The Divine Lamp

“Why, O Lord,” saith he, “hast Thou withdrawn afar off?” (verse 1). Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew, that he might teach, adds, “Thou despisest in due seasons, in tribulations:” that is, Thou despisest seasonably, and causest tribulations to inflame men’s minds with longing for Thy coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to them that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, “Whilst the ungodly vaunteth himself, the poor man is inflamed” (verse 2). Wondrous it is and true with what earnestness of good hope the little ones are inflamed unto an upright living by comparison with sinners. In which mystery it comes to pass, that even heresies are permitted to exist; not that heretics themselves wish this, but because Divine Providence worketh this result from their sins, which both maketh and ordaineth the light; but ordereth only the darkness, that by comparison therewith the light may be more pleasant, as by comparison with heretics the discovery of truth is more sweet. For so, by this comparison, the approved, who are known to God, are made manifest among men.

1. “They are taken in their thoughts, which they think:” that is, their evil thoughts become chains to them. But how become they chains? “For the sinner is praised,” saith he, “in the desires of his soul” (verse 3). The tongues of flatterers bind souls in sin. For there is pleasure in doing those things, in which not only is no reprover feared, but even an approver heard. “And he that does unrighteous deeds is blessed.” Hence “are they taken in their thoughts, which they think.”

2. “The sinner hath angered the Lord” (verse 4). Let no one congratulate the man that prospers in his way, to whose sins no avenger is nigh, and an approver is by. This is the greater anger of the Lord. For the sinner hath angered the Lord, that he should suffer these things, that is, should not suffer the scourging of correction. “The sinner hath angered the Lord: according to the multitude of His anger He will not search it out.” Great is His anger, when He searcheth not out, when He as it were forgetteth and marketh not sin, and by fraud and wickedness man attains to riches and honours: which will especially be the case in that Antichrist, who will seem to man blessed to that degree, that he will even be thought God.(1) But how great this anger of God is, we are taught by what follows.

3. “God is not in his sight, his ways are polluted in all time” (verse 5). He that knows what in the soul gives joy and gladness, knows how great an ill it is to be abandoned by the light of truth: since a great ill do men reckon the blindness of their bodily eyes, whereby this light is withdrawn. How great then the punishment he endures, who through the prosperous issue of his sins is brought to that pass, that God is not in his sight, and that his ways are polluted in all time, that is, his thoughts and counsels are unclean ! “Thy judgments are taken away from his face.” For the mind conscious of evil, whilst it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that God cloth not judge, and so are God’s judgments taken away from its face; while this very thing is great condemnation. “And he shall have dominion over all his enemies.” For so is it delivered, that he will overcome all kings, and alone obtain the kingdom; since too according to the Apostle, who preaches concerning him, “He shall sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above all that is worshipped and that is called God.”(2)

4. And seeing that being delivered over to the lust of his own heart, and predestinated to extreme(3) condemnation, he is to come, by wicked arts, to that vain and empty height and rule; therefore it follows, “For he hath said in his heart, I shall not move from generation to generation without evil” (verse 6): that is, my fame and my name will not pass from this generation to the generation of posterity, unless by evil arts I acquire so lofty a principality, that posterity cannot be silent concerning it. For a mind abandoned and void of good arts, and estranged from the light of righteousness, by bad arts devises a passage for itself to a fame so lasting, as is celebrated even in posterity. And they that cannot be known for good, desire that men should speak of them even for ill, provided that their name spread far and wide. And this I think is here meant, “I shall not move from generation to generation without evil.” There is too another interpretation, if a mind vain and full of error supposes that it cannot come from the mortal generation to the generation of eternity, but by bad arts: which indeed was also reported of Simon, when he thought that he would gain heaven by wicked arts, and pass from the human generation to the generation divine by magic.(4) Where then is the wonder, if that man of sin too, who is to fill up all the wickedness and ungodliness, which all false prophets have begun, and to do such” great signs; that, if it were possible, he should deceive the very elect,”(5) shall say in his heart, “I shall not move from generation to generation without evil”?
5. “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit” (verse 7). For it is a great curse to seek heaven by such abominable arts, and to get together such earnings for acquiring the eternal seat. But of this cursing his mouth is full. For this desire shall not take effect, but within his mouth only will avail to destroy him, who dared promise himself such things with bitterness and deceit, that is, with anger and insidiousness, whereby he is to bring over the multitude to his side. “Under his tongue is toil and grief.” Nothing is more toilsome than unrighteousness and ungodliness: upon which toil follows grief; for that the toil is not only without fruit, but even unto destruction. Which toil and grief refer to that which he hath said in his heart, “I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil.” And therefore, “under his tongue,” not on his tongue, because he will devise these things in silence, and to men will speak other things, that he may appear good and just, and a son of God.

6. “He lieth in ambush with the rich” (verse 8). What rich, but those whom he will load with this world’s gifts? And he is therefore said to lie in ambush with them, because he will display their false happiness to deceive men; who, when with a perverted will they desire to be such as they, and seek not the good things eternal, will fall into his snares. “That in the dark he may kill the innocent.” “In the dark,”(6) I suppose, is said, where it is not easily understood what should be sought, or what avoided. Now to kill the innocent, is of an innocent to make one guilty.

7. “His eyes look against the poor,” for he is chiefly to persecute the righteous, of whom it is said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”(1) (verse 9). “He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den.” By a lion in a den, he means one in whom both violence and deceit will work. For the first persecution of the Church was violent, when by proscriptions, by torments, by murders, the Christians were compelled to sacrifice: another persecution is crafty, which is now conducted by heretics of any kind and false brethren: there remains a third, which is to come by Antichrist, than which there is nothing more perilous; for it will be at once violent and crafty. Violence he will exert in empire, craft in miracles. To the violence, the word “lion” refers; to craft, the words “in his den.” And these are again repeated with a change of order. “He lieth in wait,” he says, “that he may catch the poor;” this hath reference to craft: but what follows, “To catch the poor whilst he draweth him,” is put to the score of violence. For “draweth” means, he bringeth him to himself by violence, by whatever tortures he can.

8. Again, the two which follow are the same “In his snare he will humble him,” is craft (verse 10). “He shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor,” is violence. For a “snare” naturally points to “lying in wait:” but domination most openly conveys the idea of terror. And well does he say, “He will humble him in his snare.” For when he shall begin to do those signs, the more wonderful they shall appear to men, the more those Saints that shall be then will be despised, and, as it were, set at nought: he, whom they shall resist by righteousness and innocence, shall seem to overcome by the marvels that he does. But “he shall decline and fall, whilst he shall have domination over the poor;” that is, whilst he shall inflict whatsoever punishments he will upon the servants of God that resist him.

