March 31, 2020
Following the reading plan found here at Northeast Bible Church (San Antonio), today we look at the classic psalm in Psalm 1. This psalm discusses the benefits of being rooted in Scripture, especially during trials and tribulations.
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 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
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.
(NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- There is a place of blessing in this life
- That blessing is being in the presence of God. Don’t forget Psalm 91. He is our Refuge, Fortress, and Shelter. Dwell in Him, meditate on His word, and experience a vital relationship with Him.
- Two ways
- There are two ways or paths described here. Which way are you on? God lays out both and provides the consequences of each path.
- Delight in God’s Word
- Take time to read it, enjoy it, treasure it, and meditate on it. Pray through it regularly
- Growth in character and righteousness takes time.
- The tree will bear fruit in season, but that does not mean right away. Be patient and continue in the way of God. Paul said it this way: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
- God knows His children
- For those who love the Lord and want to live a life pleasing to him, God is the one who will keep them to the end and present them in His presence as blameless and free from accusation (Jude 24-25). Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
Deeper Exposition:
Psalm 1 is the perfect introduction to the book of Psalms because it summarizes the two ways open to humanity, the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.
Psalm 1 is classified as a wisdom psalm because of its emphasis on these two ways of life, the use of similes, the announcement of blessing, and the centrality of the Law (or Torah) for fulfillment in life. The themes in this psalm repeat again and again throughout the Psalter.[1]
The psalm describes the blessed person who leads an untarnished and prosperous life in accord with the Word of the Lord, and contrasts them with the ungodly who shall perish.
The psalmist uses three expressions to describe the life of the blessed person[2]: they do not walk…stand or sit in the counsel or way or seat of the wicked (ungodly), sinners, or scoffers (scorners). With each parallel unit the expression becomes more intense. This signifies a progression from a casual influence of ungodly people to collusion with them in their scorn against the righteous. It speaks of an increasingly deeper involvement with wickedness. Similarly, the terms for the wicked are progressive (ungodly, sinners, the scornful). The person who is not characterized by this evil influence is “blessed,” that is, they are right with God and enjoys the spiritual peace and joy that results from that relationship.[3] The imagery of this verse presents an ideal righteous person – one who is in the world but quite unaffected by the world.[4]
Verse 2 provides a strong contrast. Instead of the entanglements of the wicked, the godly person finds their deep enjoyment in the things of God, particularly the Word of God. They meditate on Scripture and such meditation involves study and retention. This is only possible if the godly has a desire to so, referred to as delight in verse 2. The psalmist found direction, not toil, from the Bible.[5] The word law (תּוֹרָה, torah) expresses the idea of God pointing out the path for life in fellowship with Him (Ps 19:7-11). Meditates means “to mumble” or “to speak to oneself” (4:4).[6] Biblical meditation is focusing the mind on Scripture.
For all who take delight in living by God’s Word, there is prosperity. Under the fruitful tree, the psalmist declared that whatever the righteous do will prosper (cf. Ps 92:12-14). The simile presents an image of a desert date palm that has been firmly planted in a well-watered oasis (Jer 17:8). Everything about the tree is valuable and productive. Likewise, the righteous are valuable and productive to God—people in whom He finds pleasure (Ps 33:15; 147:11). Two things need to be noted. First, the “fruit,” that is, the prosperity, is produced in its season and not necessarily immediately after planting. The “prosper” (also translated as “shall prosper”) is not a guarantee of the future financial worth of the righteous; rather, the righteous person is always useful and productive to the Lord. Second, what the godly person does will be guided by Scripture. Meditating on God’s Word can spur one on to greater dependence on God which leads to godly living.
The wicked person is strongly compared with a blessed person in verse 4. The Hebrew word rāšā‘ is often translated wicked (cf. vv. 1, 5–6) but that may connote gross evil.[7] People described by rāšā‘ are not in covenant relationship with God; they live according to their passions. They are not godly. They may do kind and charitable deeds, but God’s evaluation of them is that they are without eternal merit.[8]
Like chaff, worthless husks of the grain blown away by the wind in the process of winnowing, the wicked have no stability (Ps 35:5; 83:13). Such is the contrast with the fruitful (cf. v. 3), valuable, righteous person. When the judgment comes, the ungodly will no longer stand (Ps 5:5). This is similar to the picture of the final judgment in the Olivet discourse of Jesus (Matt 25:31-46). God will separate the righteous from the wicked in the judgment. The righteous are those that believe in Christ and consequently live by His Word.
