BibleProject Podcast: "The Good Life According to Psalm 1"

Date: February 23, 2026
Hosts: Tim Mackie & Jonathan Collins

Overview

In this episode, Tim and Jon begin a series of in-depth discussions about the Book of Psalms, starting with Psalm 1. They explore how Psalm 1 serves as an introduction to the entire collection, framing it as Israel's "hymn book" but also as a piece of wisdom literature asking the fundamental question: what is the good life? Through linguistic, literary, and spiritual analysis, the two unpack the Psalm’s poetic structure and challenge the tendency to read it as a simplistic, binary judgment about good and evil.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Psalms as a Collection—Where to Start? (00:05–01:09)

• The Psalms are described as Israel’s hymnal, “intended to train our hearts and teach us how to approach God” (A, 00:07).
• Tim argues that Psalms 1 and 2 were intentionally placed as the unified introduction to the Psalter. Both are "anonymous" with no superscriptions, which is atypical for this section.
  “The two distinct poems have been brought together into a unity as an introduction to the whole psalm scroll.” (B, 00:25; 03:22)

2. The Language of Blessing: ‘Ashrei’ (00:35–01:01; 07:23–09:23)

• Most English Bibles open Psalm 1 with “Blessed is the man,” but Tim prefers, “How good is life for the man who…”

• “Ashrei” is linked to happiness and the beatitudes (“how happy are…”) echoing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

• Linguistically, the Hebrew poetry binds the Psalm together in tightly constructed phrases with repeating sounds (A, 07:45–08:03).

  “Ashrei haish asher. That line in itself probably became just a really wonderful poetic turn of phrase in Hebrew.” (A, 07:57) "This word ashrei is the Hebrew word underneath Jesus's nine part opening to the Sermon on the Mount..." (B, 08:31)

3. What the Good Life is NOT: The Downward Progression (01:23–02:19; 09:24–20:45)

• The good life is first defined by negatives: what the blessed person avoids—walking with the wicked, standing with sinners, sitting in the seat of mockers.

• Each verb represents a progression: walking (daily decisions), standing (settling into patterns), sitting (embracing an identity of cynicism or mockery).

• These stages are discussed as a “little tragedy” — how small decisions can lead one away from God, culminating in contempt for others (B, 19:44).

  “These three lines are a little tragedy. They are of the person who begins to listen to really bad advice...” (A, 19:53)

• The mocker is pictured as someone scoffing at those who choose integrity or compassion, seeing them as “suckers” (A & B, 15:43–18:56).

  “A mocker is somebody who sits outside the game because they've said they've opted out... I’m going to take it upon myself to just make fun of everybody else playing the game.” (B, 15:49)

4. The Positive Alternative: Delighting and Meditating on Yahweh’s Instruction (02:19–03:59; 20:45–27:18)

• The heart of the good life is delight—not obligation—in God’s Torah (teaching/instruction).

• Meditation here (Hebrew: “hagah”) is not emptying the mind but focused, often audibly repeated recitation and pondering (B, 24:33).

  “Delight is connected with meditation, which is fantastic… delight can be...the pleasure you get from the experience of having a desire met.” (B, 22:34–23:21)

  “Haga is an interesting word because it refers in all its uses specifically to quiet words that come out of your mouth, like quiet sounds or words.” (B, 24:50)

• Meditation shapes desire and imagination—it’s what occupies your mind when nothing else is demanding your attention (A, 24:13).

5. The Central Metaphor: Tree vs. Chaff (27:18–39:10)

The Tree Planted by Streams (27:18–34:59)

• The “good life” person is compared to a tree, passively planted by another (God), sourced by an unending, outside supply (God’s instruction—see also the Eden river, 31:35).

• This tree’s stability and fruitfulness stand in sharp contrast to the static, mocking, self-serving figure above.

  “The good life is a life sourced in something outside itself, God's instruction. And it leads both to personal flourishing and the generation of value for everybody else around.” (B, 32:34)

• The metaphor also alludes to newness, value for others (fruit), and perpetual vitality (evergreen leaves).

The Chaff Blown Away

• The wicked are chaff—useless, rootless, carried by the wind and ultimately lost.
• Notably, both “tree” (ka’etz) and “chaff” (kamotz) are constructed in Hebrew with similar letters, highlighting their literary and conceptual opposition (B, 37:34).

