Psalms 1
Psalms 1 - Overview
Let's read Psalms 1 and then look at some ways to pull meaning from this classic poem.
1 Blessed 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;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Discussion Questions
How does verse 6 summarize the idea of the poem? Go back through the poem and look how each verse connects with one of the two ways mentioned in verse 6.
The word "sinner" in Hebrew means to miss the mark or miss the way. How does that idea connect with verse 6?
Meditating on the torah
Verse 2 describes a person who: "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."
In Hebrew, the word law is "torah." The first five books of Moses are known to Jews as the Torah. They are the books of the laws of Moses. But the word "torah" or law can also be used in other contexts, like in Proverbs it talks about the law of our father and mother. Or the Bible can talk about the law of a king. The Greenberg translation of the Psalms translates this word as "divine wisdom."
Liran1977, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Discussion Questions
What's your understanding of the word "law" in verse 2?
Is there divine wisdom to be found in these Biblical texts? How can we find meaning in them?
Why are we contrasting the wicked and someone who meditates on God's law? Those may not seem like immediately apparent opposites. Are they opposites? Why?
The Tree and the Chaff
The key imagery of the poem is found in verse 3 & 4, contrasting the tree and the chaff. To understand what chaff is, we need to understand an ancient farming technique known as winnowing.
After collecting grain from a plant, there is a lot of other debris mixed in. By throwing the grain in the air, the grain will land in a pile, and the lighter elements, that are light like straw, blow away in the wind. Chaff is the lighter debris that blows away in the wind that is useless and no one want to eat.
David Haberlah at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Discussion Questions
So think about the contrast between this grand tree and chaff. List contrasting qualities between a tree and chaff. For instance, which one is long-lasting, and which one is impermanent? Think of some other contrasts.
What does the tree represent? What does the chaff represent?
Instructions
Let's been to compare this Psalm to tree imagery found in other locations in the Bible. Let's start with the Prophets.
Jeremiah reflects on two different types of individuals in a way that is similar to Psalms 1.
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
- Jer 17:5-8
Discussion Questions
First reflect on what Jeremiah is writing. What contrasts are there between the shrub and the tree? What is Jeremiah saying?
Look at the description of the tree in Psalms 1. Which descriptions of the tree can you also find in this passage from Jeremiah? What new ideas does Jeremiah bring out?
Tree Imagery from Genesis
The psalmists often draw imagery from the two creation accounts in the book of Genesis. Genesis 1-3 is full of tree imagery. Some trees are good and some are not so good.
Psalms 1 mentions a tree planted by streams of water. The Psalmist may be wanting us to think back to the famous "tree of life" in Genesis 2 and reflect on that. Look at verse 3 of Psalms 1. Does any part of the description make you think about the tree of life? Take a look at Genesis 2:9-10:
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
The text mentions that the tree of life is in the middle of the garden. (Midst is an older word for middle.) It's certainly interesting that right after the first mention of the tree of life, there is a description of rivers dividing. It's a unique feature of the story. The Hebrew word "stream" in Psalm 1 actually means when a water course divides into several smaller channels. (It comes from the root word meaning to split or divide.)
Discussion Questions
Why do the leaves of the tree in Psalms 1 never wither?
Why is the tree in Psalms 1 at a place where waters split or divide?
Does the author of Psalms 1 say that the wise person is the tree or is like the tree? What's the difference? How are we like the tree?
This psalm was chosen to be the very first one in a collection of 150 psalms. Why do you think that is?
Tree Imagery from Wisdom Literature
Proverbs talks about wisdom being like a tree of life:
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
Discussion Questions
What's the connection between the "ways" and "paths" described here and Psalms 1? Does Psalms 1 also use these words?
What's the connection between wisdom and the tree of life? Is this idea that we need wisdom found in Psalms 1?
Tree Imagery from Jesus
When Jesus begins his ministry in Luke 4, he quotes a passage from Isaiah, saying the prophecy is being fulfilled:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is quoting Isaiah 61, which includes the idea of trees again:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Jesus said he fulfilled this prophecy from the book of Isaiah as he started his ministry?
While Jesus only quotes the first verse of this Isaiah prophecy, can we assume that we are meant to look at the context of the entire quote from Isaiah?
Looking at verse 3 in Isaiah 61, who are the "oaks" or trees? How does the arrival of Jesus change those who are mourning? Why do they become like trees?
Tree Imagery from Revelation
The Bible also closes with tree imagery:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
-- Revelation 22:1-3, 14
Discussion Questions
What is flowing through the middle of the street? How can the tree of life be on both sides of the street?
What is the purpose of the trees?
Compare this imagery to Psalms 1. What ideas do both passages have in common?
Conclusion
You can see how imagery and themes can weave themselves through the Scriptures. This lesson just touches the surface of things to discover about Psalms 1 and its imagery in the Bible. Just as Psalms 1, verse 2 says, it takes careful reading and pondering of the Bible to unlock its meaning. It's okay if you don't find the answer to every question. Just keep pondering and reading.
What new inspiration or take-aways have you gained about Psalms 1? How can you apply the wisdom here to your own life?
“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”