The righteous person! – Psalm 1

The righteous person! – Psalm 1

By Pastor Lee Hemen

June 21, 2026

Many base their entire lives on their feelings. Emotionalism will get people into trouble if it isn’t tempered by rationality. The one thing my dad taught me was to rationally think things through, whether it was fixing something, doing a job, or my school work. Sadly, much of the church today is influenced irrationality. Colleges, the media, and politicians have all sold their souls on the altar of selfish emotionalism in order to gain an audience. Morality today is often dictated by how it makes someone feel so personal sin is regarded in the same way. The Psalmist teaches us that the righteous person does not live their life this way.

The Christian is to live their life by their faith in Jesus and his teachings not their feelings or how we think he might have felt. Feeling good or bad about something does not make it righteous. Believers are to live holy lives. Our foundation is not in people, feelings, or what makes us happy for the mere moment. Holiness is found in walking with God; let’s discover what the Psalmist teaches about the righteous person…

READ: Psalm 1

Society’s attitude about contentment has changed a lot in the past several thousand years or so since this Psalm was written, however, the basics have not changed much. We still want food and water, shelter and safety. Yet there is more to life and the believer is taught that… 

I. The righteous person finds satisfaction in God! (Vv. 1-2)

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law, day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2 NIV)

  1. Right away the writer of this Psalm establishes how the righteous person is to live their lives: “Blessed” or happy “is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” Notice the progression. First, we find our happiness not in people, places, or things; the believer finds all they need in God alone! So much so they will “not walk in the counsel of the wicked”. In other words, they would never give any credence to ungodly notions that are counter to the Word of God. The wicked world’s advice has nothing of value the righteous person should consider. The righteous person also will not “stand in the way of sinners”. The meaning does not mean that they would block a sinner’s way but rather it means the righteous person will not stand with or go along with those who like to sin or who live in sin! In fact, ungodliness would be abhorrent to them. And finally, the righteous person does not “sit in the seat of mockers”. Jude says that these kinds of scoffers or scorners “are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 1:4 NIV) Each expression becomes more intense and signifies a progression from a casual influence of ungodly people to complete collusion with them in their scorn against God and his righteous people! Rather, notice that the righteous person’s “delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law, day and night”! Instead of joining in or trying to be liked by the ungodly world the righteous person finds their inner and outer joy in God’s ways and point in fact thinks about and meditates on it as he walks with his Lord moment by moment! The righteous person finds satisfaction in God!

  EXAMPLE: When we are younger, we wanted to please those who were in charge of us like parents, coaches, or teachers. We often found satisfaction in achieving goals and gaining the approval of those I mentioned. One of the harshest things for young people to hear is if those they hold in high esteem are disappointed in them. I still remember when my father told me he was disappointed in me after I had promised to work in the yard for my mom but went and played instead. But guess what? You learn more and do better if once in a while you fail, however, we discover that real satisfaction is found not in things, but in God alone. The Psalmist wrote that the righteous person finds satisfaction in God!

In order to live a life that is full and truly free one must have a good foundation in which to base their life on. Like a strong tree that can weather any storm! In fact, we discover that…

II. The righteous person has deep roots of faith! (Vv. 3-4)

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. (Psalms 1:3-4 NIV)

  1. Paul wrote that the believer’s “faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:5 NIV); that “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23 NIV); and the writer of Hebrews reminds us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) Why is this succinct truth so important to understand? Simply because we have either forgotten what faith is or we do not practice it as we should! Faith is not some kind of wishful thinking or hoping. Faith is based on a certainty, biblical truth and spiritual foundation. The writer of this Psalm understood this and wrote that the person with faith “is like a tree planted by streams of water”. The idea conveyed is one of being firmly rooted in a place whereby the person receives their spiritual sustenance from the living flow of God alone! The Hebrews rightly knew that a flowing stream was healthier to drink from in that day than stagnant pools of standing water. The writer noted that a deeply rooted fruit tree would yield “its fruit in season”. This was also important to them because a tree that produced good healthy fruit was important for daily survival; one could dry its fruit for future use. I am reminded of when Jesus went to a certain fig tree wanting to find fruit and found that it had none so he cursed it and it never bore fruit again! (Matthew 21:19) The well-watered tree “whose leaf never withers” is blessed and produces in season what it is supposed to just as those who remain in the living stream of God. In fact, “Whatever he does prospers.” Yet, we learn: “Not so the wicked!” Those who are easily influenced by the ungodly world wither in their faith and blow away at the latest politically correct notion. “They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” They soon leave their church, their Christian friends, and blow away like dried up spiritually worthless husks! You cannot say you are a believer if you constantly have to make excuses for your behavior. However, the righteous person has deep roots of faith!

  EXAMPLE: We live in a society that seeks to find deep happiness in the moment. This is impossible no matter how many Hallmark TV movies we watch! Life is more than pithy sayings found on greeting cards or Facebook memes. Interestingly, recent statistics show that more and more couples are opting for marriage rather than living together. I just read that couples who refrain from living together and refuse to have sex before marriage enjoy longer lasting deeper commitments. Golly gee, you mean morals mean something? Many have discovered that a lasting relationship begins with trust which starts when you are willing to say “I do” without reservation and mean it. Even though my father was critically ill we kids knew without a doubt, he loved my mother more than anything. Marriage is not just a mere sexual commitment; it is a lasting, lifelong commitment that begins with the utter trust of a promise: “I do.” You can’t say “I kinda do” or “I do until I find someone better” Or “I do until I get tired or bored!” That’s like worthless chaff the wind blows away! Our faith is not a live-in-the-moment faith, a when we need it faith, a feel-good faith! It is to be a healthy deep-rooted kind of faith! The righteous person has deep roots of faith!

Some go through life as if it were some sort of personal game not thinking or caring there are consequences for their actions. There is an outcome in life in making either good choices or bad ones and the results can be either good or bad, and the Psalmist finishes his thoughts by relating that…

III. The righteous person is sheltered by the Lord! (Vv. 5-6)

Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. (Psalms 1:5-6 NIV)

  1. The prophet Job would ask, “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?” (Job 21:17-18 NIV) Those are sobering words. The answer to Job’s question was every time unless they repent of their sin and walk with God. John the Baptist warned that the Messiah (Jesus) would baptize believers “with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11-12 NIV) Jesus taught, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31 NIV) “I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." (Psalms 55:8 NIV) The Psalmist wrote, “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” The righteous person will be rewarded. Jesus taught that one day the Lord will stand in front of all mankind and only some will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness... For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Matthew 25:23, 29 NIV) Jesus knew the spiritual idea of reciprocity, the relationship, between God and mankind. “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will, perish.” The righteous person is sheltered by the Lord!

  EXAMPLE: The other day it poured rain and as I looked out our living room window, I noticed that three squirrels and quite few different birds found refuge during the downpour. The maple tree in our front yard works as a great natural canopy protecting whatever is under it from the hot sun or spring rains. My father’s arms felt the same way when I was little. When things got really bad, he would put his hand on my shoulder or wrap his arms around me and I would feel safe again. The Psalmist describes for us that the righteous person is sheltered by the Lord!

Conclusion:

The righteous person finds satisfaction in God! The righteous person has deep roots of faith! The righteous person is sheltered by the Lord!