Love God Only
Forum Index => Things of the Spirit => Topic started by: TrevorL on April 01, 2023, 07:01:59 am
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The following is a typical hymn from our 2002 Hymn Book, our Hymn 1 on Psalm 1. It is relatively new to us as it was not included in the previous Hymn Book, and I like both the tune and the words.:
https://vimeo.com/799891214
Kind regards Trevor
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Greetings Bradley,
I have read that Psalm 1 is a good morning psalm/prayer.
Yes, and I consider that it is a good introduction to the whole Book of the Psalms, many written by David, a man after God's own heart.
I was browsing through a few old magazines and found a 5-page article on Psalm 1 and this opened up many aspects that I had not previously considered. I will not add these aspects as most have access to commentaries and need to also meditate on the Psalm for themselves. I do like the conclusion of the article, which is in the form of a poem and in a sense it is a new interpretation or commentary on Psalm 1. The magazine does not cite the source.
How bless'd is he who ne'er consents by ill advice to walk;
Nor stands in sinners' ways, nor sits where men profanely talk.
But makes the perfect law of God his business and delight;
Devoutly reads therein by day, and meditates by night.
Like a fair tree, which fed by streams, with timely fruit doth bend,
He still shall flourish, and success all his designs attend.
Ungodly men and their attempts no lasting root shall find;
Untimely blasted and dispers'd like chaff before the wind.
Their guilt shall strike the wicked dumb before the Judge's face;
No formal hypocrite shall them among the saints have place
For God approves the just man's ways, to happiness they tend;
But sinners, and the paths they tread, shall both in ruin end.
I decided to look at two commentaries on the Psalms. The first is one of our in-house commentaries, and this gives the title to Psalm 1 as “The diverging destinies of the righteous and the ungodly” which is rather wordy but covers the subject. A popular Tyndale or IVP Commentary on Psalms 1-72 (and Psalm 73-150) by Derek Kidner is usually very succinct in his comments and he titles Psalm 1 as “The Two Ways”.
Kind regards
Trevor
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I have read that Psalm 1 is a good morning psalm/prayer.
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A Few Thoughts on Psalm 1
This is an impressive Psalm and is an introduction to the Book of Psalms. Two sets of people and two ways are revealed, summed up in the last verse, the way of the ungodly and the way of the righteous. The righteous class are introduced in the first phrase, but it is in the singular: “Blessed is the man”. Ultimately this one man is the Lord Jesus Christ.
At first his qualities are described by what he is not. The Psalmist gives us three poetic parallels, and when these are lined up, each of the three phrases seem to be a progressive decline in the character and position of the ungodly:
Psalm 1:1 (KJV): 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.
Thus the Psalmist by this method also introduces to us the ungodly, sinners and the scornful.
And this is contrasted with what the blessed man is:
Psalm 1:2 (KJV): But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Two key words are introduced, “delight” and “meditate”. Both of these qualities are not natural to man, but there needs to be an initial choice or persuasion that this course is worth embracing, then these qualities need to be cultivated and allowed to grow. The whole purpose of the Book of Psalms could be summarised in these two words. This Book of Psalms and the whole counsel of God is designed to develop this “delight” and a mind that “meditates” upon the word.
The ultimate destiny of these two classes of people are clearly depicted. The wicked or ungodly will become like chaff that the wind drives away, while the righteous will become like trees planted by rivers or streams of water bringing forth fruit.
The parallelism of verse 6 is condensed, and the following underlined phrases and words are required to complete the parallelism:
For the LORD knoweth (or regards) the way of the righteous and they shall live:
but God does not give regard to the way of the ungodly and they shall perish
Parallelism is a major feature of the OT Hebrew poetry. An advantage of this unique form is that the meaning of the poetry is not lost when translated into other languages. Modern translations usually show these parallel statements in verse form, while it is obscured in the KJV. The RV/KJV Interlinear Bible shows the KJV in verse form.
It appears that Jeremiah meditated upon this Psalm, and applied it to his own circumstances. He expands this Psalm and gives more detail to the difficult times and trials using the figure of drought:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (KJV): 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah also gives the contrast as revealed in Psalm 1:
Jeremiah 17:5-6 (KJV): 5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Jeremiah under Spirit guidance is very searching in his application of Psalm 1. We need to be humbled by the Word of God and the Gospel of Christ and allow the influence of the Word to awaken a delight in the Word and a desire to meditate therein. By this means our hearts and minds will direct us in the Way. Jeremiah adds another searching comment in v9 and Yahweh then speaks directly by means of a summary in v10, giving the final outcome, similar to the outcome of the two ways of Psalm 1:
Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV): 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Many of the Psalms are written by David, the man after God’s own heart. They reveal his thoughts, prayers and praises. Some are written by his close associates such as Asaph who became the chief musician. Some are anonymous, and some of these seem to be by Hezekiah. A unique feature of the Psalms is that in some instances they reveal the thoughts of Jesus more than the thoughts and circumstances of David, for example Psalms 16 and 22 that are quoted in the NT. Thus the partial revelation of God by the prophets anticipates the complete revelation of God in His Son Hebrews 1:1-2.