9. But how shall he decline, and fall? “For he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten; He turneth away His face, that He see not unto the end” (verse 11). This is declining, and the most wretched fall, while the mind of a man prospers as it were in its iniquities, and thinks that it is spared; when it is being blinded, and kept for an extreme and timely vengeance: of which the Psalmist now speaks: “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted” (verse 12): that is, let Thy power be made manifest. Now he had said above, “Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in Thy sight:”(2) that is, in secret, where God alone seeth. This comes to pass when the ungodly have arrived at what seems great happiness to men: over whom is placed a lawgiver, such as they had deserved to have, of whom it is said,” Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord, let the heathen know that they are men.”(3) But now after that hidden punishment and vengeance it is said, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted;” not of course in secret, but now in glory most manifest. “That Thou forget not the poor unto the end ;” that is, as the ungodly think, who say, “God hath forgotten, He turneth away His face, that He should not see unto the end.” Now they deny that God seeth unto the end, who say that He careth not for things human and earthly, for the earth is as it were the end of things; in that it is the last element, in which men labour in most orderly sort, but they cannot see the order of their labours, which specially belongs to the hidden things of the Son. The Church then labouring in such times, like a ship in great waves and tempests, awaketh the Lord as if He were sleeping, that He should command the winds, and calm should be restored.(4) He says therefore, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted, that Thou forget not the poor unto the end.”

10. Accordingly understanding now the manifest judgment, and in exultation at it, they say, “Wherefore hath the ungodly angered God?” (verse 13); that is, what hath it profiled him to do so great evil? “For he said in his heart, He will not require it.” Then follows, Thou seest toil and considerest anger, to deliver them into Thine hands” (verse 14). This sentence looks for distinct explanation, wherein if there shall be error it becomes obscure. For thus has the ungodly said in his heart, God will not require it, as though God regarded toil and anger, to deliver them into His hands; that is, as though He feared toil and anger, and for this reason would spare them, lest their punishment be too burdensome to Him, or lest He should be disturbed by the storm of anger: as men generally act, excusing themselves of vengeance, to avoid toil or anger.

11. “The poor hath been left unto Thee.” For therefore is he poor, that is, hath despised all the temporal goods of this world, that Thou only mayest be his hope. “Thou wilt be a helper to the orphan,” that is, to him to whom his father this world, by whom he was born after the flesh, dies, and who can already say, “The world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”(5) For of such orphans God becomes the Father. The Lord teaches us in truth that His disciples do become orphans, to whom He saith, “Call no man father on earth.”(1) Of which He first Himself gave an example in saying,” Who is my mother, and who my brethren?”(2) Whence some most mischievous heretics 3 would assert that He had no mother; and they do not see that it follows from this, if they pay attention to these words, that neither had His disciples fathers. For as He said, “Who is my mother?” so He taught them, when He said, “Call no man your father on earth.”

12. “Break the arm of the sinner and of the malicious” (verse 15); of him, namely, of whom it was said above, “He shall have dominion over all his enemies.” He called his power then, his arm; to which Christ’s power is opposed, of which it is said, “Arise, O Lord God, let Thine hand be exalted. His fault shall be required, and he shall not be found because of it;”(4) that is he shall be judged for his sins, and himself shall perish because of his sin. After this, what wonder if there follow, “The Lord shall reign for ever and world without end; ye heathen shall perish out of His earth”? (verse 16). He uses heathen for sinners and ungodly.

13. “The Lord hath heard the longing of the poor”(verse 17): that longing wherewith they were burning, when in the straits and tribulations of this world they desired the day of the Lord. “Thine ear hath heard the preparation of their heart.” This is the preparation of the heart, of which it is sung in another Psalm, “My heart is prepared, O God, my heart is prepared:”(5) of which the Apostle says, “But if we hope for what we see not, we do with patience wait for it.”(6) Now, by the ear of God, we ought, according to a general rule of interpretation, to understand not a bodily member, but the power whereby He heareth; and so (not to repeat this often) by whatever members of His are mentioned, which in us are visible and bodily, must be understood powers of operation. For we must not suppose it anything bodily, in that(7) the Lord God hears not the sound of the voice, but the preparation of the heart.

14. “To judge for the orphan and the humble” (verse 18): that is, not for him who is conformed to this world, nor for the proud. For it is one thing to judge the orphan, another to judge for the orphan. He judges the orphan even, who condemns him; but he judges for the orphan, who delivers sentence for him. “That man add not further to magnify himself upon earth.” For they are men, of whom it was said, “Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord: let the heathen know that they are men.”(8) But he too, who in this same passage is understood to be placed over them, will be man, of whom it is now said, “That man add not further to magnify himself upon earth:” namely, when the Son of Man shall come to judge for the orphan, who hath put off from himself the old man, and thus, as it were, buried his father.

15. After the hidden things then of the Son, of which, in this Psalm, many things have been said, will come the manifest things of the Son, of which a little has been now said at the end of the same Psalm. But the title is given from the former, which here occupy the larger portion. Indeed, the very day of the Lord’s advent may be rightly numbered among the hidden things of the Son, although the very presence of the Lord itself will be manifest. For of that day it is said, that no man knoweth it, neither angels, nor powers, nor the Son of man.(9) What then so hidden, as that which is said to be hidden even to the Judge Himself, not as regards knowledge, but disclosure? But concerning the hidden things of the Son, even if any one would not wish to understand the Son of God, but of David himself, to whose name the whole Psalter is attributed, for the Psalms we know are called the Psalms of David, let him give ear to those words in which it is said to the Lord, “Have mercy on us, O Son of David:”(10) and so even in this manner let him understand the same Lord Christ, concerning whose hidden things is the inscription of this Psalm. For so likewise is it said by the Angel: “God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.”(11) Nor to this understanding of it is the sentence opposed in which the same Lord asks of the Jews,” If Christ be the Son of David, how then doth he in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right hand, until I put Thine enemies under Thy feet.”(12) For it was said to the unskilled, who although they looked for Christ’s coming, yet expected Him as man, not as the Power and Wisdom of God. He teacheth then, in that place, the most true and pure faith, that He is both the Lord of king David, in that He is the Word in the beginning, God with God,(13) by which all things were made; and Son, in that He was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh. For He doth not say, Christ is not David’s Son, but if ye already hold that He is his Son, learn how He is his Lord: and do not hold in respect of Christ that He is the Son of Man, for so is He David’s Son;(14) and leave out that He is the Son of God, for so is He David’s Lord. (15)

To see my notes on Psalm 4 go here.
The Psalmist who according to the title of the poem, is David, begs the Lord the continuance ofHis favors and mercies (Vs 2). He is of troubled mind because there are some who turn asidefrom God, and speak falsely . These he addresses as “the children of men” (Vs 3). He reminds them of the striking favors which he has received from God, and urges them to abandon the schemes they are plotting against him. He advises them to turn to God with a perfect sacrifice- the token of a perfect heart. Men complain of the failure and sadness of all things. “And yet, says the psalmist, “the blessed light of God’s face is on us who trust in Him, and fills us with a joy more deep than the gladness of a rich harvest or vintage.”

