Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers. 2 Rather, the law of the Lord is his joy; and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers. 4 But not so are the wicked, not so! They are like chaff driven by the wind. 5 Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. 6 Because the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
The Psalm introduces readers to human life in relation to God. Friendship with the wicked leads to ruin but the “law of the Lord” or human life in friendship with God leads to joy. The law of the Lord, the Torah, should be meditated on day and night. Such meditation leads to the word of God penetrating the very core of one’s being, leading to greater faith in the Lord and friendship with God.
In such a person, the law of the Lord is fertile and fruitful like a tree planted near abundant water helping to sustain life. The wicked person is like dry, lifeless chaff that is blown away by the wind providing nothing life-sustaining. The wicked will not enter into eternal glory on the day of judgment.
The Psalmist is saying poetically the same thing that God told the Israelites, “See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the Lord, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. If, however, your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are led astray and bow down to other gods and serve them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish (Deut. 30:15-18).”
Almighty God, through
the birth and death of your son we have received the grace necessary to lead
righteous lives. Plant us firmly in the
streams of living water flowing from your Son so that we may yield the fruit you desire and not be blown away like chaff in a storm of worldly
desires. This we pray through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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