Sunday Psalms: Psalm 1

Psalm 1: Planted or Passing

Sunday Psalms is a weekly addition to our daily Scripture reading—a deliberate slowing down. While daily readings help us move steadily through God’s Word, Sundays invite us to linger. To listen again. To let a single Psalm shape not just our understanding, but our posture for the week ahead.

The Psalms were written to be returned to, prayed through, and lived with. Giving them a dedicated space each Sunday allows us to rest in Scripture rather than rush through it. This weekly rhythm reminds us that formation requires both faithfulness and stillness.

Psalm 1 stands at the entrance to the Book of Psalms like a doorway. Before there are prayers of praise or cries of lament, before songs of joy or grief, we are first invited to consider a question of formation:

What kind of life leads to blessing?

This Psalm does not begin with a prayer to God, but with a picture of a human life shaped over time. It describes movement—walking, standing, sitting—a slow settling into a way of being. Psalm 1 reminds us that lives are rarely formed in a moment. They are shaped by counsel we listen to, paths we linger on, and seats we eventually take.

The word translated “blessed” (ashrei) does not mean easy or comfortable. It speaks of deep, rooted happiness—a life aligned with God’s design. The blessed person is not defined by avoidance alone, but by delight: delight in the law of the Lord, God’s instruction, His revealed way of life. Meditation here is not constant study, but continual return—allowing God’s word to shape thought, memory, and desire.

The central image of the Psalm is a tree planted by streams of water. This tree does not chase nourishment; it is planted near a reliable source. Its fruit comes in season, not on demand. Even when fruit is not visible, its leaf does not wither. There is patience, endurance, and quiet faithfulness in this image.

In contrast, the Psalm offers a second picture: chaff. What remains after the grain is separated—dry, weightless, driven by the wind. The contrast is stark: rooted or rootless, planted or passing. Some lives gather substance; others scatter.

Psalm 1 is not primarily about condemnation, but direction. It invites us to consider what is forming us right now. Whose counsel shapes our thinking? What paths are becoming habits? Where are we planted?

The Psalm closes with a promise of presence rather than performance: “The Lord knows the way of the righteous.” To be known here is more than to be observed—it is to be attended to, walked with, and cared for.

As this week begins, Sunday Psalms invites us not to rush toward fruitfulness, but to remain rooted. Not perfect. Not finished. Simply planted.