In Old Testament times there were the prophets and teaching priests; there was even a school of the prophets led by Elijah and Elisha. Below you will see how the 150 psalms are categorized by their overall subject matter. Unbelievers are separated from believers and the believers go into the Millennium. By-in-large, people of the Word will gain the capacity to be wise and stable in areas such as their business or the office which could mean promotions or higher profits. As one who delights and meditates in the Word, Scripture is consulted and used as a guide for whatever he does (Prov. This is a picture of vitality, of being green, healthy plants in spite of conditions. 4:11-13). It is that which is worthless, of no value. (Rev. Being like a tree is of course a metaphor, a picture. A tree portrays stability and the capacity to withstand the storms of life (Jer. The righteous man is not afraid to take a less-traveled road, because he knows it leads to blessing, happiness, and eternal life. Instead, a beautitude promises blessing to those whose lives are characterized by certain qualities as the outcome of faith and relationship with God. It is the believers responsibility to respond to Gods provision and to plant themselves regularly in a seat where they can drink from these water resources. It is easy because there are many things to criticize about Christians. First, it means to be loose with reference to morals. d. And whatever he does shall prosper: It isnt that the righteous man has a Midas Touch, and everything he does makes him rich and comfortable. The Psalms have a wonderful capacity to capture the reality of our human experience. As I observe much of the church today, at first glance it looks like wheat, but on closer observation, it is often more like the chaff that the wind drives about with every wind of the various doctrines of man and the modernity of our secular society. Or, as the Hebrew has it yet more fully, The Lord is knowing the way of the righteous. He is constantly looking on their way, and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord knoweth it. (Spurgeon). Different types of psalms were written to communicate different feelings and thoughts regarding a psalmist's situation. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. Of the Lord. yahweh is a genitive of source, i.e., the law or Scripture which comes from the LORD. The point is, when you sit in someones seat, according to the idiom, you act like or become what they are. 8, 19, 33, 65, 111, 104, 145, 147.: God the Redeemer. b. This must not be understood in the sense of legalistic obedience to a set of rules and principles, like a prescription or a formula, but in the sense of an obedience of faith that such a life brings to the one who believes the concepts of this passage. 1:21). But the way of the ungodly shall perish. A Psalm Of David 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. According to Scripture, everything in the church is to flow from and around this emphasis and activity. (a) By blatant ridicule or rejection. (5) EmblematicOne line conveys the main point, the second line illuminates it by an image (42:1; 23:1). The Cross And Christian Distinctiveness (1 Peter 2:1-10). One of the reasons Scripture is a delight, like honey in the honey comb, is because it is truth. It also means being prepared to bear fruit when opportunity knocks (2 Tim. 1:30; Col. 1:13). These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Please note, this is a promise from God and a well established fact of life. In each of these there is regression from Gods way and progression into sin and Satans way. This judgment also comes at the end of the Tribulation and is carried out by Christ on earth. It specifically applies this to work and to our desire for success. 1:8). The verb is h`G> or H`G`H which literally means to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse, think, and plan (cf. Blessed is the man: The Hebrew word esher is here translated blessed, which has the idea of happiness or contentment. Day and night is an idiom which means constantly, consistently, and regularly. This means the man of blessedness is occupied with Gods Word. 1:4-6). They fall short. In New Testament terms this means: (a) daily time with the Lord (Hebrew 3:7), and (b) weekly times of assembling together with other believers (Hebrew 10:24-25). So is the Hebrew [emailprotected], an adverb of quality. Psalm 13-6. Blessed means supremely happy or fulfilled. Matt. 12:3f), including exhortation, giving, showing mercy, helping; and (c) witnessing and leading people to Christ (cf. August. It was an archery term and meant to fall short, miss the mark. The mark is the will and plan of God as revealed in Scripture. I would emphasize how remarkable this is. Verse 1 BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO WALKS NOT IN THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED NOR STAND IN THE WAY OF SINNERS. It is accurate, reliable and actively powerful (Ps. The main themes in 'A Psalm of Life' are living in the present and the meaning of life. 1:3). 14:10-11; 1 Cor. 5:22-23, 16); (b) the exercise of our spiritual gifts in Christian service (1 Pet. The righteous man is delighted with the word of God! The way of the righteous. What is the main idea of the book of Psalms? 1 A Miktam of David. i. 1. The righteous man does not have these signs of death and dryness; his leaves are green and alive. Whats also clear is that they have not been ordering their lives by the Word. Psalm 91:1 We may not always see it, or feel it, we might forget it's there at times, or even wonder if He's left us to fend for ourselves in the heat of hard situations of life. Like taking wild trees growing in barren and desert-like conditions and carefully transplanting them in rich prepared soil by streams of water. If we are constantly needy, it may be worth examining if we are planted by the rivers of water or not. " Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path . This is the kind of counsel that we must avoid. c. At least four times in the Book of Acts, Christianity is called the Way. Gods word is always the best counselor, and godly counselors will always bring the truth of Gods word to help someone who wants counseling. First the word with obedience and application, and then there is production. If it is an oak, it gives shade. He/she is a person of the Scriptures. This is the message of this Psalm. The righteous can have the confidence of Psalm 16:11: You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. But His. And whatever he does shall prosper. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 15, 33, 102, 103, 111, 113 . 9:1-22). 