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Easter · Seventh Sunday of Easter · Year B

Psalm 1

The Two Ways

May 9, 2027

Forest Lake with Two Swans, Jacob van Ruisdael
Forest Lake with Two Swans, Jacob van Ruisdael, c. 1660Staatliches Museum Schwerin
Heavy trees standing at the edge of still water under a sky that is already clouding over, and two swans on the near side of it.They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.Jacob van RuisdaelRuisdael, who painted trees as individuals and gave as much of the canvas to the weather as to the land.Staatliches Museum SchwerinThe Staatliches Museum Schwerin.Staatliches Museum Schwerin
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelJohn 17:11b-19Jn 17:11b-19
Epistle1 John 5:9-151 Jn 5:9-15
Old TestamentActs 1:12-26
PsalterPs. 1Ps 1

Overview & Insights

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” (Psalm 1:3)

Psalm 1 is often viewed as a wisdom psalm because it puts forth the merits of the moral life as two “ways,” the “way of the righteous” and the “way of the wicked” (1:6), which is characteristic of wisdom thought. For the psalmist the matter was very simple: one must choose between the two ways. When the final edition of the book of Psalms was forming, Psalm 1 was installed as an introduction to the Psalter. The book is an anthology that has come into existence over several centuries. Most likely the composition and placement of Psalm 1 was one of the last strokes of the book’s editor(s), and it may have been written by the editor(s), or at least chosen for its appropriateness as an introduction to the whole book. By the time of the Psalter’s final editing, the Torah (Law) had become the basis of religious study and the source of religious piety.

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Take it further: Psalm 1

Commentary

Psalm 1 - David Guzik CommentaryPs 1 - David Guzik Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse study of the two ways, the blessed one like a tree planted by water.

Psalm 1:1 CommentariesPs 1:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators on the righteous and the wicked framing the whole Psalter.

Psalm 1 CommentaryPs 1 Commentary Precept Austin

Deep inductive digest with word study on delighting in the law and the way that perishes.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 1Ps 1 Sefaria

Hebrew text with English and Jewish commentary for the gateway psalm of the two ways.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Psalm 1Catena on Ps 1 Catena

Patristic comment reading the blessed man of Psalm 1 as a portrait of Christ and the faithful.

Questions preachers ask

What are the two ways in Psalm 1?

The psalter opens by contrasting two paths: the righteous who delight in God’s law and flourish like a well-watered tree, and the wicked who are like chaff that the wind blows away.

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