This Psalm is the development in poetical language and imagery of the thought repeated in so many forms in the Book of Proverbs (e.g. Proverbs 2:21-22), that it is well with the righteous and ill with the wicked. The belief in Jehovah's righteous government of the world was a fundamental principle o... [ Continue Reading ]
More exactly: Happy the man who hath not walked in the counsel of wicked men, Nor stood in the way of sinners, Nor sat in the session of scorners. _Blessed_ Or, happy: LXX μακάριος. Cp. Matthew 5:3 ff. The righteous man is first described negatively and retrospectively. All his life he has obser... [ Continue Reading ]
The happiness of the righteous.... [ Continue Reading ]
The positive principle and source of the righteous man's life. The law of the Lord is his rule of conduct. It is no irksome restriction of his liberty but the object of his love and constant study (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). True happiness is to be found not in ways of man's own devising, but in the reveal... [ Continue Reading ]
The consequent prosperity of the godly man is emblematically described. As a tree is nourished by constant supplies of water, without which under the burning Eastern sun it would wither and die, so the life of the godly man is maintained by the supplies of grace drawn from constant communion with Go... [ Continue Reading ]
In sharp contrast to the firmly-rooted, flourishing, fruitful tree is the chaff on the threshing-floor, worthless in itself, and liable to be swept away by every passing breeze. The scattering of chaff by the wind is a common figure in the O.T. for the sudden destruction of the wicked. Cp. Psalms 3... [ Continue Reading ]
The character and destiny of the wicked.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore_ The real character of the wicked will be manifested in the judgement. Since they are thus worthless and unstable, destitute of root and fruit, the wicked will not hold their ground in the judgement, in which Jehovah separates the chaff from the wheat (Matthew 3:12). _stand_ So Lat. _cau... [ Continue Reading ]
The teaching of the Psalm is grounded on the doctrine of divine Providence. Each clause of the verse implies the supplement of its antithesis to the other clause. -The lord knows the way of the righteous," and under His care it is a -way of life" (Psalms 16:11; Proverbs 12:28); -a way of peace" (Isa... [ Continue Reading ]