Psalms 1:6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Daily Study Daily Reading Daily Devotion Daily Verse Daily Scripture Daily Bread Daily Guide Commentary Bible Commentary Bible Verse Commentary "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

1. Psalms 1:6
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Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of
the ungodly shall perish.
Or, as the Hebrew hath it yet more fully, ―The Lord is knowing
the way of the righteous.‖ He is constantly looking on their way,
and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord
knoweth it. If it be in the clouds and tempest of affliction, he
understandeth it. He numbereth the hairs of our head; he wilt
not Suffer any evil to befall us. ―He knoweth the way that I
take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.‖ (Job
23:10) ―But the way of the ungodly shall perish.‖ Not only shall
they perish themselves, but their way shall perish too. The
righteous carves his name upon the rock, but the wicked writes
his remembrance here, which shall never be fully reaped till he
enters the enjoyments of eternity but as for the wicked, he
ploughs the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining
trail behind his keel, yet the waves shall pass over it, and the
place that knew him shall know him no more for ever. The very
―way‖ of the ungodly shall perish. If it exist in remembrance, it
shall be in the remembrance of the bad; for the Lord will cause
the name of the wicked to rot, to become a stench in the
nostrils of the good, and to be only known to the wicked
themselves by its putridity.
May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may
escape the doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of
the righteous!
Psalms 1:6
Knoweth - He approves, loves, and delights in them, and
therefore will recompence them. Perish - All their designs and
courses shall come to nothing, and they shall perish with them.
Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. God is said
to "know" those of whom he approves, and. on whom he "lifts
up the light of his countenance." The wicked he does not
"know;" he "casts them out of the sight of his eyes" — "casts

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them behind his back;" refuses to acknowledge them. God
"knows the way of the righteous," and therefore they live and
prosper; he does not know the way of the wicked, and therefore
the way of the (wicked, or) ungodly shall perish (compare the
beginning and end of Psa 112:1-10.).
Psalms 1:6
knoweth the way — attends to and provides for them (Psa
101:6; Pro 12:10; Hos 13:5).
way of the wicked — All their plans will end in disappointment
and ruin (Psa 37:13; Psa 146:8; Pro 4:19).
Psalms 1:6
Two Ways, Two Destinations
The word ―for‖ with which this verse begins indicates that the
reason, or summary, follows from the judgment of the previous
verses. ―The way‖, both that ―of the righteous‖ and that ―of the
wicked‖, refers to the entire walk of life of both groups. The
LORD knows what both ways are like and what they end in.
Of the way of the righteous we read that ―the LORD knows‖ it.
This ―knowing‖ has a deeper meaning than that He is familiar
with it, that He knows which way they are going. It is not a
purely intellectual knowing, but a knowing grounded in
experience through communion of life, a knowing from love.
Knowing the way of the righteous means that He has fellowship
with the righteous on the way they go. He shares in their
experiences. They go their way with Him and therefore He goes
with them.
―But‖– this indicates the contrast with the previous line – ‖the
way of the wicked will perish.‖ Their way is a way that leads to
destruction and death. The LORD does not know their way. They
live their lives in a way that He abhors. Their whole life will
perish, like the chaff. When He judges them, He will say to
them: ―I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO
PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS‖ (Mat 7:23). They will not enter the
realm of peace, but will be eternally unhappy and miserable.

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This last verse clearly identifies the difference between the
reason for the happiness of the righteous and the reason for the
calamity of the wicked. God knows, approves, loves and rejoices
over the life of the righteous, but He has no part in the life of
the wicked. That life He does not approve, He does not love it,
and He does not rejoice over it. Their eternal destiny depends
on His appreciation of the lives of both groups.
The psalm begins with God‘s blessing on the single person, on
the righteous (singular). The psalm ends with the warning that
one who nevertheless chooses the way of the wicked (plural),
the way without Him, will end in destruction.
Also in the sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus begins with a
multitude of blessings: Happy, happy, happy … (Mat 5:1-11).
The sermon on the Mount ends with the two ways: the broad
way, on which many walk, and the narrow way, on which few,
some, walk (Mat 7:13-14). Reference is also made to two
builders: one who builds on the sand and one who builds on the
rock. The latter is the one who obeys the words of the Lord
Jesus, ―these words of Mine‖ (Mat 7:26).
We do not yet find this last in Psalm 1. Here we hear about the
way with God, but we hear nothing about believing in a person,
the Christ, the Immanuel or the God with us. All subsequent
psalms are about Him.
Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, He knows
them and is known of them, He is united with them by the
closest band of union, in the most intimate fellowship, Joh
10:14-15, and therefore their path through life is sure to lead to
God, certain to reach the goal of everlasting bliss in Him;
but the way of the ungodly shall perish, it leads into the
abyss of everlasting destruction and damnation. Thus is the
foolishness of the wicked punished and the hope of the believers