Kind regards
Trevor
Thank you for that, Trevor.
I see Psalm 1 is God's word summed up concisely in 6 verses,
and is like God's foundation lesson, to me.
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Trevor - ^
Excellent. Commentaries are a great place to start. Some have actually done the background work.
You don't need me to tell you to do your thing.
👍.
para . . . .
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Greetings again paralambano,
I mention these resources as a suggestion, if one gets "stuck" on something.
Fair enough, but possibly I would look at a Commentary or two first. In my fellowship we have a wide range of people with different specialties, and we benefit from their special interests. My present position is that I like studying certain portions of Scripture and I have mentioned some of these. I have so many books and resources that I will never read and study much of this material as I am slowing down in my old age.
Kind regards
Trevor
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Trevor - ^
Thanks for your reply.
I mention these resources as a suggestion, if one gets "stuck" on something.
I was "stuck" for a while on the OT "eye for an eye" in Torah wondering how blinding the guilty for blinding another helps anyone but that there are two stumbling about now. The priests were there to interpret the Law:
MISHNA: One who injures another is liable to pay compensation for that injury due to five types of indemnity: He must pay for damage, for pain, for medical costs, for loss of livelihood, and for humiliation.
How is payment for damage assessed? If one blinded another’s eye, severed his hand, broke his leg, or caused any other injury, the court views the injured party as though he were a slave being sold in the slave market, and the court appraises how much he was worth before the injury and how much he is worth after the injury. The difference between these two sums is the amount that one must pay for causing damage. . . . .
(Bab Talmud Bava Kamma 83b)
So there are those who would deride the so-called "cruelties" of the Law to Christians by "what aboutisms" with some of the latter stumped as how to answer.
Some Ravs use the PaRDeS form of exegesis which has 4 levels of gleaning meaning from scriptures (surface, symbolic, comparative, esoteric).
para . . . .
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Greetings again paralambano,
Of course, you're right about having plenty of info by our Bibles as to righteousness, etc.. I just think that the Targums, Jewish Apocrypha, Talmud, Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, and Tannaic annotations can give a richer understanding of the times and how people thought about things.
Yes, there would be some additional information in all these resources, but to be honest I have accumulated many resources both personal and for our meeting as I am the librarian for our meeting, but have not accumulated or referred to what you have recommended. My main interests have been in the Bible, and have given attention to many parts as our meeting considers these when we have different speakers. I have had a special interest in the Psalms, Isaiah and Galatians, but more recently have been looking at Daniel and also the Last Six Days of Jesus. I consider that what resources are available for even my few studies exceeds my ability to consider and absorb completely and to me these studies have been more beneficial than seeking for a few facts or gems in the resources that you mention.
For example, Jesus used the Aramaic Targum of Isaiah 58:6 and 61:1 (paraphrased combination) when he read in the synagogue. There appears to be some confusion by some who read our Bibles and see what Jesus says isn't exactly what's in the OT and so they doubt the word-for-word accuracy of scripture when the praxis was much looser even under inspiration. It all fell within certain reasonable parameters as long as the meaning was so.
Interesting observation. I have been interested in the subject of NT quotation of the OT and have especially concentrated on the numerous quotations of the Psalms and Isaiah. Nevertheless I have not particularly concentrated on some of the differences. There is a beneficial list of OT quotations in the NT in the Isaiah Introduction in Barnes' Notes. He gives a list of whether they are from the Hebrew, the LXX or other. A few that have interested me are Psalm 8, Psalm 110 and Isaiah 6:9-10 and these are extensively quoted and expounded in the NT. I also have a reference book on the NT use of the OT, but have only used this a few times.
Kind regards
Trevor
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Trevor - ^
Of course, you're right about having plenty of info by our Bibles as to righteousness, etc.. I just think that the Targums,
Jewish Apocrypha, Talmud, Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, and Tannaic annotations can give a richer understanding of the times and how people thought about things.
