the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked as well as their respective fates" along with "its emphasis on the Torah, the joy of studying it and its positive benefits for those who do". Stephen Dempster suggests that the psalm serves also as an introduction to the Writings, the third section of the Tanakh. Dempster points out the similarities between Psalm 1:2–3 and (the first chapter of the Prophets) – in both passages, the one who meditates on the law prospers: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Like many of the psalms, it contrasts the "righteous" person (tzadik צדיק) with the "wicked" or "ungodly" (rasha` רשע) or the "sinner" (chatta' חטא). The righteous person is one who takes care to know the laws of God and so has good judgment and avoids bad company. The result is the ability to withstand difficult times in life supported by God's protection. On the other hand, the wicked person's behavior makes them vulnerable to disaster, like chaff blowing away in the wind. The point that the wicked and the righteous will not mingle at the judgment is clearly stated by the writer. The path the wicked have chosen leads to destruction, and at the judgment they receive the natural consequences of that choice. The righteous man is compared in verse 3 to a tree planted by a stream. His harvest is plentiful, and whatever he does flourishes. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a similar passage: “But blessed is the man who trusts in the , whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.” He elaborated: “It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah implied that an advantage of trusting in the was the ability to withstand difficult times. Biblical scholar Alexander Kirkpatrick suggests that the "judgment" referred to in verse 5 pertains not only to the "last judgment", "as the Targum and many interpreters understand it", but also to every act of divine