For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:6)

Wisdom for life is condensed into the six verses that comprise the first chapter in the Book of Psalms. This psalm captures poetically and passionately the overriding decision we all must make: the choice between righteous living and wicked living (to use the biblical terms) as the fundamental issue of life. Although the book as a whole contains emotion-laden poetry expressing the full range of human feelings and passions, its opening chapter presents a stark but brief essay on the primacy of wisdom. Emotions, though legitimate, must be reined in—they are not an adequate basis for navigating life.

This first psalm describes righteous living, equating it with living a blessed life. Being blessed does not necessarily involve physical pleasures, financial security, personal safety, or prosperity. Blessing comes in the form of a solid, unwavering life, lived with purpose as God intended when He created us in His image.

On the other hand, the psalm presents wicked living as all the things that are not righteous living. Today’s philosophies center our purpose in life on catchy sayings like “Find your own truth,” “Find yourself,” or “Determine your own self-identification.” Clearly the world recognizes that we are all lost and need to be found, but its solution is to look within oneself for guidance. The worldly movement is to marginalize, mock, or cancel biblical living as superstitious, even dangerous fundamentalism. Feigned insight and elitism blinds people to their self-deception, as the prophet wrote: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

In verses 1–3, the righteous avoid imitating the wicked, sinners, scoffers; they develop a passion for God’s Word, ordering life by it; and they grow with proven and productive character, becoming givers, not takers. In verses 4–5, we see that the wicked have little positive effect on the world around them and they will have no defensible standing before God’s judgment.

Finally, verse 6 lays out the sobering consequences of our choice: we either gain everlasting intimacy with God or separation from Him forever. What a consummate waste to spend life self-identifying and seeking one’s own truth only to lose our true identity as God’s image bearers and to die in our own self-deception and be lost for eternity. Yet nothing could be better than to stand before God, confident that He knows us and welcomes us into eternity.

NOTE: For a helpful booklet explaining some of the technical aspects of the psalms, like musical notations, the word “Selah,” and the typical psalm structures, click on “The Book of Psalms: Selected Notes and Study Helps.”

Lord, like Joshua of old, I choose this day whom I will serve. Joshua 24:15