psalms chapter 1 repaired)

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EXEGESIS FOR PSALM 1

By

Greg Robinson

REL 1013-11

Dr. Bowman

02/16/12


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1. Translation Checklist

The Text I have chosen today for this exegesis paper is Psalms chapter 1: 1-6.

I will be using more than just one translation in capturing the text, which I have chosen. I

believe, by looking at more than one translation, you'll get a better understanding of the

text that you are trying to do a textual criticism on. There are many variant readings and a

passage. By working with more than just one of the major translations, I believe you will

become more familiar with the text you are trying to do and exegesis paper on. One of the

translations I will be using is the new American Bible. The Scriptures come from the

original languages or from the oldest existent form in w

hich

the text exist, according to

the members of the Catholic Biblical Association of America sponsored by the Bishops

committee of the Confraternity of the Christian doctrine. Another translation I will use is

a Zondervan NIV study Bible. This translation again comes close to the original text and

is easy-to-read. The footnotes in this Bible are of several kinds, most of which need no

explanation the commentaries are also very easy to read. They also provide more

references where one might look for a better understanding of the passage you are

reading. Finally I will also go to the Lutheran study Bible more often, and will be using

this Bible in conjunction with the other two mentions above that the ESV has been

carefully weighed against original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek to ensure the fullest

accuracy and clarity to avoid any misunderstandings of the original text. I think it brings

the original words of the Scripture into our own language of modern day times.

Psalm 1:v1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the

wicked, nor stands in the way of the sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Psalm 1:v1 in

the New American Bible starts verse 1 by saying Happy those.


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Esher (835) means blessed; happy. (1) all but 4 of the 44 biblical occurrences of thisnoun are poetical passages, with 26 occurrences in the Psalms and 8 in Proverbs.

(2)Basically this word connotes the state of prosperity or happiness that comes when

a superior bestowshis favored (blessing) on one.

1

2but his delight is in the law

[b]of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and

night. A godly person is influenced not by sinful people but by his meditation on the

word of God.

1:2 The psalmist found direction not drudgery from the law of God.2

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.

1:3 For all who take their delight in living by God's word, there is prosperity. Under theimage of a fruit tree, the psalmist declared that whatever the righteous do will prosper (cf.

92:12 14). Two qualifications need to be noted. First, the fruit, that is, the prosperity, isproduced in its season and is not necessarily immediately after planning. Second, what

the godly person does will be controlled by the Law of God, (1:2). So if a personmeditates on God's Word, his action will be godly, and his God- controlled activities will

prosper, that is, come to their divinely directed fulfillment.3

4The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

1:4 In the strong contrast with a blessed person (v.1) is a non-godly person. The wicked

are not in a covenant relationship with God. They live according to their own passions.The psalmist compared them to shaft, the worthless husk of the grain blown away by the

wind.4

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the

congregation of the righteous;

1:5. On the basis of the contrast between the godly and wicked, the palmist wrote thatGod will separate the righteous from the wicked in the judgment. The righteous are those

who are related by covenant with the Lord, who lived by his word, who produce things of

1 James Strong, LL. D., S. T. D. The new Strong's exhaustive concordance of the Bible.2. John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament3 John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament4 John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament


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eternal value. God will divide the righteous and sinners as a man separates wheat fromtares.

5

6for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will

perish.

1:6 The basis for this judgment is the Lord's knowledge. The first half of the verse, theLord watches over (lit., knows). The way of the righteous, is best understood by the

identical parallelism, the way of the wicked will perish. Salvation in the Day ofJudgment is equated with being known by the Lord (cf. Matt.7:23). In Psalm 1:6 the

way of the righteous is contrasted with the way of the wicked. The way means oneswhole manner of life, including what directs it, and what it produces the worthless life of

the ungodly will not endure.6

The first Psalm stands as an introduction to the rest of the Psalms. It touches on

two subjects that occurred continually t

hroug

hout Psalms. It declares t

he blessedness of

the righteous and the misery and future of the wicked.

