Psalm 1 (2)

Psalm 1:1–6 ESV

1 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; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

This psalm prefaces the rest of the book and could serve to preface all of scripture.

Verse 1

3 things that disqualify you from being counted as "blessed" by God.

who walks not in the counsel of the wickednor stands in the way of sinnersnor sits in the seat of scoffers

- those who practice lawlessness will not enter Gods kingdom

Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save.

Aren't we under grace and not the law??

; ;

Commentary Notes

Plumbers Commentary of the Psalms

The most ancient psalm is 3477 years old

The least ancient is 2604 years old 

Spread out over 873

They are all written in Asia

Hengstenberg, “The Psalms are expressions of holy feelings, which can be understood by those only, who have become to such feeling.”

Horne: “Composed upon particular occasions, yet designed for general use; delivered out as services for Israelites under the law, yet no less adapted o the circumstances of Christians un the Gospel, the Psalms preset religion to us in the most engaging dress; communicating truths which philosophy could never investigate, in a style which poetry can never equal, while history is made the the vehicle of prophecy, and creation lends all its charms to paint the glories of redemption. Calculated alike to profit and to please, they inform the understanding, evaluate the affections, and entertain the imagination. Indited under the influence of Him to whom all hearts are known, in all events for known, they suit mankind in all situations, grateful as the manna which descended from above, and conformed itself to every palate. The fairest productions of human wit, after a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their frequency; but these unfading plants a paradise become, as a we are accustomed to them, still more and more beautiful; their bloom appears to be daily heightened; fresh odors are emitted, and new sweets extracted from them. He who hath once tasted their excellences will desire to taste them yet again; and he who tastes them often will relish them best.”

“Composed upon particular occasions, yet designed for general use; delivered out as services for Israelites under the law, yet no less adapted o the circumstances of Christians un the Gospel, the Psalms preset religion to us in the most engaging dress; communicating truths which philosophy could never investigate, in a style which poetry can never equal, while history is made the the vehicle of prophecy, and creation lends all its charms to paint the glories of redemption. Calculated alike to profit and to please, they inform the understanding, evaluate the affections, and entertain the imagination. Indited under the influence of Him to whom all hearts are known, in all events for known, they suit mankind in all situations, grateful as the manna which descended from above, and conformed itself to every palate. The fairest productions of human wit, after a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their frequency; but these unfading plants a paradise become, as a we are accustomed to them, still more and more beautiful; their bloom appears to be daily heightened; fresh odors are emitted, and new sweets extracted from them. He who hath once tasted their excellences will desire to taste them yet again; and he who tastes them often will relish them best.”

He who has the most heavenly mind, will be the most suited successful student of the Psalms. Carnal tempers are ill suited to spiritual truths. 

Augustine: “Form thy spirit by the affection of the Psalm . .  . If the Psalm breathes the spirit of prayer, do you pray; if it is filled with groaning, groan also thyself; if it is gladsome, do you rejoice also; if it encourages hope, then hope thou in God; if it calls to godly fear, then tremble thou before the divine majesty; for all things herein contained are mirrors to reflect our own real characters. . . Let the heart do what the words signify.”

Athanasius calls the Psalms “an epitome of the whole Scriptures.” 

How do we know the psalms were inspired by the Holy Spirit? 

(ESV)

1Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:

2“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.

3The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me...

Paul quotes the Psalms in as though the Psalms were inspired

(ESV)

32And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,

33this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

34And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

35Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’

36For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,

37but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

38Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

39and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Jesus quotes and says David was inspired by the Holy Spirit

(ESV)

43He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

45If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

Jesus, just before His ascension, He puts Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms on the same level, as containing unfailing truths. 

(ESV)

44Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

(ESV)

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ()

“Today, if you hear his voice,

8do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

9where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

10Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’

11As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ”

The Psalms are quoted 55 times through out the NT as sources of authority. 

In Peter refers to David as a prophet. 

(ESV)

29“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,

31he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

"If the Psalms are inspired it is easy to understand why they should be so

powerful in their influence over the minds and hearts of men. They are a fire and a

hammer. They are life and spirit.”

The fact that the [Psalms are] highly devotional and experimental takes nothing

from the difficulty; for the nearer we are to the throne, the more dazzling is its effulgence found to be; and the more deeply truth enters into our spirits, the less able do we feel ourselves to tell its relations and describe its beauties.

Date: TBD by its authorship

David: 1000 years before Christ

Ezra: 450 years before Christ

Authorship 

There are 2 main opinions as to who wrote this psalm. The first and most likely is that David wrote it. It seems proper that the author of the major part of the Psalms should be the author of the Introduction to the book.It is alleged that the style of is that of David, or at least of his times.It is also said that the Jews uniformly united the first and second psalms into one, and that David  is confessedly the author of the second, and, if so, of the first also. Some say that in several copies of the NT, speaks of the first and not of the second psalm, and that this shows David to have been the author of both the first and second in our arrangement. If these two are in fact but one Psalm, and if David wrote the first verse of the second Psalm, as we know he did, then none will deny that he wrote all that properly belongs to that composition. The second opinion respecting the date of this psalm is that it is was written about 450 years before Christ by Ezra or by some one in his times, when he was arranging the canon of Scriptures. The reasons given for this opinion are that such was the general belief for a long time, that it was peculiarly proper and very natural that the collector of the canon of scripture, who also arranged the Psalms, should after all the rest was writing, prefix the first psalm as a prologue to the book and that there is nothing in the style of this Psalm rendering it improbable that Ezra was the author. Never the less the weight of opinion is in favor or David as the author. 

This Psalm has no title. This is so remarkable, that some have contended that The first clause should be regarded as the inscription. But this view is not supported by the requisite proofs. The fact is that the psalm needs no title, because it is so plain, and because it is itself a preface to all the great matters, which come after. Basil says, "what the foundation is to a house, the keel to a ship, the heart to an animal, the same is this song to the whole book. It is a preface to the Psalter.” 

Athanasius and Theodore give it this title, “Blessedness.”

The Arabic has this title: “The beauty of piety and the hope of another state.”