He that lives in the light of God’s face has no fear; and with perfect trust in the Lord’s protecting care, the psalmist lays him down to rest. The sleep that comes at once betokens the peace of his heart, and the fulness of his trust. The concluding prayer shows the psalm to be a vesper prayer.

Tradition assigns the psalm to David, and it also assigns the composition of the poem to the period after the defeat of Absalom. It is clear from the text itself that the poet is a person of importance. His enemies are of high rank (”the children of men”). The designation of the psalmist as sanctus (Hebrew Hasid) is regarded by amny modern critics as an indication of a late (probably Maccabean) origin of the psalm. The contention, however, that hasid/sanctus is a sort of technical term confined to the Greek period, is, to say the least, not proven. (Taken from THE PSALMS: A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN THE LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT by Father Patrick Boylan. The work is in the public domain)

The following is an introduction to the psalm from Father Patrick Boylan’s THE PSALMS: A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT. The work is in the public domain (USA).
In both the Hebrew and the vulgate this psalm is connected to the flight of King David from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. The situation implied is that which is described in 2 Kings 15-18. As he fled to Mahanaim,David’s position seemed well nigh desperate. Many, indeed, were they who rose against him. All Israel “Had turned its heart to Absalom”. The faint-hearted friends of the King were telling him it was useless to loof for further help from God. Yet, in all his humiliation and grief, David passionately proclaims his his unbroken confidence in his God. He recalls the many tokens of his mercy in the past: he remembers how often God has been his protector, his sheild, the loved object of his proud homage, the kind friend who had so often given him hope and courage when he was straited. Wearied with the toil and friefs of his hasty flight, David, in the midst of perils, spends a night in sleep. When he awakens he sees a new and touching token of God’s watchful love in the in the safety in which he has passed the night in peaceful slumber, though threatened on every side by ruthless foes. “Let my enemies come in thousands, I will not fear them,” he says in an outburst of heroic confidence. In the same spirit of confidence, deeming the future of his hope already present, he raises the ancient battle cry of victorious Israel: “Arise, O Yahweh!” and in spirit he sees his enemies broken, and thier fangs, with which, wild-beast-like, they had threatened him, shattered. To Yahweh alone, he sees, belongs the strength of victory.

The royal prayer at the close, pointing clearly to the kingly poet, is called forth by the thought of the horrors of the civil war which has begun: “On Israel, Thy people, be t=Thy blessing, Yahweh!”

There is no good reason which can be opposed to the Davidic origin of the psalm. The reference to the holy mountain does not prove that the temple was on Zion when the poem was composed. The ark was already on Zion. Indeed, David had instructed the priests who wished to carry away the ark in his flight to bring it back to Zion. The concluding verse implies a royal author.

Posted by Dim Bulb.  Check out my other site: Catholic Bookworm

Note: Due to the length of this commentary I have decided to post it in several parts. I mad use of part of the introduction to this Psalm in my own notes on Psalm 2 which you can read here.
Psalm 2 is a sublime vision of the nations in revolt against God and his anointed, with a declaration of the divine purpose to maintain his kings authority, and a warning to the world that it must bow down or perish. The structure of this psalm is extremely regular. It naturally falls into four stanzas of three verses each. In the first, the conduct of the rebellious nations is described. In the second, God replies to them by word an deed. In the third, the Messiah or Anointed One declares the divine decree in relation to himself. In the fourth, the Psalmist exhorts the rulers of the nations to submission, with a threatening of the divine wrath to the disobedient, and a closing benediction on believers. The several sentences are also very regular in form, exhibiting parallelism of great uniformity. Little as this psalm might, at first sight, seem to resemble that coming before it, there is really a very strong affinity between them. Even in form they are related to one another. The number of verses and of stanzas is just double in the second, which moreover begins, as the first ends, with a threat, and ends, as the first begins, with a beatitude. There is also a resemblance in their subject and contents. The contrast indicated in the first is carried out and rendered more distinct in the second. The first is in fact an introduction to the second, and the second to what follows. And as the psalms which follow bear the name of David, there is the strongest reason to believe that these two psalms are his likewise, a conclusion confirmed by the authority of Acts 4:25, as well as by the internal character of the psalm itself. The imagery of the scene presented is evidently borrowed from the warlike and eventful times of David. He cannot, however, be himself the subject of the composition, the terms of which are wholly inappropriate to any king but the Messiah, to whom they are applied by the oldest Jewish writers, and again and again in the New Testament. This is the first of those prophetic psalms, in which the promise made to David, with respect to the Messiah (2 Sam 7:16; 1 Chron 17:11-14), is wrought into the lyrical devotions of the ancient church. The supposition of a double reference to David, or to some one of his successors, and to Christ, is not only needless and gratuitous, but hurtful to the sense by the confusion which it introduces, and forbidden by the utter inappropriateness of some of the expressions used to any lower subject. The style of this psalm, although not less pure and simple, is livelier than that of the first, a difference arising partly from the nature of the subject, but still more from the dramatic structure of the composition.

Verse 1: Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?

This psalm opens, like the first, with an exclamation, here expressive of astonishment and indignation at the wickedness and folly of the scene presented to the psalmist’s view. Why do the nations make a noise, tumult, or rage? The Hebrew verb is not expressive of an internal feeling, but of the outward agitation which denotes it. There may be an allusion to the rolling and roaring of the sea, often used as an emblem of popular commotion, both in the Scriptures and the classics. The past tense of this verb (why have they raged?) refers to the commotion as already begun, while the future tense in the next clause expresses its continuance. And the peoples, not people in the collective sense of persons, but in the proper plural sense of nations, races, will imagine (devise), i.e. are imagining and will continue to imagine, vanity,a vain thing, something hopeless and impossible. The interrogation in this verse implies that no rational solution of the strange sight could be given, for reasons assigned in the remainder of the psalm. This implied charge of irrationality is equally well founded in all cases where the same kind of opposition exists, though secretly and on the smallest scale.

Verse 2: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ (Anointed One)?

The confused scene presented in the first verse now becomes more distinct by a nearer view of the contending parties. Why will the kings of the earth se themselves, or take their stand, and rulers consult together, literally sit together, but with special reference to taking counsel, as in Psalm 31:14, Against God and against his Anointed, or Messiah, which is only a modified form of the Hebrew word here used, as Christ is a like modification of the corresponding term in Greek. External unction or anointing is a sign in the Old Testament, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and especially of those conferred on prophets, priests, and kings, as ministers of the theocracy, and representatives of Christ himself. To kings particularly, as the highest and most comprehensive order, and peculiar types of Christ in his supremacy as Head of the Church, the sacred history applies the title of the Lord’s Anointed. The right of unction is explicitly recorded in the case of Saul, David, and Solomon, and was probably repeated at the coronation of their successors. From the verse before us, and from Daniel 9:26, the name Messiah had, before the advent, come into use among the Jews as a common designation of the great deliverer and King whom they expected. (Compare John 1:41 with 1:49; and see also Mark 15:32). The intimate relation of the Anointed One to God himself is indicated even here by making them the common object of attack, or rather of revolt. In Acts 4: 25-27, this description is applied to the combination of Herod and Pilate, Jews and Gentiles, against Jesus Christ, not as the sole event predicted, but as that in which the gradual fulfillment reached its culmination. From the quotation, and indeed from the terms of the prophecy itself, we learn that nations here does not mean gentiles or heathen as opposed to Jews, but whole communities or masses of mankind, as distinguished from mere personal or insulated cases of resistance and rebellion.

