Lyrics · Psalms
Planted by the River
Psalm 1:1-6
Lyrics
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Blessed is the one who turns away
From counsel that would lead the heart astray,
Who delights in the word of the Lord
And keeps it through the night and day.
Like a tree beside the river,
Roots held deep where waters run,
Fruit arrives within its season,
Leaves endure beneath the sun.
But the wicked stand like chaff,
Driven loose before the wind.
They cannot rise when judgment gathers;
They have no place among the just.
The Lord knows the road of the righteous,
He watches every faithful way.
One road lives beside the river;
One road withers and fades away.
About the passage
Psalms 1: Two ways, one rooted life
Psalm 1 opens the Book of Psalms by making a life visible through what feeds it. The movement from walking to standing to sitting shows how counsel can become a settled place, while delight in the LORD’s law supplies a different source altogether. The tree is not impressive because it never faces a dry season, but because it is planted beside water and bears fruit “in his season.” The wicked receive no rival tree. They are chaff, unable to hold their ground when judgment comes. The final contrast therefore reaches beyond isolated choices. One way is known by the LORD and has depth, continuity, and fruit; the other has motion without rootedness and ends by perishing.
Study Psalms 1 in depth