Author: Kathryn Brown
The Two Ways: An Exegesis of Psalm 1
The book of Psalms collects Israel’s prayers and praises to God. It reflects their worship, their outcries, their struggle, and their hope. Strategically presented at the beginning of this book, Psalm 1 serves as an introduction to and summary of the rest of the book. To derive the meaning of this passage and its application, it is important to remember that the original author was writing to a specific audience, possibly for themselves as a reflection or to their fellow believers as an exhortation. It is to this audience that the author intended the message, and it is this intended message or meaning that ought to be considered rather than attempting to co-opt the author’s words into a modern meaning that best suits the fancies of twenty-first century readers. In other words, who was the original intended audience and what was the intended meaning for them?[1] This poem summarizes the two possible relationships between the people and God, exhorting them towards obedience and warning against departing from God’s law.[2] It celebrates the fortunate man who pursues righteousness and holds fast to God’s Word and instruction, which in turn leads to an intimate, joy-filled relationship with God, while warning against corruption and wickedness which leads to a meaningless life of ruin, death and separation from God.
Context
Historical
Unlike most of the other books of the Bible, the book of Psalms is an anthology with numerous authors rather than a single, known author.[3] Due to this nature, it is difficult to date accurately. Many texts can be studied for linguistic evidence of their time of origin, but due in part to their poetic language, the Psalms can be difficult to place. Scholars rely primarily on the subject within the Psalm to estimate the background of the author and date of composition. These estimates can help narrow down potential authors, but many of them remain anonymous.
Composed by various individuals, like King David and others, the Psalms were given to sanctuary leaders to collect into an anthology, suggesting the dates of composition range from the time of Moses to the post-exilic period. In other words, over the course of the entire Old Testament production.[4] The current organization of today’s collection was likely arranged in the post-exilic period, though the rationale for the precise order is under debate.[5]
Psalm 1 is commonly attributed to David. Proponents of a Davidic authorship suggest that Psalms 1 and 2 were originally combined, and the style and length of the two reflect other Davidic Psalms. Susan Gillingham argued against this premise, based on the disparity in primary focus between the two Psalms. Psalm 2 focused on Davidic promises while Psalm 1 holds a “developed view of ‘the Torah’. . .as a unified whole; there are none of the qualifying references to the ‘commandments’, ‘statutes’, and ‘ordinances’ which we find in the earlier Deuteronomic literature.”[6] T. K. Cheyne also denies a Davidic authorship, and while there are some who propose Jeremiah as the author, Cheyne denies that as well. In his work, Cheyne admitted similarities between Psalm 1 to Jeremiah 17:7-9 and wrote that it would be hard to prove which instance was inspired by the other on that comparison alone.[7] Except an element exists in Psalm 1, specifically the reference to a happy man, that is “specially characteristic of the post-Exile period.”[8] Cheyne supported the theory that Jeremiah’s writing was the inspiration for the post-exilic author of Psalm 1.[9] He goes so far as to suggest that Psalm 1 was written by an Ezrahite.[10] While both the exact date and authorship of Psalm 1 remain unknown, it is commonly accepted to be from the post-exilic period as a “late entry to the Psalter”.[11]
Cultural
At large, the Psalms are a collection of poems, used for both prayer and praise.[12] “They are all poetical, and of that peculiar parallelism . . . which distinguished Hebrew poetry. . . designed to be used in the sanctuary worship.”[13] The Psalms were frequently used in public worship, and there are biblical accounts of people quoting various Psalms to praise God.[14] These should not be read as doctrinal, but as the prayers and outcries from God’s people to God. They reflect the style of worship and prayer that existed over from the time of Moses to the post-exilic period.[15] Much of this worship occurred within the sanctuary, which had “Levitical gatekeepers who would restrict access to those who were righteous.”[16] The book of Psalms was the literary equivalent of the Jewish sanctuary.[17] Psalm 1 is believed to have been specifically placed at the beginning of the book to prepare the heart of the reader as they entered the “literary sanctuary” of the Psalms.[18] While not believed to be written for this purpose, its placement is accepted as deliberate, and the Jewish readers of the time would have recognized this parallel.[19]