2. Literary Placement.

Psalm 2 introduces the basic content of Yahwehs instruction (TORAH), that

Yahweh reigns as king over the world (and even the Davidic king, the human king, is

subservient to Yahwehs kingship, 2:10-11). While the righteous one Yahweh will

prosper, the wicked he will punish. Psalm 19:7 the statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

3. Historical Context and Questions

Psalm 1 shows us the destiny of both the righteous and the wicked. The wicked

will, at the final judgment, find themselves separated from God and, in the long run,

inheritors of eternal damnation. No one is exempt from this most terrifying fate. Yet God

has provided a different way for us. He sets us on the righteous way of the righteousness

5John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament.

6 John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament.


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and keeps us on it throughhis word. The blessed man who leads a clean and successful

life in harmony with the word of the Lord, compared to that of a man who lives a life

with the wicked, you shall surely die.

There are no historical clues in this psalm to indicate when it was written, who

wrote it, or why it was originally written. There is no historical context, N/A - not

applicable.

1. Question: When psalm was composed originally?

2. Question: When was it placed as the introductory psalm?

3. Question: Where were t

he various psalms composed and to w

hat ends?

4. Question: Where some of the psalms composed for use in the temple cult?

Literary type structure of this text:

Psalm 1 is a "Torah Psalm" composed of Hebrew poetry which uses parallel lines

to contrast here the righteous and the wicked.

Vv1-3 the psalmist described the life of the blessed man: he does not walk stand or sit in

the counsel way or seat of the wicked, ungodly, sinners or mockers. One who is not

characterized by this evil influence is blessed, and is right with God and enjoys the

spiritual peace. In v4 the (wicked) in strong contrast with a blessed person (v.1) the

wicked are not in covenant relationship with God; they live a life of ungodliness. The

psalmist compared them to chaff, the worthless husks of the grain blown away in the

wind. The judgment in (Vv: 5-6) On the basis of the contrast between the godly and the


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wicked, the psalmist wrote that God will separate the righteous from the wicked in the

judgment.

Keywords identified:

"Walk in the way" (halak) means walk with God in the sense of living a godly life

(cf. Gen.5:22ff; 6:9; Deut. 29:9 Judg.2:17) we are to walk in the way of the Lord.

Law of God" = Torah or instruction of God; the psalmist frequently expresses

delight in and reverence for the law (cf. Pss 1:2; 119: 18, 34, 92, 113, 174). Isa. 42:4

refers to the law of the suffering Messianic Servant, which is arguably identical with the

law covenant of Yahwe

h.Th

is is possible if wehave t

he desire to do so, we can

have

happiness and not drudgery, from the Law of God.

Blessed is plural in the Hebrew and literally means, Oh the blessedness, or the

blessings. It affirms the blessed stat of all those who submit themselves to God in

obedient devotion to him. It occurs about forty times I the Old Testament, mostly in the

Psalms and Proverbs (e.g. Deut. 33:29; 2 Chr.9:7; Pss.1:1; 34:8; 88: 4ff.; 119:1ff.; Prov.

8:32ff.; 29:18; Isa. 32:20; Dan. 12:12).

.Wicked describes those who are guilty (of sin). There is no peace for the

wicked (Jer.5:26) Pss.55:3; 119:95,110 refer to the oppression of the wicked. Frequently,

the wicked are declared to have been punished, condemned by God. (Pss.1:5; 9:5,16; Isa.

11:4; Jer. 30:23; Ezek. 21:29; 33:8ff.; Mal. 4:3).7

Key theological themes:

Key themes found in Psalm 1: the righteous versus the wicked. Wickedness are

people who ridicule God and defiantly reject his law (Pr1:22and note).Those who chose

to walk in the way of the righteous will receive salvation and blessing. Those that choose

7 Stephen D. Renn Expository Dictionary of Bible Words


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to walk in the way of the wicked will walk alone in their ungodly ways and will not find

the path of blessedness.

The value and delight in the Torah of God. We can look at the Torah

as"teaching," "doctrine," or "instruction"; on how God wants us to live our lives. One of

the main purposes was instruction in the life of faith, a faith formed and nurtured by the

Law. It is possible if we have the desire to do so, we can have happiness and not

drudgery, from the Law of God.

