The Book of Psalms
Psalm 1
Psalm I · Vol. II, p. 988
1 The happiness of the godly. 4 The unhappiness of the ungodly.
1 Blessed is the man that awalketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the 1scornful:2
A.M. cir. 3554. B.C. cir. 450.
a Ge.49.6. 2 Ch.22.3-5. Pr.1.15; 4.14,15. Mi.6.16. Ps.6.8; 26.4,5; 119.115. Je.15.17.
1 Or, wicked.
2 This psalm forms a suitable introduction to the whole book. It embodies the fundamental principles of all true piety and devotion. It shows the necessary and indissoluble connection between the divine blessing and human happiness. Its date is unknown; its authorship is not stated; the occasion of its composition we cannot now discover; but its general tone and character give it a right to its place at the commencement of the book of Psalms.—P.
2 But bhis delight3 is in the law of the LORD; andc in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall dbe like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither:4 and whatsoevere he doeth shall prosper.5
5 Therefore the ungodly hshall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
h Mat.25.41,46. Ps.5.5; 24.3. Lu.21.28,36. Mat.13.49. Re.6.16,17; 22.15.
Notes
Ver. 1. Blessed is the man. Rather, 'O the blessedness of that man,' that man of a thousand, who walketh not in the counsel of the unjust, who withhold God's due of love and obedience; who standeth not in the way of transgressors, to meet them, or converse with them on their own terms; who sitteth not in the seat of the mocker of God's authority and institutions. Has any son of Adam ever realized these three negatives in character but Christ? Is not this then the Christ described by character? C.
Ver. 4. The imagery of the psalm is thoroughly oriental. The 'tree planted by the rivers of water' would not be exposed to the withering influence of a parched soil and scorching sun during the long rainless and cloudless summers. The chaff of the threshing-floor, driven away by the wind from the midst of the rich grain—what a picture of the wicked! P.
Ver. 6. Christ the truth is the way of the righteous to glory, Jn. 14. 6. Satan and lies are the way of the wicked to destruction. C.
Reflections.—How dangerous is the company of wicked men, and how headlong the progress of sin! They who walk in the counsel of sinners will quickly wait for opportunities of sinning, and will with pleasure accompany with scorners. But precious and useful are the oracles of God, as means to preserve us from temptation, and to animate us to every good word and work. And it is the heavenly-minded and thoughtful Christian that will be the thriving one. It is absurd for saints to study conformity to this world, when God has marked such a difference, such an opposition, between them and the men of it. And when their end answers so exactly to their life and to the glory of the divine perfections. May God's company, God's word, God's influences, God's approbation, and God's final judgment, and the eternity consequent thereon, be ever dear to my heart!