Psalm One.
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
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,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. [Endnote 1]
The Background and Theme.
The word psalm can best be translated as a “song of praise”. The Book of Psalms is a collection of writings that were meant to be sung with instruments bringing praise to God.
Psalm One starts with the word “blessed” meaning happiness. In this case it is not a thing that comes from God but rather it is something that happens because you are in pursuit of God. According to Psalm One happiness happens because you choose to follow the law of God.
The law of God is known as the Torah. In Hebrew, Torah can be translated as the law, instruction, teaching or guide. Psalm One is considered a “Torah Psalm”. This designation accurately reflects not only their literary genre but also their content [Endnote 2]. In this Psalm the Torah wasn’t considered a burden or a difficult thing to follow. The opposite was true.
Following the Torah makes you like a tree planted by a never ending source of water. You lack nothing and you prosper by giving fruit. The Torah gives you purpose[Endnote 3] and ability. There is growth that is associated with the Torah. This growth makes you happy.
Whenever you see “LORD” written in capital letters in the Old Testament this always refers to the sacred name of God transliterated YHVH (or Yahweh). The Jewish nation never said God’s scared name nor would they write out His name. Despite this respect God is considered to be present and active. That’s why the author of Psalm One says that God watches over the righteous. The word watches is viewed as “Yahweh answers trust (in Him) with care and benevolence[Endnote 4]”.
God wants your success and happiness.
The Impact.
Growing up in my faith tradition I have to admit that the Torah was always considered important. The Torah, however, was not always considered a thing to bring joy and it wasn’t always considered easy. The older I become and now that I’m a dad I can see lots of benefits to keeping the Torah. Now, through this wrestling with Psalm One I want the benefits of the Torah.
I want happiness.
I want purpose.
I want success.
More than anything. I want God to grant me these things by my trust in Him and His goodness towards me. I want to be considered righteous.
Grace and Peace,
Geraldo
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Endnotes:
1. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
2. Garcia-López, F., and Heinz-Josef Fabry. “תּוֹרָה.” Ed. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren. Trans. David E. Green. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 2006 : 628. Print. 15 vols.
3. Nichol, Francis D., ed. The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1977. Print.
4. Botterweck, G. Johannes, and Jan Bergman. “יָדַע.” Ed. Helmer Ringgren. Trans. David E. Green. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 1986 : 468. Print. 15 vols.