For example, Jesus used the Aramaic Targum of Isaiah 58:6 and 61:1 (paraphrased combination) when he read in the synagogue. There appears to be some confusion by some who read our Bibles and see what Jesus says isn't exactly what's in the OT and so they doubt the word-for-word accuracy of scripture when the praxis was much looser even under inspiration. It all fell within certain reasonable parameters as long as the meaning was so.
para . . . .
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Greetings paralambano,
Jesus and the Gospel writers, especially John the Revelator knew the OT and other material like the Targums like the back of their hands. So too Paul. Experts all.
Yes, they knew and understood the OT, but I am not sure that the Apostles were educated in the Targums. I consider Jesus' teaching to be comprehensive and in a sense new and refreshing by comparison to many aspects of the Targums. If we consider Matthew 5-7 and the many Parables and other teaching there is a comprehensive substantial clarity and persuasive teaching that can guide us in the way of life, fulfilling what is required of the "man" of Psalm 1. Jesus' teaching is expanded in the rest of the NT by these Apostles including Paul who were thus guided by Jesus and his teaching and we do well to absorb all of this to bring us to the maturity and stability of the tree planted by the rivers of water of Psalm 1. I doubt that we need to study the Targums.
Kind regards
Trevor
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Hello Trevor,
Welcome to the site. :D
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Trevor - ^
Jesus and the Gospel writers, especially John the Revelator knew the OT and other material like the Targums like the back of their hands. So too Paul. Experts all.
para . . . .
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A Few Thoughts on Psalm 1
This is an impressive Psalm and is an introduction to the Book of Psalms. Two sets of people and two ways are revealed, summed up in the last verse, the way of the ungodly and the way of the righteous. The righteous class are introduced in the first phrase, but it is in the singular: “Blessed is the man”. Ultimately this one man is the Lord Jesus Christ.
At first his qualities are described by what he is not. The Psalmist gives us three poetic parallels, and when these are lined up, each of the three phrases seem to be a progressive decline in the character and position of the ungodly:
Psalm 1:1 (KJV): 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.
Thus the Psalmist by this method also introduces to us the ungodly, sinners and the scornful.
And this is contrasted with what the blessed man is:
Psalm 1:2 (KJV): But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Two key words are introduced, “delight” and “meditate”. Both of these qualities are not natural to man, but there needs to be an initial choice or persuasion that this course is worth embracing, then these qualities need to be cultivated and allowed to grow. The whole purpose of the Book of Psalms could be summarised in these two words. This Book of Psalms and the whole counsel of God is designed to develop this “delight” and a mind that “meditates” upon the word.
The ultimate destiny of these two classes of people are clearly depicted. The wicked or ungodly will become like chaff that the wind drives away, while the righteous will become like trees planted by rivers or streams of water bringing forth fruit.
The parallelism of verse 6 is condensed, and the following underlined phrases and words are required to complete the parallelism:
For the LORD knoweth (or regards) the way of the righteous and they shall live:
but God does not give regard to the way of the ungodly and they shall perish
Parallelism is a major feature of the OT Hebrew poetry. An advantage of this unique form is that the meaning of the poetry is not lost when translated into other languages. Modern translations usually show these parallel statements in verse form, while it is obscured in the KJV. The RV/KJV Interlinear Bible shows the KJV in verse form.
It appears that Jeremiah meditated upon this Psalm, and applied it to his own circumstances. He expands this Psalm and gives more detail to the difficult times and trials using the figure of drought:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (KJV): 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah also gives the contrast as revealed in Psalm 1:
Jeremiah 17:5-6 (KJV): 5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Jeremiah under Spirit guidance is very searching in his application of Psalm 1. We need to be humbled by the Word of God and the Gospel of Christ and allow the influence of the Word to awaken a delight in the Word and a desire to meditate therein. By this means our hearts and minds will direct us in the Way. Jeremiah adds another searching comment in v9 and Yahweh then speaks directly by means of a summary in v10, giving the final outcome, similar to the outcome of the two ways of Psalm 1:
Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV): 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Many of the Psalms are written by David, the man after God’s own heart. They reveal his thoughts, prayers and praises. Some are written by his close associates such as Asaph who became the chief musician. Some are anonymous, and some of these seem to be by Hezekiah. A unique feature of the Psalms is that in some instances they reveal the thoughts of Jesus more than the thoughts and circumstances of David, for example Psalms 16 and 22 that are quoted in the NT. Thus the partial revelation of God by the prophets anticipates the complete revelation of God in His Son Hebrews 1:1-2.
Kind regards
Trevor