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rewarded.
Psalms 1:6
Summary: The way of the righteous and the way of the
ungodly.
a. The LORD knows the way of the righteous: The
righteous can have peace because a loving God in heaven
knows their way, and will protect and preserve them.
i. ―Or, as the Hebrew has it yet more fully, ‗The Lord is
knowing the way of the righteous.‘ He is constantly
looking on their way, and though it may be often in mist
and darkness, yet the Lord knoweth it.‖ (Spurgeon)
b. The way of the ungodly shall perish: The way of the
ungodly leads to destruction. They are on a broad path that
may seem comfortable now and the path gives them lots of
company, but in the end they shall perish.
c. At least four times in the Book of Acts, Christianity is called
the Way. Certainly, it is the way of the righteous, not the
way of the ungodly. Which way are you on?
Psalms 1:6
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of
the ungodly shall perish.
The Lord knoweth them that are his, saith an Apostle. And as
Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life; so in Jesus the
Lord approveth of all that are in Him; and not only approveth
and accepteth them in Jesus, but while the way of seducers
waxeth worse and worse, the way of every poor justified
believer in the Lord Jesus is known and approved by him, and
all such are accepted in the beloved. 2Ti 2:19.
REFLECTIONS
READER, let you and I, while reading this precious Psalm, in the
very opening of the book, look at, and study, and meditate upon
it, as an introductory subject, concerning the Lord Jesus, to

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what we shall meet with concerning him and his work, through
the whole of the sacred contents of the Psalms, as Jesus is
represented in them. Let us, in that part of it which thus
beautifully speaks of the perfection of our nature, never lose
sight of Christ. And while we thus look up to him in this holiness
of character, let it be our delight and our joy to tell God our
Father, what a perfection of beauty, glory, and holiness, was in
him, who is our divine head. Yes, thou dear Redeemer! I would
so read of thee, and of thy holiness, as to have my whole soul
rejoicing in the contemplation. For do I not know that thy
righteousness is for thy people? thy obedience and delight in the
Father‘s law, becomes the justification of all thy redeemed. And
in thy holiness, all thy people are accounted holy before God,
because our God and Father hath an eye to thee as our glorious
head, and beholds thy saints complete in thee. Hail, then, thou
Holy One of God! Thou art the Lord, our righteousness! And
thou art made of God to us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption. And do thou, blessed Lord, grant
us faith to know, and to consider ourselves as perfectly secured
in thee. Give us to flourish in thee, and from thee, as the tree
planted near the river‘s side? even from the streams of that
river of life which cometh forth from the throne of God and the
Lamb. Then, when the faithless and unbelieving shall die away
as the heath of the desert, which knoweth not when good
cometh, our souls may be as the well-watered garden, whose
waters fail not, but deriving all from thee, thou wilt be in us a
well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
Psalms 1:6
Knoweth, with approbation. There is only one road which leads
to heaven: but these men, having sown in the flesh, must reap
corruption, Gal 6:8 (Berthier) - God will reward or punish
(Worthington) all according to their deserts. (Haydock) - To
some he will thunder out, I never knew you; while others shall
hear, Come, &c., Mat 25:34, &c. (Calmet) - In this world, things
seem to be in a sort of confusion, as the wicked prosper. But, at
the hour of death, each will receive a final retribution. Temporal
advantages have been dealt out to the wicked for the small and

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transitory acts of virtue, the afflictions of this world have served
to purify the elect from venial faults. (Haydock)
The reason rendered of this different state of the godly and
wicked, Psalms 1:6.
1. God must have all the glory of the prosperity and happiness
of the righteous. They are blessed because the Lord knows their
way; he chose them into it, inclined them to choose it, leads
and guides them in it, and orders all their steps.
2. Sinners must bear all the blame of their own destruction.
Therefore the ungodly perish, because the very way in which
they have chosen and resolved to walk leads directly to
destruction; it naturally tends towards ruin and therefore must
necessarily end in it. Or we may take it thus, The Lord approves
and is well pleased with the way of the righteous, and therefore,
under the influence of his gracious smiles, it shall prosper and
end well; but he is angry at the way of the wicked, all they do is
offensive to him, and therefore it shall perish, and they in it. It
is certain that every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord,
and it is well or ill with us, and is likely to be so to all eternity,
accordingly as we are or are not accepted of God. Let this
support the drooping spirits of the righteous, that the Lord
knows their way, knows their hearts (Jer 12:3), knows their
secret devotions (Mat 6:6), knows their character, how much
soever it is blackened and blemished by the reproaches of men,
and will shortly make them and their way manifest before the
world, to their immortal joy and honour. Let this cast a damp
upon the security and jollity of sinners, that their way, though
pleasant now, will perish at last.
In singing these verses, and praying over them, let us possess
ourselves with a holy dread of the wicked man's portion, and
deprecate it with a firm and lively expectation of the judgment
to come, and stir up ourselves to prepare for it, and with a holy
care to approve ourselves to God in every thing, entreating his
favour with our whole hearts.