Verse 3: Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.

Having described the conduct of the disaffected nations and their chiefs, he now introduces them as speaking. In the preceding verse, they were seen, as it were, at a distance, taking counsel. Here they are brought so near to us, or we to them, that we can overhear their planning. Let us break their bonds, i.e. the bonds of the Lord and his Anointed, that is the restraints imposed by their authority. The form of the Hebrew verb may be expressive of either a proposition or of a fixed determination. We will break their bonds, we are resolved to do it. This is in fact involved in the other version, where let us break must not be understood as a faint or dubious suggestion, but as a summons to the execution of a formed and settled purpose. The same idea is expressed, with a slight modification, in the other clause. And we will cast, or let us cast away their yoke, twisted ropes, a stronger term than bonds. The verse, too, while it really implies the act of breaking, suggests the additional idea of contemptuous facility, as if they had said, let us fling away from us with scorn these feeble bonds by which we have been hitherto confined. The application of this passage to the revolt of the Ammonites and and other conquered nations against David, or to any singular rebellion against any of the latter Jewish kings, as the principal subject of this grand description, makes it quite ridiculous if not profane, and cannot therefore be consistent with the principles of sound interpretation. The utmost that can be conceded is that David borrowed the scenery of this dramatic exhibition from the wars and insurrections of his own eventful reign. The language of the rebels in the verse before us is a genuine expression of the feelings entertained, not only in the hearts of individual sinners, but by the masses of mankind, so far as they have been brought into collision with the sovereignty of God and Christ, not only at the time of his appearance on earth, but in the ages both for and after that event, in which the prophecy, as we have seen, attained its height, but was not finally exhausted or fulfilled, since the same rash and hopeless opposition to the Lord and his Anointed still continues, and is likely to continue until the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev 11:15), an expression borrowed from this very passage.

I’ve posted my own notes on Psalm 1. Here I present you with a commentary from Father Patrick Boylan’s A STUDY OF THE PSALTER IN LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT. The work is in the public domain. At the end of his commentary I present some NT texts for “Christianizing” the Psalm for meditations or sermons.

PSALM 1; THE TWO PATHS

Introduction and overview

In this psalm, which serves as a sort of introduction to the Psalter, one of the most fundamental thoughts of Hebrew speculation finds expression. The just man, it tells us, prospers in all things, while the wicked man’s life ends in failure. The psalm, however, dwells rather on the success of the just than on the failure of the wicked. It depicts the ideally just man first negatively (verse 1), then positively (2-3), and then in contrast with the wicked (4-5). The just man show no tendency to adopt the ideas of the godless who set no value on the Law, or to associate himself with the sinners who openly oppose the Law, or help in spreading the corruption of those who sneer at the Law’s requirements. His heart is fixed on the Law, and he constantly murmurs to himself it precepts. His life is rich in works of the Law, so that it reminds one of the verdure of the tree that blooms and bears fruit beside the running waters of irrigation channels. As one might well expect, their is a blessing on all his toil, and his every enterprise succeeds.

Over against the continued prosperity of the just we see the instability of the godless. They are like the dust of the road in a storm, or like the chaff which the wind whirls away from the winnowing on the hill-top. They will not succeed in the great trial, nor hold place in the assembly of the just when the trial is over.

The loving eyes of God are on the path of the just; but the path of the wicked leads to death.

The psalm bears no title, and neither its date nor its author can be determined. The picture of the just man’s success, and the sinner’s failure is painted in the spirit of the ancient Hebrew belief, and may well belong to the Davidic age. Yet, it is not connected by a superscription with the Davidic or any other ancient collection of psalms, and many modern critics believe that it was written expressly by a comparatively late poet (possibly the first editor of the Book of Psalms) to serve as an introduction to the whole collection of Psalms. The extraordinary parallelism of Jeremiah 17:5-8 to this Psalm is regarded by many critics as proof that the Psalm is subsequent at least to the time of Jeremiah. It is interesting to note that in Acts 13:33, according to a reading of some importance, Psalm 2 is called the “first” Psalm.

Read the Psalm in either English or Latin HERE.

NOTES ON PSALM 1

1) The three verbs, walk, stand, sit, are connected with the three things, counsel, path (way), seat (chair), and have the three distinct subjects, the godless, sinners and mockers (pestilence is a bad translation). A climax is, evidently, intended. As the good man is described as the man whose pleasure is the Law of Israel (the Law of Moses), so the various classes of the wicked are characterised by different degrees of indifference or hostility to the Law. Some seem to forget the law; others act openly against it; others carry on a campaign of sneering and contempt against it. The Hebrew text of the third clause may be understood of a circle or group of mockers, rather than of a teachers chair, around which mockers are gathered. The pious Israelite will separate himself completely from sinners and skeptics. This tendency to aloofness was carried to extremes by the Pharisees (”The separated ones”).

2) The just man, on the other hand, is quite taken up with the Law: It is a “torch for his feet.” (Psalm 119) It is always in his heart, and always on his lips (as prescribed in Dt 6:6-8). Meditates means, according to the Hebrew, not silent contemplation, but audible murmuring of the words of the Law. This verse and the following are echoed in, or are an echo of, Joshua 1:8 “This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth, and thou shalt ponder over it murmuringly day and night, so that thou mayest be constant in acting as is prescribed therein: for then thou shalt make thy way to prosper, and then thou shalt have success.”

3) The decursus aquarum (Hebrew, “divisions of waters”) are irrigation canals such as might be seen in Babylonia or Egypt rather than in Palestine. For the comparison see Ps 51:10 (52:10); 91:13 (92:13).

4) The Hebrew compares the wicked with the chaff which is whirled from the threshing floor. The threshing, or winnowing usually took place on a raised ground in an exposed position (see Mt 3:1). The instability of the godless is often similarly suggested elsewhere in scripture. See Hosea 14:3-”They shall be as the morning cloud, as dew of the dawn that vanishes, like chaff that is whirled away from the threshing floor, like smoke from the chimney.” Again, Isaiah 17:12-”The nations…shall be chased like chaff on a mountain before the breeze.” See also the passage in wisdom 5:14-”The hope of the godless is like dust (chaff) swept along by the wind, and like thin (sea) foam scattered by the storm, and like smoke dispersed by the breeze, and like the remembrance of a one-day guest.” “From the face of the earth” is not in the Hebrew. It goes naturally enough with pulvis (chaff). The Greek can mean chaff or dust.