The date of its writing is difficult to determine, but undoubtedly it can be attributed to a either a teacher of the Law or someone “in the circle of teachers of wisdom and Torah.”[20] Cheyne argued quite convincingly for a post-exilic or an Ezrahite author.[21] Despite acceptance of the post-exilic timeframe for composer, “[a] veil of uncertainty shrouds our understanding of the role played by Psalm 1 . . . there is a good deal of disagreement as to whether it was composed for use in the Temple, synagogue, or home.”[22] Along with his arguments for an Ezrahite author, Cheyne claims Psalm 1 was written for “ordinary believers” to emphasize “the practical importance of study of the Scriptures,” which would have appealed to the post-exilic hope for the Messiah.[23] During this time, a great deal of emphasis was placed on the practical benefits and importance of studying the Torah and keeping the Lord’s precepts by the common man.[24]
Whether a Mosaic or exilic period is assumed, the Israelites for whom it was written would have been a far more agriculturally informed people than the average person in modern times. Not on a scientific basis, but in their everyday lives as many of them were involved in directly or indirectly with agricultural production. Wealth was determined, in part, by the size of their flocks. They were a people surrounded by and actively involved with farming.[25]
Literary
As an anthology of poems, the genres of the Psalms include lamentations, wherein the authors cry out to God with their emotional anguish; thanksgiving, wherein the authors lift up songs of thanksgiving to God; hymns, or “songs of joy”; and wisdom, wherein the author offers practical advice for educational purposes.[26] While these literary forms are helpful in identifying the formal features, these classifications do not define the message within the Psalm, rather they guide the reader’s approach to reading and understanding the work.[27]
With this caution in mind, consider Psalm 1 standing at the beginning of the Psalter, introducing the anthology with a call to obedience to God and guidance for how one ought to live.[28] “As this is a summary of the teachings of the whole book, this Psalm, whether designedly so placed or not, forms a suitable preface.”[29] Similar to the other wisdom Psalms, Psalm 1 provides “sensible practical wisdom which have an educational purpose,” it can be further classified as an Admonition.[30] Psalm 1 employs common Hebrew poetry devices like repetition, synonymous parallelism, antithetic parallelism, symbolism, and metaphorical language.[31] These literary devices provided emphasis and helped concisely illustrate the author’s meaning.[32]
Hebrew authors often used vegetation imagery to convey a message about how people would flourish or perish. Isaiah 44:3-4, Jeremiah 17:8, and Psalm 92:12 similarly compare vegetation flourishing to God’s people who have been blessed by God. These generations of Israelites were very familiar with agriculture and knew that wealth and prosperity were tied to the quality and yield of a crop, which explains why this imagery was so effective and common.[33]
Throughout the history of the Israelites in the Old Testament, the people struggled to stay faithful to God. They would be faithful for a while, then turn away from God and engage in wickedness (e.g., idolatry), and then God would allow their enemies to overtake them. The people would turn back to God and cry out for his mercy. God would then save them, and the people would be faithful for a time before falling back into sinful habits. This Psalm could have been written at any time during that history; it was good guidance for how they ought to act and what they ought to avoid. Similar themes of righteous living can be found in Psalms 39, 112 and 119.[34]
Meaning
Psalm 1 illustrates what a righteous man is like, what a wicked man is like, and finally concludes with a comparison of the final relationship between God and the two types of people, respectively.[35]
The passage begins, “Blessed is the man . . .” (Psalm 1:1) and this first phrase gives a hint at what this section will discuss. The Hebrew word used here for “blessed” is ashre and describes a “heightened sense of happiness or joy, implying very favorable circumstances, or fortunate.”[36] Hans-Joachim Kraus noted that the word ashre is a “congratulatory formula” and may better be translated as observational phrase like “how fortunate is the man” rather than a promise or implication of good tidings.[37] He then argued that the rest of the verse and the two following verses list the characteristics of the “fortunate man,” first by negative and then positive description.[38] Kraus appealed to Hebraic grammar to support this view.[39] The rest of Psalm 1 continues to describe the life of the “truly fortunate man” as opposed to the “scoffers, the wicked, and [the] fools.”[40]
Willem Prinslo spoke to the didactic or instructional, guiding function of the poem.[41] The passage presents the two choices that a person has with their life, and attempts to persuade the reader to make the right choice.[42]