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Psalms 1:6
The Lord knoweth - ‫יודע‬ yodea approveth the way, ―aloweth
the way‖, Coverdale, of the righteous, ‫צדיקים‬ tsaddikim, from ‫צדק‬
tsadak, to give even weight; the men who give to all their due;
opposed to ‫רשעים‬ reshaim, Psa 1:1, they who withhold right
from all; see above. Such holy men are under the continual eye
of God‘s providence; he knows the way that they take; approves
of their motives, purposes, and works, because they are all
wrought through himself. He provides for them in all exigencies,
and defends them both in body and soul.
The way of the ungodly shall perish - Their projects, designs
and operations, shall perish; God‘s curse shall be on all that
they have, do, and are. And in the day of judgment they shall
be condemned to everlasting fire in the perdition of ungodly
men. The wicked shall perish at the presence of the Lord.
Reader take warning!
Psalms 1:6
For the LORD (f) knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way
of the ungodly shall perish.
(f) Approves and prospers, in the same way that to not know is
to reprove and reject.
Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,.... The way
in which he walks by faith, which is in Jesus Christ; the way in
which he goes to the Father, and carries to him his sacrifices of
prayer and praise, which meet with acceptance through him;
the way in which he seeks for and expects justification, pardon,
and salvation, namely, through the blood, righteousness, and
sacrifice of Christ: and also it may denote his course, his walk
and conversation; for the righteous man is a follower of God, he
takes up the cross and follows after Christ: he walks not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit, according to the rule of the word,

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and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: and this way of his in
every sense the Lord "knows"; not merely as he is omniscient,
for by his omniscience his eyes are upon the ways of all men;
he knows the way of the wicked as well as the way of the
righteous; but the sense is, that the Lord approves of and is well
pleased with his way of faith and holiness; he knows this
person, so as to love him and take delight and pleasure in him;
his countenance beholds him with a smile; he is well pleased
with him in Christ and for his sake, on whose account he has
respect to him and to his offerings, to his service and duty, to
his ways and works; and hence he is a blessed man, is in a
happy situation, and all he does prospers, for he and his ways
please the Lord: and hence also it is that neither he nor his way
shall perish; the way he is in leads to everlasting life, and he
being a follower of the Lord in a way pleasing to him, he shall
never perish, but have eternal life;
but the way of the ungodly shall perish; for his way is a
wicked way, the way of sinners, Psa 1:1; it leads to destruction
and death, and all that walk in it shall perish; for if is a way the
Lord knows not, does not approve of, he abhors it; wherefore
the man that continues in it will be unhappy, wretched, and
miserable to all eternity. These last words therefore show the
reason of the happiness of one sort of men, and the
unhappiness of the other; and prove and confirm the same: the
Lord knows, approves of, loves, and delights in the one; he does
not approve of and delight in the other.
Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous - This is
given as a reason why the wicked would not stand in the
judgment with the righteous. The reason is, that the Lord, the
great Judge, fully understands the character of those who are
his friends, and can discriminate between them and all others,
whatever pretences others may make to that character. Only
those whom God approves, and loves, as his friends, will be able
to stand in the day when the great decision shall be made. No
one can impose on him by any mere pretensions to piety; no

