Show Don't Tell: Psalm 1

Instead of saying "The righteous person is blessed and the wicked perish," picture the tree by the stream. "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers." Notice the progression: walking, standing, sitting—each posture more settled, more comfortable with sin. "But whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night." Not duty but delight. Not occasional reading but constant meditation—like a cow chewing cud. "That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers." Roots drinking deep, fruit appearing on schedule, leaves staying green through drought. "Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away." No roots. No weight. Gone with the first breeze. "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction." Two paths. Two destinations. One watched over; one blown away.