NOTES for Psa 1
The first psalm, which opens the entire Book of Psalms, is addressed to everyone who sets out on the path of drawing near to God in prayer. Like a road sign, it points out the right direction on this path so that the traveler does not turn aside. Leaving the details aside, it is important to see the psalm's key ideas. First, it speaks of the human will directed toward the law of the Lord. One can attempt to draw near to God only when one's will is directed toward fulfilling His will, His law. This is a revelation of exceptional importance about God Himself: He can neither be comprehended nor found through abstract reasoning. Blessedness and the fullness of life are found only when God's will is put into practice.
Moreover, the second verse of the psalm calls us to taste blessedness and experience the fullness of true life through “meditation on the law of the Lord.” The psalmist sees the law as a reflection not only of the will but also of the very nature of the Almighty; for him the commandments of the Mosaic covenant contain, albeit implicitly, a revelation of the Creator's Person. Clearly, this does not refer to the ritual or hygienic ordinances of the Sinai covenant, but to the Ten Commandments and words like them. They bear a reflection of divine love, and meditation on them can therefore become a source of blessedness for a person.
Finally, the psalm reminds us that the path of resistance to God leads to the absence of life. Most importantly, however, the psalm invites us to experience in prayer the truth that “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” This means that when a person makes the effort to follow the path of fulfilling the law and to seek God on the way of the righteous, the Lord sees and knows it and does not leave that person alone. Thus, only by entering this path do you find yourself at the goal, because God will be beside you.