Psalm 1 | Blessed is the Man (or Woman)
Recommended Procedure. Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading
Idea for the Bible teacher or discussion leader: Recite a couple of wisdom sayings and ask what it means. Then ask for contributions. Ex: A stitch in time saves 9, measure twice, cut once, happy wife happy life.
Review
Today, we are studying the first Psalm in the Hebrew song book, Psalm 1. Read the Psalm
Review the different structures of the Psalms from the introduction. Which one closely matches the structure of the Psalm?
What emotions might this song evoke?
Look at vs 1-2 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,Blessed? What does that mean? What do you think? Put your answer in the box. What the are three positions and with whom does the blessed person not associate?
Considering the parallel structure of the Psalm, is there much difference between sinners, mockers, and wicked (evil) people?
What is the natural question about this blessed person? What is the obvious but unstated answer?
Now, let's move on to verse 2
"but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night."
"but" is a contrasting word. What or who is being contrasted? What are the differences between the two?
How do we know the blessed delight themselves in the law of the Lord? (clue: remember the parallel structure of the verse)
Moving on to verse 3: "That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers."
First of all, who is that person? Next: Look at the similes. What are they trying to describe? Remembering Hebrew poetry structure (this time a synthetic parallelism), what is the composer of the Psalm describing (look for a summary statement).
Is this verse always true? It sounds sort of like a prosperty gospel, but it's not. We know Christians go through hardships and persecution. But, remember this is a didactic psalm, meaning the psalm is a maxim--these things are usually true but not always.
Moving on to verse 4:"Not so the wicked! they are like chaff that the wind blows away."
The words, "not so the wicked" is a contrast to those in the previous verse. Who and what are contrasted? How are they different?
Verse 5 says, "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."
"Therefore" is a summary word that connects it with something previously. What does it connect to?
Parallelism changes the whole meaning of the verse. What two things are synonymous in this verse?
What judgment is the Psalmist writing about? Since this verse is synonymous, what do you think might be the judgment? What is the meaning of the term, judgment in this context? You might want to do a word study or compare some good commentaries to see the meaning.
Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
There will be final judgments for all people, but they are not all the same.
The New Testament reveals two judgments on people.
The Great White Throne is for unbelievers (those who are spiritually dead, Revelation 20:11-15).
The judgment seat of Christ is for believers (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).
How are these judgments different?
The last verse of the Psalm says, For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked leads to destruction."
The LORD, of course refers back to God, since he is the only one who could see the actions of the righteous and wicked.
What does the Psalmist mean when he says the LORD watches over the righteous? How does it make you feel?
Application: What choices should a person make after reading this wisdom psalm? Are there choices you should make? What value does reading Gods' Word have and how often should we do it? What friendships or relationships do you have which may be harmful? How will you be wise and live differently after reading this Psalm?
Lessons to Live by: (ask for members' input first)
Today's Focus Verses:
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Please send your comments to me, Rod, (the author)
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A2: Comfort that the righteous will be rewarded and the unrighteous punished.
A3: It means happy. The Psalmist says to anyone reading, If he wants a happy life, free from the trouble that wrong associations can bring, there are three things he must not do. He doesn't walk, sit, or stand in the company of mockers, sinners, or wicked people. These three groups of people seem to belong to one category of people. The natural question is why is he blessed who doesn't do these things. The obvious answer is that they can't get him into trouble if he doesn't spend time with them.
A4: The way of the blessed is contrasted with the way of the sinner. Instead of walking, sitting, or standing with them, the blessed delight in the Lord
A5: The blessed delight themselves in the law of the Lord, and by synonymous parallelism, we know that delight themselves in the law of the Lord because they meditate on it day and night.
A6: That person is compared to a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. By synthetic parallelism we know the composer is illustrating what normally might be expected--that person will prosper.
A7: Not so the the wicked is a contrast to the person who obeys the Lord. Unlike growing and being fruitful, their efforts and destiny will be like useless chaff, winnowed from wheat. The wind will blow them away. They are not planted in good soil. In the end they will be destroyed.
A8: Therefore connects back to verse 4 in this way: If sinners will be blown away like chaff, they won't be able to stand righteous before God.
If the wicked and sinners are the same because of the parallel structure of the verse, it seems their judgment will also be the same.
There will be final judgments for all people, but they are not all the same. The New Testament reveals two judgments on people, The Great White Throne for unbelievers (those who are spiritually dead, Revelation 20:11-15). All who will appear here will be judged by their works. Because they rejected Christ, and so are not written in the lambs book of life, they will be thrown into the lake of fire to burn forever.
The judgment seat of Christ is for believers (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).They will not be judged for their sins because they accepted Christ's sacrifice for them. Instead, they will be rewarded or suffer loss because of their actions while they live.
So, you see sinners will not stand with the assembly of the righteous in their judgment, nor the righteous with evil people. God will reward the faithful but punish the sinner.
Therefore the judgment of the righteous, which the wicked and sinner may not stand in, could be the judgment seat of Christ. If they don't stand in Christ's righteousness, they won't stand at all, i.e., they will be destroyed.
If the Lord watches over the way of the righteous and we are in God's family by grace and through faith, God watching over his righteous ones should bring us comfort.
Application: Personal answers
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