5) The trial is the great Messianic Assize, the final judgment where the wicked shall be set apart from the good in the sight of all. The way of the wicked is their path of life, or plan of action. The just will form and exclusive group after the separation; the wicked will have no part with them (see Is 4:3). The Hebrew has “will not stand in the trial,” i.e. will not prevail in it. “resurgent” (”rise again” with its suggestion of the Resurrection of the Just) is due to the Christian imagination of the translator.

6) God’s knowledge implies interest and approval see Psalm 36:18 (37:18). the just will live in the light of God’s face, but the way of the wicked will be through darkness, and will lead to death.

There is a striking parallel to this psalm in Jeremiah 17:5-8-”Accursed is the man who trusts in men, and makes flesh his arm; but his heart is disloyal to Yahweh. He is like a leafless tree in the plain, and hath no experience of prosperity. He dwelleth in the arid tracts of the desert, in a land salt-strewn and uninhabitable. Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose hope is Yahweh. He is like a tree that is planted by the waters, which stretches out its roots to the brook; which feareth not when the heat cometh, whose foliage remaineth freshly green, which, even in years of drought, hath no care; and ceaseth not to bring forth fruit.”

For the contrast in the lot of the pious and the godless, see also Ex 20:5; Ezk 18.

HELPS FOR MEDITATIONS AND SERMONS. Here are some (by no means all) NT texts which relate to some of the themes and symbols of the Psalm.

A) One is not hard-pressed to find warnings concerning the avoidance of sinners and their false teaching. In fact, a number of the OT biblical passages Father Boylan quotes in his notes on verse 4 are echoed in the NT. For example, in Jude 11-13 we read: “Woe to them! They have walked down the road (path, way) Cain trod; and they have run greedily after the straying of Balaam in search of profit, and perished in Korah’s rebellion. They bring shipwreck to your love-feasts as they feast with you without fear, concerned only for caring for themselves. They are like clouds without water, driven by the wind; like trees in late autumn that bear no fruit. They are twice dead and rooted up. They are like savage waves of the sea, for they cast up like sea-foam their shameless deeds. They are like wandering stars for whom the black darkness has been eternally reserved.” (my translation). Compare with Hosea 14:3 and Wisdom 5:14 quoted above.

Many of these same images occur in 2 Pt 2:1-21. Of special note is the themes of “the way” and “destruction for abandoning the “command” (Law or teaching of the Gospel):

2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. cb(2,2); 2:2 Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. cb(2,3); 2:3 In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber. cb(2,4); 2:4 For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; cb(2,5); 2:5 and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; cb(2,6); 2:6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; cb(2,7); 2:7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked cb(2,8); 2:8 (for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds): cb(2,9); 2:9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment; cb(2,10); 2:10 but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; cb(2,11); 2:11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord. cb(2,12); 2:12 But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, cb(2,13); 2:13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; cb(2,14); 2:14 having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing; cb(2,15); 2:15 forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; cb(2,16); 2:16 but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A mute donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. cb(2,17); 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. cb(2,18); 2:18 For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; cb(2,19); 2:19 promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.cb(2,20);

2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. cb(2,21); 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. (WEB bible).

B) One should always follow the teaching and the way of Jesus:

7:13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. cj(7,14); 7:14 How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.

cj(7,15); 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. cj(7,16); 7:16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? cj(7,17); 7:17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. cj(7,18); 7:18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. cj(7,19); 7:19 Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. cj(7,20); 7:20 Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. cj(7,21); 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. cj(7,22); 7:22 Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ cj(7,23); 7:23 Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

cj(7,24); 7:24 “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. cj(7,25); 7:25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. cj(7,26); 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. cj(7,27); 7:27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” (Mt 7:13-27 Web Bible)

Jesus himself is the way that leads to the father and happiness:

14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. cj(14,2); 14:2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. cj(14,3); 14:3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. cj(14,4); 14:4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”cb(14,5);

14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”cb(14,6);

14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. cj(14,7); 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.” (Jn 14:1-7

Since the risen Christ continues his mission in and through the Church, it can now be said that the Church teaches the way since it has been empowered to teach all that Christ has commanded: “28:18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. cj(28,19); 28:19 Go,^* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, cj(28,20); 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt 28:18-20;

C) Christianity is not simply a belief; it is a way of life based on that belief: “5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him. cb(5,2); 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. cb(5,3); 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous. cb(5,4); 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith” (1 Jn 5:1-4 cb(3,7); “3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? cb(3,8); 3:8 Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance! cb(3,9); 3:9 Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Mt 3:7-9 WEB Bible). Like a vine we must be rooted in Jesus, which means we must bear fruits of love: 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. cj(15,2); 15:2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. cj(15,3); 15:3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. cj(15,4); 15:4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. cj(15,5); 15:5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. cj(15,6); 15:6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. cj(15,7); 15:7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. cj(15,8); 15:8 “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. cj(15,9); 15:9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. cj(15,10); 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love. cj(15,11); 15:11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full cj(15,12);15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. cj(15,13); 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. cj(15,14); 15:14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. cj(15,15); 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. cj(15,16); 15:16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you cj(15,1715:17 “I command these things to you, that you may love one another. (Jn 15:1-17

Note: The WEB Bible is a Protestant translation and the reference tools found on its site are likewise Protestant in their orientation.

 

 

Note: I’m using the World English Bible for the text of psalm 5. The verse numbering of this bible differ from some other.
We saw that Psalm 4 was characterized as an evening prayer. Psalm 5 is generally held to be a morning prayer (vs 3). Perhaps we are to see a connection between the two psalms (Note the similar openings: Psalm 4:1=Psalm 5:1-3. Also, note that both close with the theme of God providing security: 4:9=5:11-12).

 

5:1 Give ear to my words, Yahweh.

Consider my meditation.

5:2 Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God;

for to you do I pray.

5:3 Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice.

In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

The opening shows that this is a song of lament or, as it is sometimes termed, a song of complaint (see footnote 1, NAB). The Psalmist calls upon God with three imperatives: “give ear“, “consider“, and “listen“. Such imperatives are typical of complaint psalms and serve to highlight the petitioners confidence in God. Such confidence is also seen in his referring to the Lord as “my King and my God.” This confidence and insistent prayer is typical of biblical prayers (see Luke 11:5-13; and 18:1-8. See also CCC 2610 and 2613).

 

Vs 1 Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation. Because he takes refuge in the Lord who defends and blesses the righteous (vss 11-12), the psalmist is able to call upon God in confidence. He asks God to consider what he has to say. The word consider in the Hebrew text is in the Qal tense and would better be translated as “understand”. What God is to understand is his meditation. The just man, says psalm 1, delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. (see psalm 1:2), but sinners will not stand at the judgment (See psalm 1:6 compare with Psalm 5:5, 10 WEB ).

