Psalm 1 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I don’t know how many times I’ve read it, and yet I still find something new every time I look into it.
Psalm 1 examines the difference between the man (or woman) who is blessed and the man (or woman) who is wicked. And what is that differ
ence?
Location, location, location.
The blessed man takes up residence by streams of water (Ps. 1:3). He is compared to a tree who, planted by that water, has roots that sink deep into the earth and branches that stretch into the sky. Rather than wither away, it produces fruit and prospers.
What does the water represent in this Psalm? The man (or woman) whose delight is in the law of the Lord (Ps. 1:2a). The blessed person is so delighted in the law (the word of God) that he/she “meditates on it day and night” (Ps. 1:2b).
The opposite of blessed? In this passage, the opposite of blessed is wicked. These people walk, stand, and sit with the 
wicked, sinners, and scoffers. They live with and around those who drag them farther and farther away from blessings. And, as the blessed prospers by waters, the wicked will perish.
The “take home lesson” from this Psalm — be careful where you choose to put down roots. Sink your life deep into the refreshing water of God’s word. Seek friendships with those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Avoid those whose shallow pursuits will end in ruin.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
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
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
