The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The verse sets the ungodly in sharp contrast with the righteous person, who delights in God's law and meditates in it day and night, who is like a fruitful tree firmly planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit and prospering. The ungodly are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away, insubstantial and without permanence or endurance. Because they are like this driven chaff, the ungodly will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
As with the ungodly themselves, doctrines that appear sound but fail when compared with Scripture have no lasting foundation and are swept away like chaff, while truth cannot be changed into error. The chaff blown away also shows that all opposing forces are of no account against divine power when a person works according to God's plan.
The sifting of wheat to remove chaff applies to the purging of sin from every soul, for the ungodly do not endure unless impurities are removed. Trials and afflictions are not proof of God's displeasure, but the impurities of sin must be removed from every soul.
The verse sets the ungodly in sharp contrast with the righteous person, who delights in God's law and meditates in it day and night, who is like a fruitful tree firmly planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit and prospering. The ungodly are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away, insubstantial and without permanence or endurance. Because they are like this driven chaff, the ungodly will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
As with the ungodly themselves, doctrines that appear sound but fail when compared with Scripture have no lasting foundation and are swept away like chaff, while truth cannot be changed into error. The chaff blown away also shows that all opposing forces are of no account against divine power when a person works according to God's plan.
The sifting of wheat to remove chaff applies to the purging of sin from every soul, for the ungodly do not endure unless impurities are removed. Trials and afflictions are not proof of God's displeasure, but the impurities of sin must be removed from every soul.