 

Vs 2 My king and my God. Personalizes the prayer. In ancient Israel a king wasn’t just a ruler, he was also a judge and defender of those who were in the right regarding legal and religious laws (see 1 Kings 3:18-27; 2 Sam 14:4-24). It appears that the psalmist is engaged in some form of legal contention with his adversaries and expects God to judge the case (see notes on vs 3). My God is the more personal part of the address. It is followed by the words for to you do I pray. Why this emphasis? Are we to understand that his enemies are in the habit of praying to other Gods?.

 

Vs 3 Yahweh in the morning you shall hear my voice. Both the liturgy and legal proceedings were heard in the morning. Some scholars suggest that the psalmist facing is am unjust legal accustation but is confident that he will receive a favorable judgment and as a result will offer a morning sacrifice in the temple (see 5: 7 WEB).

 

Cont. Vs 3 In the morning I will lay my request before you, and will watch expectantly. The Psalmist will watch (literally, “look up”) to God for an answer (see Psalm 123). Again the psalmist expresses confidence that God will hear and answer him, because he knows that the Lord watches over the way of the just (see psalm 1:6. Also Psalm 121). This Looking up to God with confidence is based also on the Psalmist’s knowledge of the state of the wicked in God’s sight. (note the word play)

5:4 For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness.

Evil can’t live with you.

cb(5,5); 5:5 The arrogant shall not stand in your sight.

You hate all workers of iniquity.

cb(5,6); 5:6 You will destroy those who speak lies.

Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

Vs 4 For- acts as a conjunctive linking up what is said here about God with the confidence expressed by the Psalmist in verse 3. Wickedness- the Hebrew word is resha (reh-shah) which is often used in the Bible to describe those who pervert ethics or civil law. Evil cannot live (dwell, sojourn) with you- This could mean that no evil dwells in God. However, since the word is also used for dwelling in God’s tent (Psalm 15:2; 61:5) the meaning could be that evil men will sooner or later be exposed and cast out from worshiping at the temple (contrast with verse 7).

Vs 5 The arrogant shall not stand in your sight- Forms a nice contrast with the Psalmist’s attitude in verse 3. The Psalmist humbly Lays his requests before the Lord and watches (looks up) expectantly for a response; on the other hand, the arrogant (those who make a spectacle of themselves in relation to God and men) cannot b stand in God’s sight.

You hate all workers on iniquity- See3 Job 31:2-3–”For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?”

Vs 6 You will destroy those who speak lies- Again, this is probably referring to false accusers or witnesses in a legal (civil or religious) case. The prophets of the OT often condemned perjury and giving false witness, along with other perversions of the legal system (see Amos 5:7, 10; Isa 1:23; 5:18-24).

2476 False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness. ²⁷⁶ When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused. ²⁷⁷ They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

5:7 But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.

But as for me- establishes a strong contrast with the preceding verses which described both the sinners state and God’s attitude towards sinners. Because of the Lord’s loving kindness the Psalmist will come into the your (God’s) house, unlike the wicked whom the God of loving kindness is said to take no pleasure in, for evil will not live (dwell) with God. Only those who, like the psalmist, bow toward the holy temple (vs 7) can stand in God’s sight (vs 5)

5:8 Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies.

Make your way straight before my face.

cb(5,9); 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.

Their heart is destruction.

Their throat is an open tomb.

They flatter with their tongue.

cb(5,10); 5:10 Hold them guilty, God.

Let them fall by their own counsels;

Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions,

for they have rebelled against you.

Vs 8 lead me in your righteousness- Having established God’s superiority and power over the unrighteous, the psalmist calls upon God to lead him in the face (before, in the presence of) his enemies for reasons given in verse 9.

Vs 9 heart is destruction…throat…tongue- these references call to mind the bloodthirsty and deceitful whom the Lord abhors (see vs 6)

Vs 10 let them fall by their own counsels; thrust them out..- That those who do evil trap themselves in their wickedness is a very common motif in the wisdom literature. Also, again we think of the words the arrogant shall not stand in your sight (vs 5).

5:11 But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice,

Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them.

Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.

cb(5,12); 5:12 For you will bless the righteous.

Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.

Vs 11 But let all those who take refuge in you- provides a contrast with the preceding verses, especially the words Let them fall by their own counsels. Those who rejoice in God and are defended by him stand in marked contrast to those who rebel and are thrust out.

Vs 12 the righteous… you will surround- a contrast is drawn between the righteous whom God surrounds, and the rebels who are (as it were) surrounded by the multitude of their transgressions and whom, as a result, are thrust out from God’s presence since they cannot enjoy his protection (see vs 10).

File under Bible.

 

 

Psalm 4 is given the title “trust in God” by the New American Bible. This is a fitting title as verses 1, 3, 5 and 8 show. Within the Catholic and Orthodox traditions this psalm is often used as a night prayer (see vss 4 and 8). The Psalm opens with a statement by the psalmist that God has heard his prayer (vs 1). This is followed in verses 2-6 with admonitions and advice by the psalmist to his detractors. He is not so much attempting to put them right with himself, but, rather, with God. The psalm ends as it began, by addressing God (vss 7-8) [Please note, I am using an modern translation of psalm 4 from the WEB Bible. Other translations may employ a slightly different verse numbering system.]

4:1 Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness.

Give me relief from my distress.

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

The first part of verse 1 sounds bold, almost imperative. It reflects the psalmist trust and confidence in his God. In his conflict with others (see vs 2) he is confident that he is in the right and that, therefore, the God of his righteousness will help him. Due to these enemies the psalmist is in distress. The Hebrew word used here is tsar (tsawr), a word meaning constrained. He is being pressed upon by his foes in some way. Perhaps they are seeking to limit his freedom, or worse, hinder his relations with God. Whatever the case may be, he prays for relief. Literally he prays to be enlarged, to be given space space from his enemies (rachab= raw- khab). The psalmist is confident that God will show him mercy by hearing his prayer.

4:2 You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood?

The superscription of this Psalm attributes it to David. Is the glory of David which is being dishonored to be understood as his kingship, or is the word glory being used here as synonymous with honor? Another possibility is that my glory is a reference to God, whom the psalmist’s enemies are mocking Since kingship is not mentioned anywhere in this psalm it seems likely that one of the latter views is likely. Vanity and falsehood are often associated with idolatry in the OT

Vanity is the Hebrew word riyq (reek). This words designates emptiness. It is, as just noted, used at times for idols (1 Sam 12:21).

Falsehood is the Hebrew word kazab (kaw-zawb). It is used of idols in Psalm 40:5, Amos 2:4 and elsewhere.

