Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 1:5

"Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." — Psalms 1:5 (ASV)

Therefore. — Notice the contrast with Psalm 1:1. Those who had deliberately chosen the assembly of the scornful will have no place in the assembly of the good.

Shall not stand. — Properly, shall not rise. This is probably like our phrase, “shall not hold up his head.” They will be self-convicted and shrink away before God’s unerring scrutiny, like the man without a wedding garment in our Lord’s parable (Matthew 22:12). The Septuagint and Vulgate have “rise again,” as if with the thought of a future state.

The congregation of the righteous. — This is a phrase that repeats itself in different forms in the Psalms. It implies either Israel as opposed to the Gentiles, or faithful Israel as opposed to those who had proved disloyal to the covenant. In theory, the entire congregation was holy (Numbers 16:3), but in the Psalms, we encounter the feeling expressed in the Apostle’s words, “They are not all Israel that are of Israel.”