week 5 part 2

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

Exegesis Research Paper

(Psalm 1:1-6)

Submitted to Dr. Micheal S. Pardue,

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of

RTCH 500 – B23

Research, Writing, and Ministry Preparation

by

Justin Kennett

February 11, 2018

Introduction

Many people think of psalms and hymns as synonymous, and while this may be true, the book of Psalms is more than just a book for an old church choir. The book has many authors and serves many purposes but it all starts with a single psalm; Psalm 1 to be exact. While this chapter may only contain six verses, it has deep significance and paves the way for how readers are to read and interpret the rest of the book of Psalms. [footnoteRef:1] Contrary to some belief that the Old Testament no longer has relevance to modern day Christians due to the New Covenant established by Jesus, the book of Psalms, along with many other Old Testament passages, is full of essential application for believers today. [1: John C. Collins, “Study notes on Psalms,” In ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 942.]

Thesis/Purpose

What exactly is a “psalm” and what purpose does this book of Psalms serve in the Bible or the prospering of the gospel? Psalms is a collection of 150 poems, worship songs, and prayers and even though they are written over a span of hundreds of years, Psalm 1 is a foundational piece for the book. This passage describes good and evil, righteous and the wicked. It discusses God’s blessings to an obedient people and His judgement to those who oppose Him and reminds readers that there are two ways to live. [footnoteRef:2] Psalm 1 emphasizes the importance of God’s laws and commands and the significance of being a people group who heeds warning and follows the Lord’s instruction. [2: Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL.: Victor Brooks, 1985), ???.]

Literary Context

In order to understand the text of the Old Testament we must first understand its context. A common mistake made by Christians today is the misunderstanding of the purpose, background, and significance of the passages they are reading. Certain books of the Bible are meant to be read descriptively, which give us accounts of history, others prescriptively, which teach lessons for wisdom and guidance. Once this is understood, there are methods, such as principlism, which properly interpret the passage, discover any universal truths, and apply it to believers today. Principlism uses five key steps [footnoteRef:3] which starts with understanding the context of who wrote the book and to which initial audience the book was written for and ends with a universal truth used for application for Christians today. Psalm 1 is unique as it is one of only a small handful of chapters in Book 1 (Ps. 1-41) of Psalms that does not specifically attribute its authorship to David. While the author is unknown, Psalm 1 has universal principles that correlate with New Testament teaching and applies to all followers of Christ. [3: Daniel J. Hays, “Applying the Old Testament Law Today,” in Bibliotheca Sacra, ed. Roy B. Zuck (Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001), 35.]

The Way of the Righteous (Psalm 1:1-3)

The chapter begins with a description of attributes of a righteous man in verses one and two. It is important to note that verse one describes the man as blessed first by what he does not do, followed by what he does do in verse two. It is a blessing to freely choose to be discerning about who you spend your time with and what people you gather around. The righteous man does not walk, stand or sit among the wicked (Ps 1:1). [footnoteRef:4] Although it may sound repetitive to separately mention all three actions in which he does not do, the redundancy ensures that readers are not confused by the message being portrayed. The second verse uses the word “delight” to explain the emotion the blessed man associates with following the Lord’s law. This shows that his obedience is not out of obligation but rather reverence for his God and/or joy that comes from following the Lord’s commands. “On his law he meditates day and night.” (Ps 1:2) Day: from sun up to sun down, night: from sundown until sun up, all times of the day the righteous spend reflecting on God’s word. [4: ]

The chapter continues with the fruit that the blessed man bears from his attributes of righteousness. The analogy of a tree planted by water once again shows discernment, but this time it is in the forethought of stability. A man receives blessings when he is concerned with long term growth and fruitfulness rather than instant gratification. Verse three uses the illustration of a tree planted by streams of water and the success that it has to describe to its readers the importance of establishing one’s self in an area that is of health and nourishment.

The Way of the Wicked (Psalm 1:4-6)

The second half of this chapter promptly flips the script and tells its reader of a man who is considered to be wicked. Immediately after the author describes the prosperous ways of the righteous, the reader is abruptly told that the previous statements are far from true for the wicked. This way of wickedness is illustrated as “chaff in the wind” (Psalm 1:4) which would describe to readers the instability and uselessness of wicked ways. Readers of that time would understand that farmers would bring their wheat to the threshing floor and toss it in the air to allow the breeze to carry away the chaff, which was considered worthless.

Verse 1 application: We often ask, where should and go and what should I do for the Lord. We need to be careful not to forget what things we are specifically commanded not to do

Verse 2 app: “On his law he meditates day and night.” There is no time in which the righteous to not meditate on the Word of the Lord. The verse explains that obedience to God’s commands are not judged by certain particular moments, but rather how you spend your life. The man who feeds the poor on Saturdays but ignores their needs Monday-Friday is not one who meditates “day and night” on God’s law. The righteous man is moved by compassion to help others at any given moment and understands how God calls us to act due to his diligence in his reading and studying of the Bible so often that he subconsciously acts in a way pleasing to the Lord.

Verse 3 app: do not walk with sinners but plant yourself in a community that will help you flourish

Verse 4 app: describe difference between tree with healthy deep roots and chaff. Explain that like the breeze that would separate the wheat from the useless chaff, so too will God separate the believers and non-believers in the time of His judgement.

Bibliography

Beale, G. K. Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012. Accessed February 10, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Brown, Jeannine K. Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. Accessed February 10, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Broyles, Craig C. Psalms. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999. Accessed February 11, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Collins, John C. Study notes on Psalms. In ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.

Eaton, J. H., and Conrad, Edgar W. Psalms of the Way and the Kingdom: A Conference with the Commentators. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2009. Accessed February 10, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Goldingay, John. Psalms: Volume 1 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms). Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014. Accessed February 1007, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Hays, Daniel J. “Applying the Old Testament Law Today.” in Bibliotheca Sacra. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001.

Kaiser Jr., Walter C., and Moisés Silva. Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

Kartje, John. Wisdom Epistemology in the Psalter: A Study of Psalms 1, 73, 90, and 107. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2014. Accessed February 10, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Ross, Allen P. “Psalms.” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL.: Victor Brooks, 1985.

Collins, John C.. Study notes on Psalms. In ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. 

Brown, Jeannine K.. Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. Accessed February 07, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Hays, Daniel J.. “Applying the Old Testament Law Today.” in Bibliotheca Sacra. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001.

Kaiser Jr., Walter C.

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