The Book of Psalms
Analysis
Analysis
BOOK I
Section 1: Saturday Vespers
Division 1:1
... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities
for Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).
Psalm
1 Concluding Translation
Blessed [is the] man[1] who does not
follow[2] [the] wishes of [the] wicked. In [the] sinners’ path[3], he
stands[4] not. On the tormentor’s seat,
he sits[5] not. But, his will [is] in the law of [the] Lord[6]. On His law, he meditates
day and night. He is like the tree,
planted beside the waters’ path, who gives his fruit in his time. His leaf [is] not cast away. Whatever he shall do follows the good path.
Not so, the wicked[7], not so:
but [are] like the dust, which the
wind drives out from the face of the earth.
Through this, [the] wicked arise not in [the] judgment,
nor sinners in [the] wishes of [the] righteous. Because [the] Lord[8] knows, [the] path of [the] righteous. [The] path of [the] wicked
perishes.
[1] The Blessed Man, Jesus Christ is set in diametrical opposition to
wicked sinners, the children of Adam.
“Not so, the wicked, not so:” the psalmist exclaims. The wicked simply perish, but the
declaration, shall, is applied to the blessed righteous, Jesus, with all who
are in Him.
[2] To follow or walk with is to run with the crowd, to go along with
the popular, to move with the herd, to accept the status quo.
[3] Path is repeated four times, making it also emphatic. Greek amplifies the path emphasis by using it
to describe the motion of water and the outcome of Godly behavior. Path is about the habitual persistent
lifestyle and world view that results from faith in God’s Law as expressed in
the Pentateuch, and resultant quest to do God’s will. Only Jesus, the second Adam accomplishes
these things. We receive them and are
obedient to them as gifts of His grace.
This is called the good path.
[4] To stand is to adopt a lifestyle, to accept a corrupted anti-God,
anti-Christ worldview.
[5] To sit is to assume a position of authority. Kings and judges sit when they rule. Rabbis sit when they teach. The wicked, in their limited way, run this
world. Yes, some of our own leaders are
a torment on humanity. A tormentor is one
who brings a pestilence or plague in mankind.
[6] This psalm sees Law and Gospel or grace, not as opposing tensions,
but as the same thing. The Blessed Man
sets His will or delight in the Torah of יהוה.
Only Jesus has the power to accomplish this, but faith walks with Jesus in
love: these are termed, the righteous.
To obey the Gospel is to obey the Law, Torah, by grace.
We also see in this Psalm the beginning of
one of the major themes of Psalms. Psalms
is in part an ode to the Law of God. It
is not accidental that there are five books of Psalms: not that there is a
one-to-one correspondence with Torah, but the connection exists. Both Torah and Psalms may be referred to as
the five books, and the reader is left with the puzzle, which of the sets of
five books is meant? For a brief
discussion see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_1
[7] On the other hand, wicked sinners are confronted with a grim and
terrifying prospect. Having habitually
and persistently committed themselves to war with God, they can anticipate only
death. Having refused the water of life,
they throw their leaves to the ground in rigor mortis. They experience a kind of resurrection but
know nothing of its beautiful blessedness.
They have no one to blame but themselves. They perish.
[8] Jesus of Nazareth is the healing cure. He wrote the Law. He fulfilled the Law. He is the complete and express embodiment of
the Law. It is possible for us to be in
Him, and thus embrace the Law in love. It
is possible for us to build on the foundation of the Law, not being under its
curse by works of the Law. He brings us
the waters of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit sets our will and meditation on God’s Law, strengthens our leaves, makes
us fruitful, and establishes us in the good path.
[9] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or
ND. They are designed and intended for
your free participation. They were
freely received, and are freely given.
No other permission is required for their use.
No comments:
Post a Comment