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- In essence, God says there are two ways of life open to us: one means blessedness, happiness, and fruitfulness, but the other means cursedness, unhappiness, and judgment. The choice is ours. Blessedness is a choice, but to be blessed, one must by faith obey the conditions; he must pursue the way of blessedness as described in this Psalm.
Psalm 1 holds powerful, compelling, and life-changing lessons for all of us today. While there are obvious lessons such as the importance of walking in the righteous path, there are also those that need deeper contemplation to dramatically dig out its little-known lessons.
- General Introduction to The Psalms
- Hebrew Poetry
- Types of Psalms
- Introduction to Psalm 1
- The Way of The Godly
- Negatively: Things to Avoid
- Positively: The Key to Blessedness
- The Production and Motivation
- The Character and Destiny of The Wicked
- What The Wicked Are Like—Instability
The Psalms have a wonderful capacity to capture the reality of our human experience. They express the emotions, personal feelings, attitudes, gratitude, and interests of the average individual. One reason people love the Psalms is that we can each usually identify the Psalms with our own experiences. “In every experience of our own, no matter how d...
The Psalms, like the other wisdom literature of the Old Testament (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), is Hebrew poetry. Unlike English poetry, which emphasizes rhyme and meter, Hebrew poetry relies on other characteristics for its impact like parallelism and figures of speech.
While praise and prayer characterize the Psalms as a whole, they may be categorized as: Praise (33, 103, 139), Historical (68, 78, 105, 106), Relational (8, 16, 20, 23, 55), Imprecatory (35, 69, 109, 137), Penitential (6, 32, 51, 102, 130, 143), and Messianic (2, 8, 16, 22, 40, 45, 69, 72, 89, 102, 109-110).
This first Psalm stands as a kind of introduction to the rest of the Psalms. Its subject matter is very general and basic, but it touches on two subjects that continually occur throughout the Psalms. It declares the blessedness of the righteous and the misery and future of the wicked. Man’s spiritual life is set forth negatively and positively, inw...
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does n...
There are three things the man who is blessed must avoid. But let’s first note how the author develops this because it is so instructive and is a warning in itself. As it is presented, it demonstrates the process of retrogression, which always occurs when men are not advancing in God’s words and way of life. We never stand still! Verse one portrays...
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord”
“But” is K’a]min the Hebrew text. If this is translated as a conditional clause, “but if,” then verse three gives the conclusion and promise. But it may also be taken as a strong contrast, i.e., “but rather.” Because of the construction of verse 1 with the emphasis on the negative, it introduces the reader to a strong contrast showing positively what the man of blessing does in contrast to verse 1, what he does not do. “But his delight is in …” This statement is emphatic in two ways: by the f...
“And in His law he meditates day and night”
“Day and night” is an idiom which means “constantly, consistently, and regularly.” This means the man of blessedness is occupied with God’s Word. It is on his mind and in his heart at all times in every situation and area of life (2 Cor. 10:4-5). “He meditates” is an imperfect tense of habitual action. The verb is h`G> orH`G`Hwhich literally means “to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse, think, and plan” (cf. 2:1b where it means, “devise”). This is a comprehensive term for the study and applicati...
“And he shall be like a tree”
Please note, this is a promise from God and a well established fact of life. A Bible that is worn and falling apart from use usually belongs to someone who isn’t. Being like a tree is of course a metaphor, a picture. But what does this picture teach us? (1) A tree has deep roots and is usually very sturdy, especially when compared to a tumble weed. A tree portrays stability and the capacity to withstand the storms of life (Jer. 17:5-8). It’s the picture of mental, emotional, and spiritual sta...
“Firmly planted by streams of water”
“Planted” is a participle of the Hebrew verb sh`t~l. This verb actually means “to transplant,” not merely “plant.” This is rich and significant. “To plant” means to cause to take root, to become firmly established for the purpose of stability, nutrition (food and water), growth, and eventually production. “To transplant” includes the above, of course, but it also includes taking a plant out of one environment and placing it into another which is more conducive to production, growth, and stabi...
“Which yields its fruit in its season”
Note again the recurring biblical principle: First the root, then fruit. First the word with obedience and application, and then there is production. (Note the fruit-bearing power of the gospel in Colossians 1:5b-7; 2:6, and then note the emphasis in verses 9f on the need of prayer.) “Which yields” is n`T^n, “to give.” The verb is the imperfect tense, which stresses continual action, or even that which, given the inherent power of Scripture, is always true as a general rule of life. As 1 Thes...
4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. With verse 4 we come to a very strong contrast. The way of the righteous is contrasted...
“The wicked are not so”
Literally “not so the wicked.” There are two different negatives in the Hebrew and each expresses a very different idea. There is loa, which expresses absolute emphatic negation. Then there is a~l, which expresses subjective or relative negation with an appeal to the will. Verse 4 uses loa, the negative particle of absolute negation. This verse flatly and absolutely denies any correspondence of the characteristics and life of the wicked with the righteous. “So” is the Hebrew K@n, an adverb of...
“But they are like the chaff which the wind drives away”
The conjunction “but” is a strengthened form in the Hebrew text and is somewhat emphatic. It draws our attention to the difference between the righteous and wicked. “Like chaff.” “Chaff” is the Hebrew word mox. Chaff is the seed covering and the debris separated from the grain or seed in threshing. Unlike the grain or actual seed, it has no body or substance and is blown about by the wind, always unstable. It is that which is worthless, of no value. It draws the reader’s attention to both the...
When those with authority do this and it impacts your daily life or threatens your comfort, how do you react? Are you lashing out in fear and defensiveness, or are you resting in the ultimate authority and eternal reign of God? What does Psalm 2 teach us about how God reacts when worldly leaders deride his rule? 2.
Psalm 1 is a revelation of wisdom and godly insight that helps us make sense of all the Psalms following it. What is the point of the Psalms? How should we read the Psalms?
- Rabbi Jason Sobel
Psalm 1: Seven Blessings that Come from Living in Faith-Based Covenant Relationship with Jesus. Introduction: The first two psalms together form the introduction to the Book of Psalms. Here, the unidentified psalmist describes the contrast between a believer who follows God’s Law with the wicked person who rejects God and His standards of ...
The first Psalm serves as a perfect gateway to begin the Old Testament Book of Psalms as it depicts two distinct paths in stark contrast with each other. The author of Psalm 1 is unknown, but the theme is crystal clear: There are two possible paths (or ways) in life.
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Feb 14, 2023 · Psalm 1 may only be six verses long, but the truth it conveys is powerful and inspiring. It draws readers into the reality of God’s kingdom versus evilness. Psalm 1 highlights the matter of the heart that God so deeply cares about in each of us — will we foster hearts of righteousness or wickedness? The last verse in this Psalm summarizes ...
