The Biblical Illustrator
Psalms 1:6
The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous.
The way of the righteous
I. Contrasted pictures of life.
1. That of the happy man illustrated by the law of attraction and repulsion. See the sentiments, habits, and disposition
(i) of the evil he is led to repel (Psalms 1:1);
(ii) of the good to which he is attracted (Psalms 1:2). Delighting and meditating upon God’s Word.
2. By the law of vegetable life (Psalms 1:3). The happy life of the good, like a fruit tree, is
(i) one of ceaseless appropriation and transformation,
(ii) of seasonable fruit bearing,
(iii) of prosperity under all circumstances.
3. With all this the life of the ungodly is contrasted (Psalms 1:4):
(i) As shown in the reason of the contrast. The character of the ungodly is self-evolved from their own nature. That of the good, from God.
(ii) In the result of the contrast. The ungodly having no solidity, nothing substantial in themselves, are compared to “chaff,” which is light and empty and easily carried away. And having no foundation, they cannot “stand in the judgment.” And having nothing to support them, must perish while the good shall prosper evermore.
II. Lessons from these contrasted pictures.--
I. That true happiness is not the result of chance, but of law--fundamental, immutable, Divine. This law may be thus stated: Every effect must have an adequate cause. An uprooted tree cannot bear fruit; so a soul whose faith and love are torn away from God cannot be happy or prosperous. The specific law of spiritual good is this: Character determines destiny.
2. That God has so graciously arranged the conditions of happiness or misery that it is dependent upon each one’s personal choice. (D. C. Hughes, A. M.)
The Divine observation
The question is not whether the righteous is apparently stronger than the ungodly, but what is the relation of the Lord to them both. The final award is not with man but with God. The destiny of the righteous and the ungodly is as distinct as their character. There is no blending of one into the other--the one lives, the other perishes. Consistently throughout the Bible life is always associated with obedience or righteousness, and death with disobedience or unrighteousness. Great value attaches to a consistency of this kind. It has a bearing upon the character of God Himself. It is because He never changes in His own moral quality that He never changes, in relation to the actions of men. That “the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous” is the good man’s supreme comfort. Not that the good man challenges the Divine scrutiny in the matter of his actions, but that he is able to invite the Lord to look into the secret purpose of his heart and understand what is the supreme wish of his life. To know that the motive is right is to know that the end must be good. What we have to be supremely anxious about is the main purpose or desire of life; that being right, actions will adjust themselves accordingly, and, notwithstanding innumerable mistakes, the substance of the character shall be good, and a crown of glory shall be granted to the faithful servant. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The way of the righteous
Or is it that the prophet saith not, God knoweth the righteous, but the way of the righteous; perhaps lest men, for doing one or two good deeds in all their life, should claim to be righteous, and for such righteousness claim acquaintance with God; and so indeed God might have acquaintance enough, seeing no man is so wicked but he may sometimes have good thoughts and do good deeds; but this will not serve: it must be a way of righteousness before God will know it. (Sir Richard Parker.)
Resolute righteousness safe
And here the godly may take his comfort by the way, that it is not their slippings or treading awry, which may he by ignorance, or infirmity, that can make, with God, this shipwreck of perishing; it must be a way of ungodliness, which is not usually made without much walking and exercising, without resolute intentions and endeavours, without set purposes and persistings, that if a man be sure he is free from these, he may then be confident he is safe from perishing. (Sir Richard Parker.).