9:6b), (b) do not proceed in the way of evil men (Prov. If he had sat in an easy chair he would have been better able to understand it. (Spurgeon). It has turned aside from the Word as its authority and sufficient source for life and godliness. It draws our attention to the difference between the righteous and wicked. There are three things the man who is blessed must avoid. The point is, our path or course is fully known by the Lord and He cares for us with Gods loving and providential care as a father his child and like the vinedresser cares for His vineyard (Ps. So Psalm 1 focuses on obedience no matter what is happening all around one (a wisdom approach to life), and Psalm 2 focuses on trusting God to fulfill his promises of justice on the earth some day by installing his king (a prophetic approach to life). We are all sinners. 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. Unbelievers are separated from believers and the believers go into the Millennium. Instead, we should be proud to follow Jesus Christ. Prov. It is abiding in a life-source. Each tree is to have some fruit. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it (Matthew 7:13). (2) The way of the godly is set forth by way of a contrast: negatively, what the godly do not do (1:1), and positively, what the godly do (1:2). c. Whose leaf also shall not wither: Brown, dead, withered leaves are signs of death and dryness. 1:17; 2:11; Matt. For the New Testament saint, salvation is by faith alone in the accomplishment of Christs finished work as proclaimed in the New Covenant, which is a fulfillment of the promises of the Old (cf. When others are putting down Christians, it is easy to sit with them and criticize them. And sometimes God allows severe suffering for other reasons as He did with Job. 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 not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 3:6-7). 4:10-12). If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. 8:1; John 5:24; Rom. 4:1-4). They are on a broad path that may seem comfortable now and the path gives them lots of company, but in the end they shall perish. This psalm begins with an an assertion, saying How blessed is the man, then lists three different things that will cause the man to be blessed. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. But lets first note how the author develops this because it is so instructive and is a warning in itself. 5:9-10). He is easily influenced by the way of the world in its attitudes and actions, for actions follow attitudes. (c) 2020 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik ewm@enduringword.com. For a detailed study on the judgments, see The Doctrine of the Judgments under New Testament, Topical Studies, on the Biblical Studies Foundation web site at www.bible.org. What did Paul tell his young coworker in the faith? Psalm 1:2 is our answer! Explanation of Main Idea (b) The wicked are unstable, unfruitful, and will be judged. (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.). The choice is ours. It means: (a) a seat, a place of sitting, or (b) an assembly where many are gathered together to sit and make deals or have close associations. God knows our future, He made us and the whole world. With verse 4 we come to a very strong contrast. 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. iv. Psalm one is a wisdom Psalm. 3:3), and though he is saved, he will experience serious consequences as we shall see in the material below. This means value choices! 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. It refers to a restless, unquiet condition which, in its agitation and unquieted passions, runs from one thing to another seeking happiness and peace, often at the hurt of others. Lesson 1: Psalm 1 and Psalm 19 Reading: 1. It came from an Arabic verb (a sister language) which meant to be mindful of, attentive to, and so it came to mean, keep, protect. When something delights us, we become preoccupied with it and we tend to protect and guard it. We can then too easily become an associate of those who scoff at Gods plan and ignore His counsel. This does not deny the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit or other valid functions of the church like music, but central to everything is the Word (Jam. But in the life of the righteous man, God brings forth something good and wonderful out of everything. (3) It also pictures ministry. Who was Psalm 23 written for? Matt. i. It involves only the church, the body of Christ. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I . It draws the readers attention to both the uselessness of the wicked and to the ease with which God deals with them, like the wind that so easily picks up the chaff and blows it away. By position and context, the Hebrew is exclamatory. In the original Hebrew text, this contrast is strongly emphasized by the lack of a connective between these sections called asyndeton, and by the word order. Compare Psalm 37:6 and note the kind of prosperity God primarily has in mind (spiritual prosperity, discernment, and godly character). This is to be our habit, and it will be if we obey verse 2 and Gods commands. What does Psalm 1 6 say? 4:14; Jer. The man who experiences great blessing is one who has a love affair with Gods Word. While eating lunch, my wife and I occasionally listen to a well-known talk show host who takes questions from those who call in for counsel with their perplexing moral dilemmas. 10:4-5). The man of blessedness chooses to direct his life by Gods plan according to His inspired and inerrant Word. We think we have better things to do with our time. The conjunction but is a strengthened form in the Hebrew text and is somewhat emphatic. Psalm one shows us a clear distinction between the way of the righteous and the end of those who are ungodly. Psalm 13 is a psalm of lament - an impassionate cry for help from the Lord. But true spiritual strength comes from a long-term, established relationship with God in his Word (Hebrew 5:11ff; 1 Pet. Sometimes God has to engineer failure and pressures before He can bring about successHis kind of successin our lives. 5 The Bible Knowledge Commentary, OT Edition, John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, editors, Victor Books, electronic media. This first Psalm stands as a kind of introduction to the rest of the Psalms. The great lesson to be learned from the whole is, sin is progressive; one evil propensity or act leads to another. An equal number had a difficult time accepting the concept of absolute truth. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Many fail at this point. (3) Ones particular gifts (1 Pet. For many of them the answer is yes, but their time in church did nothing to build them in the Scripture. Return to Tools for Studying the Psalms A Table of Psalms by Theme. That about covers it all! You can also change some of your preferences. Wicked is a Hebrew word (r`sh`u) which has as its root idea, to be loose, unstable. This word carries two ideas. Their way (even when religious) is the way of man, the flesh, and cannot stand before the righteousness of God. 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