Psalm 1 Series

11-10-13

Tom Lowe

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Introduction

Psalm 1 is a wisdom Psalm and focuses on God’s Word, God’s blessing on those who obey it and meditate on it, and God’s ultimate judgment on those who rebel. Wisdom Psalms also wrestle with the problem of evil in the world and why God permits the prosperity of the wicked who reject His Law. Other wisdom Psalms include 10, 12, 15, 19, 32, 34, 37, 49, 50, 52, 53, 73, 78, 82, 91, 92, 94, 111, 112, 119, 127, 128, 133, and 139. While this psalm depicts two ways, it actually describes three different persons and how they relate to the blessings of the Lord.

This psalm combines two characteristic interests of postexilic Judaism, the trend toward legalism and the teaching concerning retribution. And the trend in the psalm toward the Law and its study points to a time of origin of around 397 B.C., when the priestly law was introduced to the restored community in Jerusalem and Judah. The psalm was placed first because it was intended to be an introduction to the book of Psalms as a whole. How relevant, then, is its portrayal of the two ways of life which are differentiated with such variety and sharpness in the Psalter! The good man (blessed man) becomes stable, gracious, and prosperous; the evil man becomes empty, futile, and forgotten.

Commentary

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

God’s covenant with Israel made it clear that He would bless their obedience and judge their disobedience (Lev. 26, Deut. 28). The word “blessed” is asher, the name of one of Jacobs sons (Gen. 30.12, 13)[i]. The person described here met the conditions, and therefore God blessed him. If we want God’s blessing, we too must meet the conditions.

Religious life is the “blessed” life: and blessedness is more than happiness. The blessed man is right with God and enjoys the spiritual peace and joy that results from that relationship. “The man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” is the man that does not live his life according to their advice, or direction, or manner of living; who does not associate with them nor follow their evil promptings or examples. The term “walking” as it is used here means choosing, and making progress or continuing in it. “Nor standeth” denotes hardness and obstinacy. “In the way” means their course of action, or manner of conversation; in the practice of those things which they chose to do, which is sometimes called a man’s way (Ps. 25.4[ii]). “Of sinners” are those who give up themselves to the power and practice of sin; making it their great concern and delight. “Nor sitteth in the seat” denotes their association or incorporation of themselves with them, a constant and resolved perseverance in their wicked choices, with great content and security; and a great proficiency and eminence in the school of wickedness, and an ability and readiness to lead others to come along with them. “Of the scornful” refers to those who are not only diseased with sin, but reject, despise, and ridicule all remedies; who poke fun at sin and at God’s threatenings and judgments against sinners; who feel it’s their duty to laugh at goodness and good men.

This verse states the practice of the blessed man. A bit further in the psalm we will see the power of the blessed man, and finally his permanency. In this verse we see the negative side of the practice of the blessed man. We are told what the happy man does NOT do. Here we see three positions or postures. Blessed is the man, or happy is the man, who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, nor set in the seat of the scornful. The person who does these things is not a happy person. He goes through three stages. First he associates with the ungodly, then he gets in with sinners, and finally he joins in with the scornful. There was a pastor at a church I attended at one time who liked to say, “Sin will always take you farther than you want to go.” That is what happens to this unfortunate sinner.