men, two ways, two destinies." [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry, p. 85.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

In the future there will be a winnowing judgment of people in which God will separate the righteous from the wicked (cf. Matthew 13:30). Then He will blow the wicked away (cf. Isaiah 2:10-21).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. The judgment 1:5-6

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,.... Neither in temporal judgment, when God comes forth in a way of wrath and sore displeasure; for who can stand before him when he is angry? what are chaff and stubble, thorns and briers, to consuming fire? nor in the last and great day of judgment, so the Targum and Kimchi interpret the words; for that day will burn like an oven the wicked, who will be as stubble, and leave neither root nor branch, Malachi 4:1: when the great day of the Lamb's wrath is come, who will be able to stand? Romans 6:16; there will be no standing for the wicked when he appears; they will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to take their trial and hear their sentence, 2 Corinthians 5:10; but they shall not stand in the same place with the righteous, not at Christ's right hand, but at his left; they shall not stand with an holy confidence, with intrepidity, and without shame, as the blessed man will; they will not stand, but fall in judgment; they will not be acquitted and discharged, but be condemned to everlasting punishment, Matthew 25:30; and this sense the Targum on the place expresses, "the ungodly shall not be justified in the great day"; the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions render the words, "the ungodly shall not rise again in judgment"; from whence some have concluded there will be no resurrection of the wicked: which seems, to be the sense of Kimchi and other Jewish writers; who assert that the souls of the wicked perish with their bodies at death, and that the latter rise not, contrary to Ecclesiastes 12:7; but that the wicked will, rise may be concluded from the justice of God, which requires that the bodies which have sinned should be punished; and from the general judgment of good and bad, and from the account of the punishment of hell, which will be inflicted on the body as well as on the soul: besides, the contrary doctrine is a licentious one, and is calculated to harden wicked men in their sins, and is directly repugnant to the assertions of Christ, and the Apostle Paul, John 5:28; nor has it any foundation in this text, even admitting such a version; which does not absolutely affirm that the wicked shall not rise again, but that they shall not rise again in, judgment, in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just, and so as to be acquitted and discharged, but they shall rise to the resurrection of damnation;

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and have a work of grace and holiness wrought in them; and who, under the influence of grace, live soberly, righteously, and godly; these are the same with the blessed man, Psalms 1:1; and who at the day of judgment will be perfectly holy, and free from all sin; and they will be all gathered together by the holy angels; the dead saints will be raised, the living ones will be changed, and both will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and will make up one general assembly and church of the firstborn; and among these, and in this assembly, there will not be a single sinner; there are now sinners in Zion, foolish virgins with the wise, chaff and tares among Christ's wheat, and wolves and goats among his sheep; but then there will be an eternal separation, and no mixing together any more.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      Here is, I. The description of the ungodly given, Psalms 1:4; Psalms 1:4. 1. In general, they are the reverse of the righteous, both in character and condition: They are not so. The LXX. emphatically repeats this: Not so the ungodly; they are not so; they are led by the counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the scornful; they have no delight in the law of God, nor ever think of it; they bring forth no fruit but grapes of Sodom; they cumber the ground. 2. In particular, whereas the righteous are like valuable, useful, fruitful trees, they are like the chaff which the wind drives away, the very lightest of the chaff, the dust which the owner of the floor desires to have driven away, as not capable of being put to any use. Would you value them? Would you weigh them? They are like chaff, of no worth at all in God's account, how highly soever they may value themselves. Would you know the temper of their minds? They are light and vain; they have no substance in them, no solidity; they are easily driven to and fro by every wind and temptation, and have no stedfastness. Would you know their end? The wrath of God will drive them away in their wickedness, as the wind does the chaff, which is never gathered nor looked after more. The chaff may be, for a while, among the wheat; but he is coming whose fan is in his hand and who will thoroughly purge his floor. Those that by their own sin and folly make themselves as chaff will be found so before the whirlwind and fire of divine wrath (Psalms 35:5), so unable to stand before it or to escape it, Isaiah 17:13.

      II. The doom of the ungodly read, Psalms 1:5; Psalms 1:5. 1. They will be cast, upon their trial, as traitors convicted: They shall not stand in the judgment, that is, they shall be found guilty, shall hang down the head with shame and confusion, and all their pleas and excuses will be overruled as frivolous. There is a judgment to come, in which every man's present character and work, though ever so artfully concealed and disguised, shall be truly and perfectly discovered, and appear in their own colours, and accordingly every man's future state will be, by an irreversible sentence, determined for eternity. The ungodly must appear in that judgment, to receive according to the things done in the body. They may hope to come off, nay, to come off with honour, but their hope will deceive them: They shall not stand in the judgment, so plain will the evidence be against them and so just and impartial will the judgment be upon it. 2. They will be for ever shut out from the society of the blessed. They shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, that is, in the judgment (so some), that court wherein the saints, as assessors with Christ, shall judge the world, those holy myriads with which he shall come to execute judgment upon all,Jude 1:14; 1 Corinthians 6:2. Or in heaven. There will be seen, shortly, a general assembly of the church of the first-born, a congregation of the righteous, of all the saints, and none but saints, and saints made perfect, such a congregation of them as never was in this world, 2 Thessalonians 2:1. The wicked shall not have a place in that congregation. Into the new Jerusalem none unclean nor unsanctified shall enter; they shall see the righteous enter into the kingdom, and themselves, to their everlasting vexation, thrust out, Luke 13:27. The wicked and profane, in this world, ridiculed the righteous and their congregation, despised them, and cared not for their company; justly therefore will they be for ever separated from them. Hypocrites in this world, under the disguise of a plausible profession, may thrust themselves into the congregation of the righteous and remain undisturbed and undiscovered there; but Christ cannot be imposed upon, though his ministers may; the day is coming when he will separate between the sheep and the goats, the tares and the wheat; see Matthew 13:41; Matthew 13:49. That great day (so the Chaldee here calls it) will be a day of discovery, a day of distinction, and a day of final division. Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, which here it is sometimes hard to do, Malachi 3:18.

      III. The reason rendered of this different state of the godly and wicked, Psalms 1:6; Psalms 1:6. 1. God must have all the glory of the prosperity and happiness of the righteous. They are blessed because the Lord knows their way; he chose them into it, inclined them to choose it, leads and guides them in it, and orders all their steps. 2. Sinners must bear all the blame of their own destruction. Therefore the ungodly perish, because the very way in which they have chosen and resolved to walk leads directly to destruction; it naturally tends towards ruin and therefore must necessarily end in it. Or we may take it thus, The Lord approves and is well pleased with the way of the righteous, and therefore, under the influence of his gracious smiles, it shall prosper and end well; but he is angry at the way of the wicked, all they do is offensive to him, and therefore it shall perish, and they in it. It is certain that every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord, and it is well or ill with us, and is likely to be so to all eternity, accordingly as we are or are not accepted of God. Let this support the drooping spirits of the righteous, that the Lord knows their way, knows their hearts (Jeremiah 12:3), knows their secret devotions (Matthew 6:6), knows their character, how much soever it is blackened and blemished by the reproaches of men, and will shortly make them and their way manifest before the world, to their immortal joy and honour. Let this cast a damp upon the security and jollity of sinners, that their way, though pleasant now, will perish at last.

      In singing Psalms 1:4-6, and praying over them, let us possess ourselves with a holy dread of the wicked man's portion, and deprecate it with a firm and lively expectation of the judgment to come, and stir up ourselves to prepare for it, and with a holy care to approve ourselves to God in every thing, entreating his favour with our whole hearts.