Psalm 1:6
“For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Psalm 1:6 KJV
“Let this support the drooping spirits of the righteous, that the Lord knows their way, hearts and secret devotions… Let this cast a damp upon the security and jollity of sinners, that their way, though pleasant now, will perish at last.” – Matthew Henry
Here, in the last verse of Psalm 1, we have a brief summing up of the chapter’s fundamental message with two profound statements. First, “the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous” and second, “the way of the ungodly shall perish.” In these two statements we have the substance of the Psalm. This Psalm was written to contrast the happy, blessed state of the righteous (vs1) with the miserable, cursed state of the wicked (vs4). The righteous may not always feel happy in this life and the wicked may not always feel miserable, but the righteous are in a way that leads to eternal happiness and the wicked are in an opposite way. This verse concludes by giving us the primary reason why the way of the righteous is, in fact, blessed and the wicked’s is cursed.
The righteous are blessed because the Lord knows their way. The psalmist is not speaking of a mere factual knowledge here. In His omniscient knowledge God also knows the way of the wicked and everything else for that matter (Pro. 20:11-12; Jer. 23:24), but this is not the sense. The Hebrew word translated “knoweth” is “yada”. This word often intimates a special, personal or loving knowledge. It can refer to a delighting in or approving of something. For example, in Hosea 8:4 the Lord said of Israel, “They have set up kings, but not by me…and I knew (yada) not…” It’s not that God was ignorant of their doings; He did not approve or delight in their ways. In Amos 3:2 the Lord said to Israel, “You only have I known (yada) of all the families of the earth…” This is the sense in our verse. The Lord watches over the righteous in the way of life. He delights in their way and will uphold them in it until they reach Heaven. What a thought for the saint struggling in this life! Job found this truth to be comfortable in his affliction. He cried out, “He knoweth the way I take…” (Job 23:10). The Lord knows all our secret prayers (Matt. 6:6). He knows His sheep (John 10:14).
The way of the wicked is not known by the Lord. “The Lord is far from the wicked…” (Pro. 15:29). They may enjoy their sinful pleasures today, but they will stand before the Lord one day and will hear the words, “I never knew you: depart from me…” (Matt. 7:23). Not only will they perish, but their way will perish. Their name will rot (Ps. 10:7). Their memory will be cut off from the earth (Ps. 19:15). Spurgeon said, “the wicked plough the sea.” In eternity the pleasures of their sins will be long forgotten. Their lives make no marks upon eternity either, but the works of the righteous will follow them (Rev. 14:13).
In which of these two ways are you walking today? If you are in the way of the wicked, Christ invites you to repent and turn so your iniquity will not be your ruin (Ezekiel 18:30). If you are in the way of the Lord, keep walking! Turn not to the left hand nor to the right. “Let thine eyes look right on…” (Pro. 4:25). Heed the warning of Solomon in Proverbs 12:26, “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.” Don’t be seduced by the wicked, you are in the more excellent way. For the Lord knoweth your way.
Verses for further study: (Jer. 12:3; 2Tim. 2:19; Ps. 31:7, 37:18; Matt. 7:13-14; John 14:6)