There’s a memorable moment in The Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian arrives at a steep hill called Difficulty. The true path to the Celestial City leads straight up that hill, but two easier-looking roads—Danger and Destruction—veer off to either side. Christian pauses, tired and hesitant, but remembers the King’s instructions and begins the hard climb, declaring, “The way to life lies here.” His companions, Formalist and Hypocrisy, choose the easier paths, assuming they’ll all reconnect later. But they never do. This moment illustrates what Psalm 1 sets before us: two paths, two ways of life—one that leads to blessing and life, the other to futility and judgment. And standing at the end of both roads is the same Judge—the Lord Himself.

Psalm 1 describes the righteous as those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. There’s a progression here: what starts as casual influence becomes shared identity, and eventually, settled rebellion. But the righteous are marked by what they avoid and what they delight in. Instead of being shaped by worldly ideologies, they are rooted in God’s Word—meditating on it day and night. They don’t merely read it; they delight in it. It shapes their thinking, nourishes their soul, and anchors their life. Like a tree planted by streams of water, they flourish even in dry seasons. But the wicked? They’re like chaff—weightless, rootless, easily blown away. If we’re not rooted, we’ll drift. So check your distance—what’s shaping your heart today?

The paths lead to different outcomes. The righteous bear fruit in season and prosper—not with worldly success, but with lasting contentment and spiritual vitality. The wicked, however, face futility now and judgment later. Psalm 1:5 gives us a sobering reality: The wicked will not stand in the judgment. If you stand with sinners now, you won’t stand in the presence of the Lord then. The Judge is coming. And in that moment, it won’t matter how successful, busy, or impressive your life looked—only whether your life was rooted in Christ and His Word.

Here’s the tension: if Psalm 1 presents only two ways—righteous or wicked—where do we stand? All of us, if we’re honest, have walked in sinful counsel, stood with sinners, and even sat with scoffers. But the good news is that the path of righteousness is not found by our own strength—it’s found in a person. Jesus is the only truly righteous man. He never walked in wickedness or sat in mockery. Yet He took the path to Calvary so we could walk the path to life. On the cross, the Righteous One was treated as wicked so the wicked could be made righteous in Him. By grace, He plants us, nourishes us, and keeps us. He invites us to repent of the empty counsel of the world and be rooted in Him.

Main Idea – The path to life is found in resting in Christ’s righteousness and being rooted in His Word.

Study Questions

1. According to Psalm 1, what shapes the life of the righteous? Read Psalm 119:9-16. What does it practically look like to delight in God’s Word and meditate on it day and night? What practices can you cultivate in your own life to grow in your love for God’s Word?
2. What other passages in Scripture make clear our need to be formed by God’s Word instead of the wisdom of the world?
3. How does Psalm 1 expose the subtle progression of sin (walking, standing, sitting)? Where do you see this drift in your own life or the culture around you?
4. Psalm 1 presents only two ways: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. How does Jesus fulfill the role of the Blessed Man in Psalm 1, and how does being united to Him change our path? How can sinners now “stand in the congregation of the righteous” (v5) because of him?
5. The righteous “prosper in all they do” (Psalm 1:3)—but what kind of prosperity is this & how is this an encouragement to you? How is biblical prosperity different from worldly success? What other passages in Scripture help us understand this kind of flourishing?