Psalms

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Psalm 1

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.

He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Not so are the wicked, not so!

For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
When the wicked are judged they shall not stand,
nor find room among those who are just;
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

Commentary

Psalm 1 forms the official introduction to the Psalter, the Book of Praises. It lays down one of the fundamental teachings of all Scripture, namely, that God has given us free will and a choice of paths in life. We are completely free to choose one path or the other, but each of us must live out the consequences of our choice. This may not sound very revolutionary, yet the history of mankind has been written in blood as a consequence. Everyone seeks happiness, but many people do not know where it is to be found. Psalm 1 clearly points the way for those who are lost.

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
(vv. 1-2)

The Psalm aims at showing us that only God's people who walk in the path of holiness know what true happiness is. The reason why the path of righteousness, or holiness, is offered to us is so that we shall find true happiness. The whole of Scripture testifies to this. Jesus began His redeeming work on earth by describing true happiness in the Sermon on the Mount. "How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3-10; J.B.).

St Paul takes up the same theme in Philippians 4:4 when he says: "I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord. I repeat, what I want is your happiness"(J.B.). The N.A.B. and N.I.V. use the word "rejoice".

Those who choose God's way know true joy in their hearts.

True happiness was experienced by Adam and Eve before the fall. Sorrow, misery and suffering were the consequences of their choice to go their own way, disregarding God's will for them. The authors of Genesis symbolized this choice in the Tree of Life, which represented the good path; and the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, which represented the "wicked" way, or the way of self-will (Genesis 2: 17). The Tree of Life was the choice of surrender to God's will in all things, a life of humble obedience to God's superior wisdom. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil represented moral autonomy on the part of mankind, the choice to decide what was good or evil in independence of God.

The sons of Adam show this choice clearly. Abel chose surrender to God while Cain chose self-will; the result was his killing of his brother when it seemed "good" to him to do so. (This introduces Psalm 3 which tells us that the good suffer at the hands of the wicked.) The rest of the Bible shows us how individuals and nations make this fundamental choice with all its consequences.

Before entering the Promised Land Moses clearly presented the two ways to the Chosen People, so that their choice for or against the way of holiness would be clear. (See Deuteronomy 30:15-20) "See," he said, "I set before you today life and prosperity (The Tree of Life), or death and disaster (The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil). If you obey the commandments of the Lord . . . you will increase in the land . . . but if your heart strays . . . you will most certainly perish . . . choose life then! Live in the love of God, obeying His will, listening to His voice, and clinging to Him" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; N.A.B.). Every child of God is called upon at some stage in his life to make this same choice. Jesus put the challenge clearly to us: "Enter by the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, and how rough the road, and how few there are who find it.!" (Matthew 7:13-14; N.A.B.).

This first stanza of the Psalm tells us where the righteous will never be found, for it is the way of sin, the path of self-destruction. He will not be found following the advice of sinners for he is walking with God, and therefore will follow God's counsel in the Holy Scriptures. Since the holy person hates sin, his aims and purposes in life will be in contrast to those of the evildoer. He will not be found standing or lingering in the way of sinners, for thus he would be led to follow their example, which would destroy his relationship with God. The worst sin for him would be actually to sit in the meetings of scoffers, and participate in their mocking and ridiculing of all that is sacred. Those who mock God and the sacred show that they are separated from Him; their blind arrogance makes them set themselves above religion and even above God Himself. When young people hear adults mock what is sacred it undermines the very foundation of their faith, and removes what would have been their greatest strength in adult life. Mockery is a deadly weapon to use against religion. Only those who are strong in the Lord will be able to hold out against it.

The righteous person finds his happiness through surrender to the will of God as manifested in His Word. He will therefore be a person of prayer, seeking God with all his heart. He will also be a student of Scripture, for thus he will know and understand clearly God's direction for his life. This contrasts with the sinner who rejects God and His Word, and lives in rebellion against Him. The righteous person discovers that real joy and freedom result from an ever-deepening surrender to God's will, for we are eventually set free from all fear, all evil and, finally, all self-seeking. This is happiness.

He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
(v.3)

The meaning and value of a life of holiness is shown here in the image of the tree growing tall and strong because it is growing beside a constant supply of water, which is a symbol of grace or divine life. It has nothing to fear from the dreadful droughts of summer which would naturally cause it to wither. Its constant supply of water ensures that its leaves never fade. Therefore it produces its fruits at the proper time. Here we see that the righteous person who lives on the abundant food of Holy Scripture and prayer will grow to full stature, and need have no fear of the storms or trials of life; because divine grace is in abundant supply, his house will not fall (see Matthew 7:25).

Like the tree, the righteous person finds the purpose for which he was created, for the true value of the life of holiness is found in God's will, as the law which governs both the inward and outward life. The fruit of this life is recognizable. Matthew 7:16-20 says: "You will be able to tell them by their fruits — a sound tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire — ." The good fruit of a life of holiness is as obvious, therefore, as the bad fruit of a life of sin. All that the righteous person does in obedience to God's will will prosper. The good works of a saintly life are good indeed!

Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
When the wicked are judged they shall not stand,
nor find room among those who are just;
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
(vv. 4-6).

If the nature and value of the lives of the holy and the wicked can be grasped and understood in their lifetime, how much more easy it is to contrast them as we look to the future and the ultimate fate of both, as we see God sit in judgement and pronounce the verdict. The winnowing of the chaff is frequently used in Scripture to denote God's judgement (see Hosea 13:3, Zephaniah 2:2, Isaiah 29:5, Psalm 35:5, Matthew 3:12). The sheer lack of substance in the life of the wicked, the absence of anything of permanent value, shows that they cannot last. Their lives will fade out, leaving nothing for others to cherish or follow. Ultimately it is only when they stand before God in judgement that the wicked will realize the utter futility of their lives. But it will be too late then. And they must witness God's approval and protection of the righteous ones. If their eyes had been open they would have seen that God's Fatherly hand had guided the righteous all their lives, and not just when judgement came.

The Psalm views life purely from God's viewpoint. The unbelieving world would never agree with this assessment. God is present in everything that is done according to His will, and it is He, not man, who gives the quality of permanence and stability to our lives. Anything done apart from God is doomed to perish (see John 15:5 — "Cut off from me you can do nothing"). Psalm 1 is, therefore, a fitting introduction to the Psalter, inviting all of us to a life of faith and obedience to God's will as the things that really matter.

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