1Blessed 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;
2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
The repetitive function of three lines of synonymous parallelism in the first verse emphasizes the wicked, or sinful, behavior that the blessed, or fortunate man avoids. [43] Verse 2 utilizes an antithetic parallel, contrasting what the righteous man does with what they avoid.[44] By “the law of the LORD,” the author is referring not to specifics like the Ten Commandments or even the Pentateuch, but the general guidelines and instruction God has given.[45] Kraus went farther and objected to the English translation of the word “law” as “unsuitable and deceptive” and preferred the term “direction.”[46] Another acceptable term to help understand the strophe’s meaning is “instructions” in place of law.[47] Therefore the line can be paraphrased “but he delights in the instructions of the Lord, and on God’s ways he meditates all the time.”[48]
3He 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.
4The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind
drives away.
Verses 3 and 4 serve as contrastive parallels, to illustrate the outcome of a righteous life compared to a wicked one. [49] In this second stanza, the author uses the vivid imagery of a tree thriving in a beneficial ecology as a metaphor for the righteous person.[50] The author uses these similes to represent “the life of the righteous as being fruitful, permanent, and continuous.”[51] In the English Standard Version translation, the final line of this verse reads, “In all that he does, he prospers.” Kraus wrote, “he who is rooted in God’s [law] will prosperously bring to conclusion all that he undertakes,” and included a footnote referencing Luther’s Works which reads: “beware that prosperity is not understood as prosperity of the flesh.”[52] In regards to this prosperity and blessing on the righteous, Tremper Longman III referred to Deuteronomy 27-28 which “describes the blessings that will come on an obedient Israel.”[53] During the time of composition, the original audience may have been inferred that obedience to God’s instruction would lead to earthly prosperity and Israel’s restored relationship to God with “Eden-like conditions.”[54]
5Therefore the wicked will not stand
in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of
the righteous;
6for the LORD knows the way of
the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will
perish.
Verses 4 and 5 address the judgement of the wicked, which could be viewed as final judgement and destruction, but in the Old Testament context it “may simply refer to the moment in this life when God brings consequences on people for their wicked actions,” or what a modern reader might call justice.[55] Describing the wicked as “chaff” compares the wicked to a part of the plant that initially grows along the rest of the beneficial heads of grain, but at the time for the harvest it is separated on the threshing floor. It has no permanence, is unwanted, and is forgotten about as soon as the wind drives it away.[56] Verse 5 reiterates the impermanence of the wicked illustrating how they will be driven away from the presence of the righteous, and God.[57]
Finally, verse 6 offers the last contrast between the righteous and the wicked and offers a succinct comparison of the fates of the righteous and the wicked, summarizing the chapter.[58] To be known by Yahweh can be interpreted as “to be close to a person” or “to attend to a person with affectionate concern.”[59] Meaning that a righteous life does not simply mean that God knows who you are, but it produces a beneficial, intimate relationship with God.[60]
Kraus wrote, in summary of the passage, that the truly blessed man will tear himself away from relationships that threaten his relationship with Yahweh.[61] The psalm tells the reader that the truly fortunate man is the one who commits to obeying God’s guidance, lest they risk a life of ruin.[62]
Significance and Application
While written for an ancient audience that had not yet experienced the life and death of Jesus Christ, modern day believers can apply the lens of the Gospel to Psalm 1 to identify how this passage can be applied in today’s church and the lives of believers. Christians who believe in the death and resurrection of Christ and his role in the fulfillment of the Law know that works are not redemptive (Romans 3:20). Only faith in the Jesus Christ redeems us (John 3:16-18; Romans 3-4). Belief in this fulfillment of the law, and faith in God ought to transform the believer and their lives to want to live a life that reflects this reality (Romans 3:31). When one receives Christ, it changes the way they live their life – not so that their works may save them, but because faith has already saved them (Romans 6).[63] How does this lens guide the Christian reader when seeking the significance of Psalm 1? It becomes instructional, filled with promise, hope, and caution.