6. Ultimate Outcomes: Judgment and the Assembly (41:02–50:01)

• The Psalm concludes with eschatological language: there will be a “judgment” (Hebrew: mishpat, a decisive communal act), and two assemblies—one of the righteous (tzadikim), one of the wicked.

• God “knows” the way of the righteous, which connotes not just cognitive awareness but relational intimacy and union (B, 46:39).

  “Yahweh knows the path of the righteous… It is to actually have union with the thing that you know.” (B, 47:00)

• The path of the wicked will “perish”—not as divine retribution but as the natural result of disconnection from the source of life; like donkeys wandering off and being lost (A & B, 48:53–49:35).

  “The point is, is that Yahweh doesn't have to destroy the wicked. The wicked destroy themselves by choosing a way that's away from the source of life, and that's avad.” (B, 49:17)

7. Wrestling with the Psalm’s Binary Framing (51:43–59:38)

• Jonathan voices discomfort with labeling others as “wicked” and the practical truth: real people (himself included) are mixtures; life isn’t easily divided into chaff or tree (A, 52:11).

• Tim sees Psalm 1’s binary structure as a characteristic of ancient Hebrew wisdom and of cautionary genres (like bluegrass or Grimm’s tales) which clarify the stakes and trajectories of a life (B, 53:10).

• The Psalms were written from the marginalized perspective of oppressed Israel, not as a self-righteous condemnation, but as an internal guide to faithfulness for their own community (B, 56:07).

• Tim warns: if Psalm 1 is used to judge and label others, we've missed its point—it’s aimed at self-reflection, not condemnation.

  “Psalm 1 is aimed at me. It's not for me to aim at everybody else.” (B, 59:38)

8. Reading in the Light of Jesus (59:38–62:00)

• Jon cites Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18) as a model for reading Psalm 1 with humility rather than pride (A & B, 59:38–61:59).

• The “correct” reading of Psalm 1 is to seek mercy and union with God, not to look down on others.

  “Psalm 1 is a tool for me and my community to label people and then begin to look down at people. We are by definition misreading Psalm 1. But if Psalm 1 is giving me and my community moral clarity about the kind of community we don't want to become ... then we’re on the right track.” (B, 60:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On progressive descent into cynicism:
  “These three lines are a little tragedy...they just start failing at loving God and neighbor... and then over time they're just gonna be like, you know what? Just even trying to love other people. That’s ridiculous.” (A, 19:53)
• On biblical meditation:
  “Meditation... is the practice of quiet focusing of your mind through reciting something out loud to yourself.” (B, 26:10)
• On the inner life shaped by desire:
  “What you delight in is shaping your imagination… and focusing your attention.” (A, 24:13)
• On the self-defeating path of the wicked:
  “The point is, is that Yahweh doesn’t have to destroy the wicked. The wicked destroy themselves by choosing a way that’s away from the source of life.” (B, 49:17)
• On the danger of self-righteous reading:
  “Psalm 1 is aimed at me. It's not for me to aim at everybody else.” (B, 59:38)

Key Timestamps

• 00:05 – Introduction to Psalms and starting with Psalm 1
• 01:23 – The negative progression: “walk, stand, sit”
• 07:23 – Hebrew poetry and the Ashrei phrase
• 20:45 – “Delight” and “meditate” on God’s instruction
• 27:18 – The tree metaphor explained
• 37:34 – Tree and chaff: literary/language notes
• 41:02 – The final judgment explained
• 47:00 – God’s knowledge as relational union
• 50:01 – The wicked “perish,” get lost, self-destruct
• 52:11 – Wrestling with the binary reading; application cautions
• 59:38 – Jesus, humility, and reading Psalm 1 rightly

Conclusion / Takeaway

Psalm 1, as discussed by Tim and Jon, asks us not just what the “good life” is, but how small, daily choices and the counsel we heed shape our destiny toward flourishing or ruin. Its poetic binaries are not for judging outsiders, but to provoke self-examination. Reading the text rightly means receiving it as a formative, internal call to delight in God’s wisdom and let our lives be rooted and fruitful for the sake of others.

“How good is life for the one who is known, whose path is known by Yahweh. I want Yahweh to know my path.” (B, 63:09)