John Calvin Commentary Psalms 1

Blessed is the man. The meaning of the Psalmist, as I have stated above, is that it will always be well with God’s devout servants, whose constant endeavor is to make progress in the study of His Law. Since the greater part of mankind is accustomed to deride the conduct of the saints as mere simplicity and to regard their labor as entirely thrown away, it was important that the righteous should be confirmed in the way of holiness by considering the miserable condition of all people without the blessing of God, and by the conviction that God is favorable to none but those who zealously devote themselves to the study of divine truth.

Moreover, since corruption has always prevailed in the world to such a degree that the general character of people’s lives is nothing but a continual departure from the Law of God, the Psalmist, before asserting the blessedness of the students of the divine Law, admonishes them to beware of being carried away by the ungodliness of the multitude around them. Beginning with a declaration of his abhorrence of the wicked, he teaches us how impossible it is for anyone to apply his mind to meditation on God’s laws who has not first withdrawn and separated himself from the society of the ungodly.

This is surely a necessary admonition, for we see how thoughtlessly people throw themselves into the snares of Satan; at least, how comparatively few there are who guard against the enticements of sin. So that we may be fully aware of our danger, it is necessary to remember that the world is filled with deadly corruption, and that the first step to living well is to renounce the company of the ungodly, otherwise it will surely infect us with its own pollution.

As the prophet, in the first place, instructs the godly to beware of temptations to evil, we will follow the same order. His affirmation that those who have no fellowship with the ungodly are blessed is something that the common feeling and opinion of mankind will scarcely admit. For while all people naturally desire and seek happiness, we see how securely they can indulge themselves in their sins; indeed, those of them who have departed farthest from righteousness in the gratification of their lusts are considered happy because they obtain the desires of their heart.

The prophet, on the contrary, here teaches that no one can be properly motivated to the fear and service of God, and to the study of His Law, until he is firmly convinced that all the ungodly are miserable, and that those who do not withdraw from their company will be involved in the same destruction with them.

But as it is not an easy matter to shun the ungodly with whom we are mixed in the world, so as to be completely estranged from them, the Psalmist, in order to give greater emphasis to his exhortation, employs a variety of expressions.

In the first place, he forbids us to walk in their counsel; in the second place, to stand in their way; and, lastly, to sit in their seat.

The sum of the whole is that the servants of God must endeavor utterly to abhor the life of ungodly people. But as it is the policy of Satan to insinuate his deceits in a very crafty way, the prophet, so that no one may be unknowingly deceived, shows how little by little people are ordinarily led to turn aside from the right path.

They do not, at the first step, advance as far as a proud contempt of God; but having once begun to listen to evil counsel, Satan leads them, step by step, further astray, until they rush headlong into open transgression. The prophet, therefore, begins with counsel, by which term I understand the wickedness that does not yet show itself openly.

Then he speaks of the way, which is to be understood as the customary manner of living. And he places at the top of the climax the seat, by which metaphorical expression he designates the obduracy produced by the habit of a sinful life. In the same way, the three phrases—to walk, to stand, and to sit—ought also to be understood.

When a person willingly follows the gratification of his corrupt lusts, the practice of sinning so infatuates him that, forgetting himself, he grows hardened in wickedness; and this the prophet terms standing in the way of sinners. Then at last follows a desperate obstinacy, which he expresses by the figure of sitting.

Whether there is the same gradation in the Hebrew words רשעים, reshaim, חטאים, chataim, and לצים, letsim—that is, a gradual increase of evil—I leave to the judgment of others. To me, it does not appear that there is, unless perhaps in the last word. For those are called scorners who, having thrown off all fear of God, commit sin without restraint, in the hope of escaping unpunished, and without compunction or fear, mock the judgment of God, as if they would never be called to give an account to Him.

The Hebrew word חטאים, chataim, since it signifies the openly wicked, is very appropriately joined with the term “way,” which signifies a professed and habitual manner of living. And if, in the time of the Psalmist, it was necessary for the devout worshippers of God to withdraw themselves from the company of the ungodly in order to live rightly, how much more in the present day, when the world has become so much more corrupt, should we carefully avoid all dangerous society so that we may be kept unstained by its impurities.

The prophet, however, not only commands the faithful to keep at a distance from the ungodly for fear of being infected by them, but his admonition further implies that everyone should be careful not to corrupt himself nor abandon himself to impiety. A person may not have contracted defilement from evil examples and yet still come to resemble the wicked by spontaneously imitating their corrupt manners.

In the second verse, the Psalmist does not simply pronounce happy those who fear God, as in other places, but designates godliness by the study of the Law, teaching us that God is only rightly served when His Law is obeyed. It is not left to everyone to frame a system of religion according to his own judgment, but the standard of godliness is to be taken from the Word of God.

When David here speaks of the Law, it should not be understood as if the other parts of Scripture should be excluded. Rather, since the whole of Scripture is nothing else than an exposition of the Law, the whole body is comprehended under it as the head. The prophet, therefore, in commending the Law, includes all the rest of the inspired writings. Therefore, he must be understood as exhorting the faithful to read the Psalms also.