The blessings and curses we see in Psalm 1. Blessed is the man whose delight is

in the law of t

he Lord blessed are all w

ho will take refuge in

him. Godly wisdom

here

declares the final outcome of the two ways the way of the sinners (v.1) and the way

of the righteous (v.6). The curses for those who stubbornly choose the way of sinners

have no place among the righteous.

The final judgment for the wicked they are chaff that blows away in the wind. The

wretchedness of the wicked are carried away by the lightest wind, and its removal brings

about cleansing by extracting what is absolutely useless. They will be able to with stand

Gods wrath when he judges. (Pss.37:20) But the wicked will perish: they will vanish-

vanish like smoke.

Prosperity for all that takes their delight in living by Gods Word, there is

prosperity. He is like a fruit tree planted by streams of water whatever the righteous do

will prosper (cf. 92:12-14). The fruit, that is, the prosperity, is produced in its season and

not necessarily immediately after planting. What the godly person does will be controlled


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by the Law of God (1:2). So if a person meditates on Gods Word, his actions will be

godly and his God-controlled activities will prosper.8

Summary Statement of Texts Purpose:

In summary Psalms 1 invites us to come into a relationship with God, to walk in

the ways of the righteous. It explains to us our destiny, if we elect to walk in the way of

wicked instead of the way of righteous. If we choose to walk in the way of the wicked the

final judgment will be eternal damnation. No one will be exempt. God has given us a way

not to walk in the way of wickedness but in the way of righteousness through His Word.

We are reminded there is an open invitation, to come to wors

hip, wit

hthe Lord. His voice

calls us to come to him and timeless struggles, time that we still defeated, and times when

we no longer think we can go on, and times of sin. Psalm 1 gives us hope, knowing that,

Yahweh will be there hands open, even when the way seems gloomy, when we have gone

astray. No matterhow many times we fall, no matterhow many times, we harden our

hearts, no matterhow many times we do not listen to his voice he gathers his sheep and

leads them back to the path of salvation. He invites us to come, bowing down on bent

knee before the King, the God our Savior and worship withhim.

Questions Still Needing Answers:

In my opinion there are many more questions that still need answering Psalm.

Question 1: what does it mean the seat of scoffers?

Question 2:he is like a tree planted by a stream of water?

Question 3: chaff that the wind drives away?

8 John F. Walvood Roy B Zuck. The Bible knowledge commentary Old Testament.


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Life issues:

Walking in the way of the Lord is a concern. It is so easy for us to get wrapped up

in the worldly things like more money, more toys and just being wrapped up in ourselves.

We are easily distracted by the temptations of the world today. It is so easy for us to walk

in the way of the wicked with all the temptations of the worldly possessions. Another big

concern is the way of t

he wicked. How easy t

he world

has made us t

hink it is okay to

reconsider our morals and our values to go against God. For instance a lot of the TV

shows pushes nothing but sex and use language like taking the Lord's name in vain is

okay now. Another concern of mine is when we should seek counsel. We only seek God's

word when we're in trouble or when it is convenient for us. We should be seeking God's

counsel each and every day of our lives.

There are many more I could have selected. I selected these few because how the

way of the world can twist our morals and values into us thinking like the way of the

wicked and not walking the path of the righteousness. I am very concerned for the next

generation. It seems like anything goes and God is left behind. It is all about what makes

me feel good what can I do for me and who cares about anybody else. It also concerns me

that we are seeing it into today's society and our own generation. We as believers have to

do a better job in getting the word of God and His Gospel out into the world, so all those

that are lost will discover the power of God's everlasting love and forgiveness and will

have eternal life with Him.


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Personal Theological Reflection:

By working on this text it has raised the urgency of getting God's word out into

this world even more. The world today has turned its back on God. We in this country

today are taking our freedoms that God has given to us and like in Rome destroying

ourselves from the inside out. We can see in some of our religious communities where

walking the pat

hof t

he wicked may be okay in some situations just to draw more

members into their make me feel good congregations. As a believer every chance that I

get I will try to plant the seed of God's word on the hearts of those that are confused, lost,

and walking the way of the wicked. Let us never forget that Gods word will reach to the

ends of the earth and all that believe will have eternal life with Him.


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psalms chapter 1 repaired)

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