“The social connections we have with other people and the interactions we create to maintain those connections make us socially contagious – for better or worse.”[64] Psalm 1 exhorts the reader to avoid relationship with fools, and those whose social contagion would threaten their relationship with Yahweh.[65] Christians can apply the lessons learned from this passage by seeking and building healthy spiritual communities that delight in and uphold God’s guidelines for life (Psalm 1:2).[66] Believers harm themselves and their faith when they “[take] a seat in the meetings of the scoffers and actively [participate] in their mocking of the things which are sacred. For the root-cause of every sin and of its seductive power lies in what follows: when man begins to mock God.”[67] Psalm 1 reveals that choosing to turn away from a detrimental community and meditating on God’s Word is the way of the blessed man.[68] The Pauline letters serve as the guide for interpreting what a blessed man is. Being blessed does not mean there is no hardship, but “For the godly, blessing is both the experience and anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promises,” both for redemption from sin and reunification with our creator.[69] The godly “carefully guard themselves in their families, businesses, and social relations as they set the terms of their relations while remaining polite and gracious”[70]
Psalm 1 provides a guide for how believers can support their spiritual walk, and how churches can support believers. Practically speaking for the individual, this means staying involved in the Christian community, and “meditating on” God’s instructions as found in the Bible in pursuit of a “close and permanent relationship with the LORD which encompasses their entire life.” (Psalm 1:2).[71] In order to do this, one must spend time immersing oneself in the Bible and becoming acquainted with its instructions. Churches should strive to provide a welcoming community for believers where questions can be asked and answered, where anxieties can be shared, where prayers can be lifted, where worship can be done, and where spiritual growth can be supported.[72]
The Christian who pursues righteousness, maintains faith in Christ, holds fast to and obeys God’s instruction, and who avoids corruption and wickedness leads a life of intimate relationship with God. Based on Psalm 1, through a Christian lens, this is what ministries ought to be encouraging in church.
Bibliography
Cheyne, T. K. The Origin and Religious Contents of the Psalter in the Light of Old Testament Criticism and the History of Religions. New York: Thomas Whitaker, 1891.
Craigie, Peter C. and Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 1-50. 2nd ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004.
Duvall, J. Scott and Hayes, J. Daniel. Grasping God’s Word, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.
Gillingham, Susan E. A Journey of Two Psalms: The Reception of Psalm 1 and 2 in Jewish and Christian Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
________. Psalms Through the Centuries. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2022.
Jamieson, Robert, Fausset, A. R., and Brown, David. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
Kaiser, Walter C. Jr. and Moises, Silva. Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.
Kohlenberger, John R. III. The NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2015.
Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Psalms 1-59: A Commentary. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988.
Longman, Tremper III. Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.
Lowe, Stephen D., and Lowe, Mary E. Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, vol 14. St. Louis: Concordia. 1958.
Prinslo, Willem S. Erdmans Commentary on the Bible: Psalms. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Co., 2019.
Snyman, S. D., “Suffering in Post-Exilic Times – Investigating Mal 3:13-24 and Psalm 1”, Old Testament Essays (New Series), 20 no. 3 (2007): 786-797.
VanGemeren, Willem A., Longman III, Tremper, and Garland, David E. Psalms. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017.
