Psalms 1

THE Psalms are their own best introduction. Few words are, therefore, necessary here. Believing, as we do, with Dr. Alexander Maclaren, that “the deepest and most precious elements in the Psalms are very slightly affected by the answers to questions of date and authorship,” we do not here enter upon their discussion. Such answers are occasionally given below, under the head of individual Psalms.

No book in the Bible so completely unites the world’s divided Christendom. Roman Catholic and Protestant, Anglican and Non-Anglican, use it in public and private devotion. No book so completely expresses the varied needs of the human heart.

As Archbishop Alexander has so well shown in his Bampton Lectures on The Witness of the Psalms to Christ and Christianity, Christ is a frequent subject of their praise, in His sufferings, in His victory, and in His universal reign. We may specially mention here the 2nd, 22nd, 72nd, and 110th; but those who desire a fuller account of Messianic Psalms will find it wisely treated by Professor W. T. Davison in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, article “Psalms.” The Psalms were more than once quoted by our Lord Himself (Matt. xxi. 16, 42; xxii. 43; John ii. 17; xiii. 18; xv. 25) and are constantly applied to Him by the Apostles in the Acts and in the Epistles.

Many a student of Scripture has had a similar experience to that which Bishop Horne expresses in the Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms: “Every Psalm improved infinitely upon his acquaintance with it, and no one gave him uneasiness but the last; for then he grieved that his work was done. Happier hours than those which have been spent on these meditations on the songs of Sion, he never expects to see in this world.”

Psa. i. exhibits the connexion between piety and true happiness; describing the characteristics of the godly man, both what he is not (1), and what he is (2); and his blessedness (3), which is contrasted with the state of the ungodly (4-6).

1. Blessed. “Happy!” With such a benediction the words of Moses end (Deut. xxxiii. 29), and those of Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, begin (Matt. v. 3-11).

that walketh not, etc. The terms here employed seem to denote a progression in wickedness; first, regard for the views and maxims of the ungodly, then the active practice of sin, and, at last, deliberate profanity.

2 the law of the Lord. In Scripture generally, and especially in the Psalms, the “law” frequently means the whole revealed will of God. Habitual delight in God’s Word is an evidence of real piety, and a source of spiritual vigour.

5 shall not stand in the judgement. i.e., at the bar of God. “Stand” is a forensic term, denoting to stand acquitted.

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. The time is coming when an entire separation shall be made between the righteous and the wicked.

6 the Lord knoweth. In Scripture to “know” often signifies to regard with interest, approbation, or affection: see Matt. vii. 23.