Psalm 1:4

Psalm 1:4, “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.”

            In the first half of this Psalm (vs1-3) we have been given a description of the godly man’s character and the blessings of God upon him. We have seen his happiness (vs1), his holy desire for God’s law (vs2) and his spiritual fruitfulness, prosperity and preservation by God (vs3). In our present verse this psalm takes a 180-degree turn on a hinge-like phrase, “The ungodly are not so”. I think this phrase is really the central, heart-beat phrase of the psalm. This psalm is not merely about the happiness and felicity of the godly, but it is equally about the fact that the wicked will not share in any of that happiness. This psalm shows the stark difference between the righteous and the wicked with respect to their future state (vs 5), standing with God (vs6), and very nature in this life (vs4). The last of these I would like to focus on now.

            In the preceding verse the righteous man was described as a tree planted in God’s well-watered garden. Now the psalmist is making clear that nothing in that analogy rings true for the ungodly and unregenerate. They are instead likened to chaff – the opposite of a firmly rooted tree. Chaff is dried, chopped hay, straw or husks of corn and seed. In Scripture chaff is always seen as a light, vain, and worthless substance. What a vast difference between chaff and trees. Let’s look at a few of those differences.

First of all, the tree is a living thing and chaff is dead and lifeless. The ungodly are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). They have no lively happiness or hope now or ever. They have no union or communion with God – no spiritual life. The godly have been made alive by God and have a lively hope. Chaff is also weightless, light and rootless. It is, like our verse says, driven by the wind. Like chaff, the ungodly have no solid substance or roots in this life. They have a light, weightless happiness. A happiness rooted in shifting sand. They think they are running free but they are only the slaves of sin (Rom. 6:17). They are blown anywhere that their lusts and Satan lead them without any strength to resist (Eph. 2:2-3 & John 8:44). In contrast, the godly are given a solid, rooted happiness in Christ and are enabled to have dominion over sin and resist the Devil. Some say the Christian religion holds people down. It does! The better way to put it is that it roots and grounds us to stand in real happiness and comfort.

  Thirdly, chaff produces no fruit and is intrinsically worthless. The farmer is only interested in separating it from his grain at last. The wicked produce nothing that is pleasing to God (Isa. 64:6, Rom. 8:8). They are failing to fulfill their very purpose for existence which is glorifying and enjoying the God who made them. Lastly, chaff is only good to be burned. The ungodly who reject Christ and go on in their sin will at last be blown by the blast of God’s judgment into the flames of His eternal wrath. John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3:12 that Christ’s, “fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” I will say more of this in our next devotion, but in closing, allow me to give two instructions to Christians. First, do not envy the ungodly (Ps 73:3); pity and evangelize them. Second, dwell on the miracle of the new birth. Think about how God can take spiritual chaff like us and make us into spiritual trees.

Verses for further study: (Psalm 35:5 and Isaiah 17:13, 33:11)