Weiser, Artur. Psalms-OTL : A Commentary. La Vergne: Westminster John Knox Press, 1962.
[1] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hayes, Grasping God’s Word, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 40.
[2] Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), 120-121.
[3] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 60.
[4] Ibid., 69.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., 12.
[7] T. K. Cheyne, The Origin and Religious Contents of the Psalter in the Light of Old Testament Criticism and the History of Religions (New York: Thomas Whitaker, 1891), 420.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid., 421.
[11] S. D. Snyman, “Suffering in Post-Exilic Times – Investigating Mal 3:13-24 and Psalm 1,” Old Testament Essays (New Series) 20 no. 3 (2007): 789; Gillingham, Journey of Two Psalms, 10.
[12] Willem A. VanGemeren, Tremper Longman III, and David E. Garland, Psalms (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 57.
[13] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 345.
[14] Longman III, Psalms, 75.
[15] Artur Weiser, Psalms-OTL : A Commentary (La Vergne: Westminster John Knox Press, 1962), 52-86.
[16] Longman III, Psalms, 72.
[17] Ibid., 71.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Weiser, Psalms-OTL, 102.
[20] Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), 114.
[21] Cheyne, Religious Contents of the Psalter, 241.
[22] Gillingham, Journey of Two Psalms, 131.
[23] Cheyne, Religious Contents of the Psalter, 241; Longman III, Psalms, 72.
[24] Cheyne, Religious Contents of the Psalter, 241.
[25] Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age (Downers Grove: IL, InterVaristy Press, 2018) 27.
[26] Weiser, Psalms-OTL, 52-86; Longman III, Psalms¸ 76.
[27] VanGemeren, Longman III, and Garland, Psalms. 65.
[28] Weiser, Psalms-OTL : A Commentary, 102.
[29] Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, 346.
[30] Weiser, Psalms-OTL, 89, 102; Kaiser and Silva, Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, 153-154.
[31] Kaiser and Silva, Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, 140-143.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age¸ 43.
[34] Susan Gillingham, Psalms Through the Centuries (Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2022), 197.
[35] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary, 115.
[36] Gillingham, Psalms Through the Centuries, 197; John R. Kohlenberger III, The NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2015), 1369.
[37] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸ 115.
[38] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸ 115.
[39] Ibid.
[40] Ibid.
[41] Willem S. Prinslo. Erdman’s Commentary on the Bible: Psalms (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Co., 2019), 2.
[42] Ibid.
[43] VanGemeren, Longman, and Garland, Psalms, 79; Prinslo, Commentary on the Bible¸ 2.; Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸115.
[44] Prinslo, Commentary on the Bible, 2.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸117.
[47] Kohlenberger, NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance, 1488.
[48] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸117.
[49] Duvall and Hayes, Grasping God’s Word, 378.
[50] Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age, 29.
[51]Prinslo. Erdman’s Commentary, 2.
[52] Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary¸118; Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol 14 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1958), 304.
[53] Longman III, Psalms, 98.
[54] Ibid.,, 98-99.
[55] Longman III, Psalms, 98-99; Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 120.
[56] Kraus, Psalms 1-59¸ 119.
[57] Ibid.
[58] Prinslo, Erdman’s Commentary¸ 2; Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 120.
[59] Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 120.
[60] Ibid.
[61] Ibid., 121.
[62] Longman III, Psalms, 100.
[63] Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith, 147.
[64] Ibid., 16.
[65] Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 120.
[66] Prinslo, Erdman’s Commentary, 2; Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith, 167, 174.
[67] Weiser, Psalms-OTL, 104.
[68] Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 115.
[69] Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 121; VanGemeren, Longman, and Garland, Psalms, 117.
[70] VanGemeren, Longman, and Garland, Psalms, 118.
[71] Craigie and Tate, Psalms 1-50, 62; Prinslo, Erdman’s Commentary, 2.
[72] Lowe and Lowe, Ecologies of Faith, 205.