4:3 But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him. Godly would perhaps be better translated as faithful. Because of his faith the just man is heard (see James 5:16). The psalmist has confidence in this based it would seem on personal experience.

4:4 Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.

Many translations read “tremble,” others read “do not be angry,” rather than stand in awe. The word ragaz (raw-gaz) is in the Qal form and can be translated in any of these ways. Parallelism, which is a very popular Hebrew poetical device suggests this translation: “tremble and do not sin. Speak in your own heart on your bed and be still.” The parallel is contrasting. One in a right relationship to God trembles (In fear or awe of God) and does not sin. Rather he can lay upon his bed in stillness and ponder the things of God (e.g the law, see psalm 1). (Notice that in the translation I just gave I translated as “speak in your own heart…,” this is the literal rendering and its importance will become clear below).

4:5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh.

If they trembled (had awe/fear) of God they would not have to have been told to “sin not.” Because they loved the vanity and falsehood (vs 2) which is idolatry they are being bidden here to worship Go rightly and to trust in him rather than idols. The word righteous used here reminds us of the opening of the psalm wherein God was termed God of my righteousness.

4:6 Many say, “Who will show us any good? Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us.”
4:7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased. 4:8 In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
(I have modified the translation here. The WEB Bible does not extend the quotation of the many in verse 6 beyond the word Good.)

Notice that in verse 6 who will show us any good is followed by a call upon God (Yahweh). This suggests to me that the many tend to think of Yahweh as just one God among others who can be called on for help. In contrast to this the psalmist has exhibited an unwavering trust in God. He is unworried about who will show him good for Yahweh has put gladness in his heart. This gladness is greater than that which the many have when they enjoy an abundance of wine and grain. In keeping with my speculation about idolatry I will note that the people often worshipped fertility gods like Baal in order to ensure a plentiful harvest, even while worshipping Yahweh for the same reason. The psalmist however trust in Yahweh who alone makes him secure (vs 8)

A sublime vision of the nations in revolt against Jehovah and his Anoited, with a declaration of the divne purpose to maintain his King’s authority, and a warning to the world that it must bow to him or perish. The structure of this psalm is extremely regular. It naturally falls into four stanzas of three verses each. In the first (1-3), the conduct of the rebellious nations is described. In the second (4-6), god replies to them by word and deed. In the third (7-9), the Messiah or Anointed One declares the divine decrees in relation to himself. In the fourth (10-12), the Psalmist exhorts the rulers of the nations to submission, with a threatening of the divine wrath to the disobedient, and a closing benediction on believers. (THE PSALMS by J. A. Alexander. Published by Charles Scribner, New York 1852. Public domain book)

Vs 1 Why do the nations rage, and the gentiles mutter vainly?
Vs 2 The kings of the earth stand up, the rulers sit in cousel together, opposing the Lord, and opposing his Anointed one, saying,
Vs 3 “Let us burst thier bonds completely, cast their chains off from us.

The Psalm opens with the psalmist asking a question in parallel fashion, which is typical of Hebrew poetry. The first part of the parallel asks why the nations (Hebrew goy) rage (ragash). Goy could refer to the Jewish people or other descendents of Abraham but is usually used for his non-descendents. Rage (ragash) means more than simply anger. It refers to the malicious plotting borne of such anger.

Vs 4 He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision.
Vs 5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure:
Vs 6 Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion. (ASV. Public domain)

the Lord sitting in heaven contrasts nicely with the rulers of the earth sitting in counsel against him. While they rage, he laughs; while they mutter vainly, he derides them and speaks in wrath. While they exalt themselves by standing up, he derides them. While they plot to cast of the bonds and chains of God and his Anointed, he insists that the one he anointed rules at his pleasure.

The Lords mood in verse 5 is colorfully described. The Hebrew word for wrath refers to the flaring of the nostrils which often takes place as part of angry facial expressions. The Word for sore displeasure refers to the red hue of an angry mans “burning” cheeks

Vs 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son; this day have I begotten you.
Vs 8 Ask it of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and put the ends of the earth into your pessesion.
Vs 9 With an iron rod you shall break them; like a clay dish you shall smash them to pieces.

Here th anointed king speaks, telling us what the Lord has promised to him. You are my son, this day I have begotten you is a clear reference to 2 Samuel 7:14. This text is applied to our Blessed Lord in Hebrews 1:5. It is believed by many biblical scholars that this Psalm was either part of the coronation ceremony for a newly installed Davidic king, or was used as part of an anniversary celebration of the coronation (or both). Inheriting the nations and possesing the ends of the earth are not promises fulfilled to the descendents of David save one, Jesus. (See Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 28: 18-20). Verse 9 also has Messianic overtones (see Revelation 12:5).

Vs 10 Be wise, O you kings; be instructed rulers of the earth.
Vs 11 Serve God with fear, tremble as you bow down to him.
Vs 12 Render him homage, lest he grow angry with you and you perish from the way, for his anger ignites suddenly. Happy are those who put their trust in him.

The call to wisdom and instruction, along with the word happy provide verbal and thematic links to Psalm 1. The rebels are here being called to conversion in light of the Lords will as revealed in torah, the revelation of God’s wisdom. “The four invitations have a wisdom flavor, ‘be wise’ ‘be warned’, ’serve…with fear’, ‘kiss.’ (Konrad Schaefer, PSALMS, pg 9.) Whereas the Psalm opened by focusing on the rebels anger, it closes by warning them concerning God’s. The reference to his anger igniting reminds us of God’s mood towards the rebels which was colorfully described in verse 5. In verse 2 the kings stood up against the lord and his Anointed; here they are exhorted and warned to serve God with fear aand trembling and bow down to him.

PSALM 1: TEXT AND NOTES (The text of Psalm 1 is my own translation. You are urged to consult a recognised translation such as the RSV or the NAB)

Vs 1 Happy the man who walks not according to the direction of the wicked, stands not on the path with sinners, sits not in the assembly of scorners.

Happiness in the bible has little to do with the emotional state we often associate the word with. The happy man is one who enjoys God’s blessing here, and looks forward to its fullness in the future. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for happy, asre, is derived from a Semitic stem which in its verb form means “walk” or “go forward”; and in its noun form means “a footstep”. Our life then is conceived of as a pilgrimage, a religious journey towards God and full happiness. This accounts for the journey motif which dominates this Psalm.

The present state of the happy man, which will reach its fullness only in the future, is described first by using a three-fold negation:

1) The happy man is one who walks not according to the directions of the wicked. In the bible, the word walk, along with the word path and its synonyms (way, road) are used as metaphors for ones moral actions and life. In keeping with the journey motif I have translated the Hebrew word etsah (ay-tsaw) as direction rather than the commonly used “counsel” or “advice”.

2) The happy man stands not on the road with sinners. As already noted, the word road or path is a metaphor for ones moral activity. The Hebrew word chattaw (khat-taw) is derived from a root word which, among other things, can mean “to miss a target,” but also can mean “to go errant from a course, road or direction.

