Psalms 1:5

Therefore. — Notice contrast with Psalms 1:1. Those who had deliberately chosen the assembly of the scornful will have no place in that of the good.

Shall not stand. — Properly, shall not rise. Probably like our phrase, “shall not hold up his head.” Will be self-convicted, and shrink away before God’s unerring scrutiny, like the man without a wedding garment in our Lord’s parable (Matthew 22:12). The LXX. and Vulg. have “rise again,” as if with thought of an after state.

The congregation of the righteous. — A phrase repeating itself in different forms in the Psalms. It implies either Israel as opposed to the heathen, or faithful Israel as opposed to those who had proved disloyal to the covenant. In theory all the congregation was holy (Numbers 16:3), but we meet in the Psalms with the feeling expressed in the Apostle’s words, “They are not all Israel that are of Israel.”