Take Refuge in the Blessed Man (Psalm 1:1-2)
- Jonathan Parnell
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
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; ²but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. —Psalm 1:1-2
This text is simple: the blessed man doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked. On the contrary, he meditates on the law of the Lord day and night.
Going Deeper
We would short-circuit the point here if we only walked away saying, “I want to be a blessed man so I should read the Bible a lot.” As sensible as that reasoning is, we must go deeper to be true to this psalm.
Meditating on the law, or instruction, of the Lord day and night is referenced elsewhere in Scripture. Moses commended this sort of meditation to Joshua when he became the new leader of Israel (Joshua 1:8). The head of God’s people was to be characterized by a delight in and understanding of the Word.
Going a little further back, one of the stipulations for Israel’s kings in Deuteronomy 17:18-19 was that he be a man of the Word—reading it all the days of his life.
This theme of Scripture leading to Psalm 1 suggests that the King of Israel was the preeminent model of meditating and delighting upon the Word. We should ask, does the Book of Psalms have anything to say about kings? And if it does, would that tip the scales to make us read Psalm 1 as if it were fundamentally about someone other than us?
Yes to Both
Yes, the Psalms have a lot to say about the King.
Psalm 2 moves right into this powerful depiction of the Lord’s anointed who is both King and Son (Psalm 2:6-7). This theme resounds throughout the entire book as we see over and over God’s kingdom, whose dominion will have no borders, and whose leader will be a hoped-for Son of David.
Yes, this psalm is fundamentally about someone else, not me.
The lack of a superscript between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 leads us to see a strategic unity (as well as similar language such as the repetition of “sit”). The blessed man in Psalm 1 is the King of Psalm 2. The King to come and reign over everything will be a virtuous King who meditates on the Word and fulfills all of Israel’s laws concerning the character of kings (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Psalm 1 Is About Jesus
Psalm 1 is about the Messiah, Jesus. He is the perfect blessed man and if we are to be blessed, it can’t happen apart from Him. The way to be a blessed man is to take refuge in the Blessed Man (Psalm 1:1; 2:12). Our blessedness does not ultimately come from moral refinement, it comes from being united with the One who bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might be dead to sin and alive to God.
We ourselves are moved to meditate on the Word of God when we know the man who is God the Word.
For Reflection
Do you have a practice of meditating on God's Word?
How would it equip you to recall throughout the day what you read in the Bible in the morning?
Ask God today to show you what truth, command, or encouragement from His Word He wants you to mull over in your mind and heart as you go into your day.