The basis for this judgment in verse 6 is the Lord’s knowledge. “The Lord watches over (literally “knows”) the way of the righteous” is best understood by the antithetical parallelism, “the way of the wicked will perish.” Salvation in the day of judgment is equated with being known by the Lord (cf. Matt 7:23). The verb “knows” in this context refers not just to God’s awareness but to an intimate, personal knowledge (Ps. 101:4). God is intimately involved with the way of the righteous but has no connection with the way of the ungodly, except in judgment (Ps 146:9).
“The way” means one’s whole manner of life including what directs it and what it produces. The worthless life of the ungodly will not endure. Proverbs discusses two ways for people’s lives (Prov 2:8; 4:19), only one of which leads to God. This is a consistent biblical theme, culminating in the words of Jesus, “I am the way” (Jn 14:6).
In an older post, we have discussed Hebrew parallelism and how it is found throughout the poetry. I just want to provide a brief overview of that again since Psalm 1 includes so many varieties of techniques. Also, a fuller appreciation of the eloquence of the Psalms can be gained by understanding the basics of Hebrew poetry. The lack of a predictable rhythm and rhyme has confused some people about the poetic nature of the Psalms. Although Hebrew poetry contains some rhythm, it primarily makes use of repetition and recapitulation. This technique is found not only in the Psalms, but the authors of proverbs use it as well. “The second line of a proverb usually reinforces the meaning of the first line (Prov 22:1). This reinforcement of the thought is not mere tautology, but the graceful artistry of a poet. The first line makes a statement that the second line sharpens or heightens.”[9]
The psalmist could modify the general pattern in a variety of ways.
First, they could use synonymous parallelism to make the two elements similar. This is probably the most common form you will see. For example:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.” (v. 2)
Second, the psalmist could contrast the two elements. This type of parallelism is called antithetical parallelism and usually contains the word “but.”
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.” (v. 6)
Third, the author could develop the theme of the first line in the second line, which is called synthetic parallelism. Further, the second line repeats the thought of the first line in different words plus adds a conclusion or completes the sense of the first line. The relationship is supplementary.
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;” (v. 1, ESV)
A fourth technique on general parallelism is climactic parallelism. In this case, the first member of a couplet is incomplete and the second member partially repeats the first member and then completes the thought. For example:
“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!” (Ps 96:7, ESV)
Fifth, the author could use emblematic parallelism. The first line contains a figure of speech and the following lines explain the figure by expansion or explanation. In Psalm 1:3, the parallel lines of this verse explain the meaning of the expression “like a tree.”
“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers” (v. 3)
Note: Some might call this Emblematic Synonymous. Others might consider the vocative “O God” as a conclusion and thus, label this as emblematic synthetic. Furthermore, they might consider the “So” as a marker for concluding material to follow. But in this context, “So” serves as a marker of the simile “as.” You could understand it as “in the same way.” I consider this simply Emblematic because the second line elevates the meaning of the first line. The first line is stated as a simile explained or elevated in the second line.
Lastly, the author could use formal. This is where one idea, thought, sentence and thus, one statement in meter. The couplet forms a complete sentence, idea, or thought without parallelism. Examples include:
Proverbs 25:18
Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow
Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
Psalm 52.4
You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
Formal parallelism will confuse you because you will see the vocative of address (O Deceitful Tongue) and consider that separately from the main clause. But “O deceitful tongue” is the subject “You” to the verb “love.” It’s not a conclusion. Moreover, and semantically speaking, formal parallelism is non-parallel.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Main ideas that are typical of wisdom psalms: A celebration of the Torah of Yahweh (v. 2); Righteous and the wicked; Final destiny (v. 5-6); centrality of the Law (v. 2).
[2] The Hebrew word for “man” in this context means “person,” without reference to gender.
[3] Allen P. Ross, “Psalm,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 791.
[4] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 646.
[5] Law of the Lord refers to the Pentateuch.
[6] הָגָה (hā·ḡā(h)). Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 646.
[7] Strong 7563; DBL 8401. “Wicked, unrighteous, i.e., pertaining to being evil, with a focus on the guilt of violating a standard (2Sa 4:11); 2. LN 88.289–88.318 guilty, i.e., pertaining to being legally not innocent of a violation of law (Ps 109:7)”
[8] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 791.
[9] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 647.