3) The happy man sits not in the assembly of scorners. The word sits translates the Hebrew mosab. The word has the sense of keeping formal company. The scorner is one who mocks the will of God and its manifestation in true religion (see Psalm 119:51)

The three negations of verse 1 appear to increase in their designation of evil situations. Taking directions from the unrighteous is foolish enough, but accompanying them on a journey is even more foolish; worse still is it to gather formally with them and share in their deliberations which scorn God’s law and those who follow it.

Vs 2 But in the law of the Lord is his delight, upon this law he ponders day and night.

Verse 2 begins to describe the just man in positive terms. He is now described according to that which shows him to be just. The word but is emphatic, highlighting the different approach to the subject and emphasising the utter contrast between the truly just one and those who live in accord with the negations of verse 1.

Rather than listening to the directions of sinners and finding a false kind of happiness in the company of such people, the truly happy man delights in the law of the Lord. Delight is a translation of the word chaphets (khaw-fates). One could translate the verse to read “his inclination is towards the law of the Lord, upon this law he ponders…” One moves towards what one delights in and desires. The sense of the Hebrew chaphets
then could have a connection to the journey motif.

Law here would be better translated as instruction. The Hebrew word torah can mean either law or instruction; with the second meaning being the more common meaning for not all instructions are laws, but all laws are, in some sense, instructive. Remember that the Law of Moses consists of the first five books of the OT, but Genesis and the first several chapters of Exodus, along with various parts of other books, contain few laws but much narrative.

Not only does the happy man delight in the law, but he also ponders it continuously. This word ponder (Hebrew hagah) originally referred to the cooing of a dove and is usually translated as “meditates”. When the Jews meditated on the law they would recite it in low tones, much as we do with the Our Father or the Psalms. The word then refers to thoughtful, reflective prayer. This stands in marked contrast to the scorners mentioned in verse 1. the Hebrew word for scorn originally referred to the talk of people of foreign tongues. It came to be applied to those who childishly mimic people. (see Isaiah 28:9-11 and the corresponding footnotes of the NAB)

Vs 3 He is like a tree well-planted by steams of water, which gives forth its fruit in its season; its leaves do not wither. Whatsoever he does, he prospers.

A good bit of the Holy Land is quite dry, and therefore treeless. Also, during a certain time of the year the Sirriocco winds begin to blow in from the desert and wither much of the foliage. A tree which has been well-planted by flowing water however, would do well. The word I have translated as well-planted implies that the tree in the image has in fact been transplanted beside the water. This perhaps suggests the idea that the just man is taken care of by God, who is sometimes described in the bible as a husbandman (grower of trees, vines, ect. See Isaiah 5:1-7; Luke 13:6-9).

In the prophet Jeremiah the wise man is described as a tree near water while the fool is described as a desert shrub:

5: Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6: 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. 7: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8: 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.” (RSV Jer 17) See alos Rev 22:1-3

In keeping with the wisdom motif of the Psalm, it should be noted that the word wither in its Hebrew form, can also be applied to foolish men or things as in Prov 30:32. The word can also be applied to the act of treating something with contempt, as in Micah 7:6.

Vs 4 But not so are the wicked! They are like chaff driven on by the wind.

This verse begins with the Hebrew word loken which is translated above as but. This word highlights in an emphatic way the contrast between what was said in verse 3 concerning the just, and what is said in verse 4 concerning the wicked.

In stark contrast to verse 3 the wicked are here described as useless chaff. Chaff refers to the outer shell or husks from which grain was taken. Light, dry, sterile, it was utterly useless. It was fit only to burn, but even in this it was useless, since it burned so quickly it wasn’t even adequate for use as kindling. Most people simply left it on the ground to be driven away by the wind. It is hard to imagine an image of rootlessness and bareness more fitting than this. (see the prayer against enemies in Psalm 35:5) The winnowing of chaff is used, throughout the Bible, as a image of God’s judgement (see Hosea 13:2-3 and Matt 3:12).

Wind is also used as an image of God’s punishment (see Psalm 18:42; Psalm 48:7; Hosea 13:15)

Vs 5 For this reason the wicked will not withstand the judgement, nor sinners stand in the assembly of the righteous.

The wicked will not stand in the judgement because the are like chaff. As chaff has no root in the ground these people have not root in God or his torah. In the judgement they will not stand with God and his holy people but will be removed from their presence.

The reference to sinners standing and the term assembly reminds us of the negations of verse 1. A man who stands not on the road with sinners, sits not in the assembly of scorners shows that he is already on the way to God and the fullness of happiness to come. A happiness which consist in withstanding God’s judgement and being present with the just.

Vs 6 The Lord whatches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked perishes.

As a farmer who has transplanted a tree or vine keeps careful watch over it and cares for it, so God keeps careful watch over the righteous as they live out their life. The barren way of the wicked can only end in destruction.

(NOTE:The Psalm has a very interesting feature. The first word of the text (happy) begins with the first letter of the Hebrew Bible. The last word (perish) begins with the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. As far removed A is Z- that’s how far removed from the righteous sinners are)

(I will have my notes on this psalm posted later today. Here is the introduction)

 

This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. The different character and condition of godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words; so that every man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face and then read his own doom. That division of the children of men into saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient, ever since the struggle began between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, so it is lasting, and will survive all other divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free; for by this men’s everlasting state will be determined, and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell. This psalm shows us, 1) The holiness and happiness of a godly man (v. 1-3). 2) The sinfulness and misery of a wicked man (v. 4, 5). 3) The ground
and reason of both (v. 6). Whoever collected the psalms of David (probably it was Ezra) with good reason put this psalm first, as a preface to the rest, because it is absolutely necessary to the acceptance of our devotions that we be righteous before God (for it is only the prayer of the upright that is his delight), and therefore that we be right in our notions of blessedness and in our choice of the way that leads to it. Those are not fit to put up good prayers who do not walk in good ways. (From the MATTHEW HENRY BIBLE COMMENTARY: PSALMS, CH 1)

This psalm is usually classified as a wsdom psalm inasmuch as it contains characteristics common to that genre. These include macarisms (i.e. blessed or happy sayings); extoling of the Torah; two-ways teaching (i.e. contrasting the actions and/or fate of the just and wicked); and acroustic structure (i.e. alphabetic structure).

The psalm can be easily devided into four parts (note that the three part structure given above is more generally accepted):

A) Vss 1-3. These verses focus on the just man. Vs 1 defines the just man by way of negation, detailing what the just man is not. Vs 2 looks at the just man in a positve fashion by describing something a just man does. Vs 3 applies a descriptive image of the just man.

B) Vs 4 Focus upon the wicked and applies a descriptive image of them.

C) Vs 5 Gives the consequences of the differences that exist between the just and the wicked.

D) Vs 6 The ultimate reason for these consequences.