From his characterizing the godly as delighting in the Law of the Lord, we may learn that forced or servile obedience is not at all acceptable to God. Only those are worthy students of the Law who come to it with a cheerful mind and are so delighted with its instructions as to consider nothing more desirable or delightful than to make progress in it. From this love of the Law proceeds constant meditation upon it, which the prophet mentions in the last clause of the verse, for all who are truly motivated by love for the Law must feel pleasure in the diligent study of it.

The Psalmist here illustrates and, at the same time, confirms by a metaphor the statement made in the preceding verse; for he shows in what respect those who fear God are to be considered happy, namely, not because they enjoy a fleeting and empty gladness, but because they are in a desirable condition.

There is in the words an implied contrast between the vigor of a tree planted in a well-watered situation and the decayed appearance of one which, although it may flourish beautifully for a time, yet soon withers because of the barrenness of the soil in which it is placed.

With respect to the ungodly, as we will later see (Psalms 37:35), they are sometimes like “the cedars of Lebanon.” They have such an overflowing abundance of wealth and honors that nothing seems lacking for their present happiness. But however high they may be raised, and however far and wide they may spread their branches, yet having no root in the ground, nor even a sufficiency of moisture from which they may derive nourishment, the whole of their beauty eventually disappears and withers away.

It is, therefore, the blessing of God alone that preserves anyone in a prosperous condition.

Those who explain the figure of the faithful bringing forth their fruit in season as meaning that they wisely discern when a thing should be done to be done well, in my opinion, show more acuteness than judgment by attributing a meaning to the words of the prophet that he never intended. He obviously meant nothing more than that the children of God constantly flourish and are always watered with the secret influences of divine grace, so that whatever happens to them contributes to their salvation; while, on the other hand, the ungodly are carried away by the sudden tempest or consumed by the scorching heat.

And when he says, he bringeth forth his fruit in season, he expresses the full maturity of the fruit produced, whereas, although the ungodly may present the appearance of precocious fruitfulness, they nevertheless produce nothing that comes to perfection.

The Psalmist might, appropriately, have compared the ungodly to a tree that quickly withers, as Jeremiah likens them to the heath which grows in the wilderness (Jeremiah 17:6). But not considering this figure sufficiently strong, he debases them by employing another, which represents them in a still more contemptible light. And the reason is that he does not focus on the prosperous condition of which they boast for a short time, but his mind is seriously pondering the destruction that awaits them and will eventually overtake them.

The meaning, therefore, is that although the ungodly now live prosperously, yet soon they will be like chaff. For when the Lord has brought them low, he will drive them here and there with the blast of his wrath. Moreover, by this form of speech, the Holy Spirit teaches us to contemplate with the eye of faith what might otherwise seem incredible. For although the ungodly man rises high and appears to great advantage, like a stately tree, we may rest assured that he will be just as chaff or refuse, whenever God chooses to cast him down from his high position with the breath of his mouth.

In the fifth verse, the prophet teaches that a happy life depends on a good conscience, and that, therefore, it is not surprising if the ungodly suddenly fall from the happiness they fancied they possessed. And there is implied in the words a kind of concession; the prophet tacitly acknowledges that the ungodly please and enjoy themselves, and triumph during the reign of moral disorder in the world, just as robbers revel in the woods and caves when beyond the reach of justice.

But he assures us that things will not always remain in their present state of confusion, and that when they have been reduced to proper order, these ungodly persons will be entirely deprived of their pleasures and feel that they were infatuated when they thought themselves happy. We now see how the Psalmist pronounces the ungodly to be miserable, because happiness is the inward blessing of a good conscience.

He does not deny that before they are driven to judgment, all things go well for them; but he denies that they are happy unless they have substantial and steadfast integrity of character to sustain them, for the true integrity of the righteous manifests itself when it eventually comes to be tried.

It is indeed true that the Lord daily executes judgment by making a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, but because this is done only partially in this life, we must look higher if we desire to behold the assembly of the righteous, which is mentioned here.

Even in this world, the prosperity of the ungodly begins to pass away whenever God manifests the signs of his judgment (for then, being awakened out of sleep, they are forced to acknowledge, whether they want to or not, that they have no part with the assembly of the righteous). But because this is not always accomplished, nor with respect to all people, in the present state, we must patiently wait for the day of final revelation, in which Christ will separate the sheep from the goats.

At the same time, we must maintain it as a general truth that the ungodly are consigned to misery, for their own consciences condemn them for their wickedness. Whenever they are summoned to give an account of their life, their sleep is broken, and they perceive that they were merely dreaming when they imagined themselves to be happy, without looking inward to the true state of their hearts.

Moreover, as things here appear to be driven about at the mercy of chance, and as it is not easy for us, in the midst of the prevailing confusion, to acknowledge the truth of what the Psalmist had said, he therefore presents for our consideration the grand principle that God is the Judge of the world.

Granting this, it follows that it must be well with the upright and the just, while, on the other hand, the most terrible destruction must impend over the ungodly. According to all outward appearance, the servants of God may derive no advantage from their uprightness; but as it is the unique office of God to defend them and take care of their safety, they must be happy under his protection.

And from this we may also conclude that, as he is the certain avenger of wickedness, although for a time he may seem to take no notice of the ungodly, yet eventually he will visit them with destruction. Instead, therefore, of allowing ourselves to be deceived by their imaginary felicity, let us, in circumstances of distress, always keep before our eyes the providence of God, to whom it belongs to settle the affairs of the world and to bring order out of confusion.