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one can force his way to his favor, or to the rewards of the just,
by power; no one can claim this in virtue of rank and station. No
one can be admitted to the favor of God, and to the rewards of
heaven, whose character is not such that it will bear the scrutiny
of the Omniscient eve. Compare the notes at 2Ti 2:19. Man may
be deceived in judging character, but God is not. When it is said
that ―the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,‖ the word
―way‖ seems to be used to denote the whole of life - the manner
of living (Notes, Psa 1:1), and hence, the whole character.
Perhaps there is included also the idea that the Lord knows the
result of their manner of life - the issue to which it leads - and
that, therefore, he can properly judge the righteous and assign
them to that place in the future world, to wit, heaven, to which
their actions tend.
But the way of the ungodly shall perish - The way or
manner in which the ungodly live shall tend to ruin; their plans,
and purposes, and hopes, shall come to nought. Their course, in
fact, tends to destruction. None of their plans shall prosper in
regard to religion: none of their hopes shall be fulfilled. In this,
as in all other respects, they stand in strong contrast with the
righteous, alike in this world and the world to come.
Psalms 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous — As he
searcheth the reins and the heart, and perfectly knows all his
people, so he approves, loves, and delights in them, and in their
conduct and conversation, and therefore will recompense them;
but the way of the ungodly shall perish — All their designs and
courses shall come to nothing, and they shall perish with them.
Psalms 1:6
Teacheth this, that God is the only judge to allow and disallow;
men must not therefore stand upon themselves, or other men‘s
judgments. For what are we that condemn another man‘s
servant? He standeth or faileth to his own master. (Thomas
Wilcocks.)

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Psalms 1:6
Mark the three characters. The godly, ungodly, the Lord. The
question is not what is the relation of the godly and the ungodly
to each other; but what is that of each to the Lord? Are you
blessed? Are you merely transiently happy? What is your fruit?
(Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Psalms 1:6
For. Effect latent in first clause: cause latent in second clause.
knoweth = approveth, or acknowledged. Figure of speech
Metonymy (of Cause). Compare Nah 1:7. 2Ti 2:19.
perish = come to naught.
Psalms 1:6
The basis for this judgment is the Lord‘s knowledge. The first
half of the verse, The LORD watches over (lit., ―knows‖) the
way of the righteous, is best understood by the antithetical
parallelism, the way of the wicked will perish. Salvation in
the day of judgment is equated with being known by the Lord
(cf. Matt. 7:23). In Psalm 1:6 ―the way of the righteous‖ is
contrasted with ―the way of the wicked.‖ ―The way‖ means one‘s
whole manner of life including what directs it and what it
produces. The worthless life of the ungodly will not endure. 1
Psalms 1:6
knoweth the way—attends to and provides for them (Ps
101:6; Pr 12:10; Ho 13:5).
lit. literal, literally
cf. confer, compare
1
John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of
the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 1:791.

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way of the wicked—All their plans will end in
disappointment and ruin (Ps 37:13; 146:8; Pr 4:19). 2
Psalms 1:6
The Hebrew puts this verse yet more fully: ―The LORD is
knowing the way of the righteous.‖ He is constantly looking on
their way, and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet
the Lord knows it. If it be in the clouds and tempest of affliction,
he understands it. He numbers the hairs of our head; he will not
let any evil come to us (see Job 23:10). But the way of the
ungodly shall perish. Not only will they perish themselves, but
their way will perish too. The righteous carves his name upon
the rock, but the wicked writes his remembrance in the sand.
The righteous man plows the furrows of earth, and sows a
harvest here which will never be fully reaped till he enters the
enjoyments of eternity; but as for the wicked, he plows the sea,
and though there may seem to be a shining trail beghind his
keel, yet the waves will pass over it, and the place that knew
him will know him no more forever. The very way of the
ungodly will perish. If it exist in remembrance, it will be in the
remembrance of the bad; for the Lord will cause the name of
the wicked to rot, to become a stench in the nostrils of the
good, and to be only known to the wicked themselves by its
putridity.
May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may
escape the doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of
the righteous! 3
Psalms 1:6
The way of perishing: ultimate destiny. Watches over
(lit.) ‗knows‘, enters into an intimate and loving care of. Perish,
2
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New
Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997),
Ps 1:6.
3
C. H. Spurgeon, Psalms, Crossway classic commentaries (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1993), 4.
lit. literally

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the last word, compare this with the initial blessed (1)—a
decisive contrast indeed! 4
Psalms 1:6
The contrast (1:6). And so, in the last resort, human beings
are of two kinds. They may be righteous; if so, God protects
their way. But they may be wicked, and for the wicked, the final
destiny is doom. The doom of the wicked, as it is expressed in
this psalm, is not primarily a punishment, any more than the
happiness of the righteous is a reward. Each is presented as the
natural outcome of a way of life which has been chosen. 5
4
D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. /
Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press,
1994), Ps 1:6.
5
Peter C. Craigie, vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary : Psalms 1-50, electronic ed., Logos Library System; Word Biblical
Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 61.

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References: