Anakalypsis / Unveiling the Word
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⚙ Annotations & References ▾
Passage sections 1 ▾
The Two Ways poetry 1:1–1:6
Themes 7 ▾
Blessing and Curse 1, 3, 6 Wisdom 2 Obedience and Disobedience 2 Word of God 2 Righteousness 3, 6 Providence 3 Creation 3
Historic voices 13 ▾
Commentary on the Book of Psalms 1× 1-4, 6 Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews 1× 2 Large Catechism 1× 2 Summa Theologica 1× 2 Heidelberg Catechism 1× 2 Homilies on the Gospel of John 1× 3 Epistle of Barnabas 1× 3 Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum) 1× 3 Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans 1× 4 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible 1× 1-6 Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament 1× 1, 4 Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary 1× 1, 4 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary 1× 2-6
Manuscript witnesses 5 ▾
Codex Sinaiticus Aleph c. AD 330-360 Codex Vaticanus B c. AD 300-325 Codex Alexandrinus A c. AD 400-440 Aleppo Codex (Crown of Aleppo) c. AD 930 Leningrad Codex (Codex Leningradensis) AD 1008
Cross-references 130 ▾
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What is Psalms 1 about?

Set at the threshold of the Psalter as the preface to Israel's whole book of worship, the first psalm places two ways before every reader. It commends the blessed man who refuses the counsel of the ungodly and instead delights in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night until he flourishes like a tree planted by rivers of water, while the wicked are but chaff the wind drives away. The psalm ends by declaring that the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. This opening portrait of the truly blessed man, answered finally in Christ, frames the entire collection as instruction in the fear of the LORD.

Historical backdrop

These are the songbook of a nation, sung across a thousand years of Israel's worship, from Moses in the wilderness to the exiles returned from Babylon. They were carried from the tabernacle to Solomon's temple to the second temple rebuilt under Persia, set to the lyre and the harp and the clash of cymbals in the courts of the LORD.

Matthew Henry on Psalms 1
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Psalms 1
The Church Fathers on Psalms 1
Cited by the confessions

Psalms 1

Psalms Chapter 1
1
1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers:
2But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; And on his law doth he meditate day and night.
3And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6For Jehovah knoweth the way of the righteous; But the way of the wicked shall perish.
Chapter 2 →
What is Psalms 1 about?

Set at the threshold of the Psalter as the preface to Israel's whole book of worship, the first psalm places two ways before every reader. It commends the blessed man who refuses the counsel of the ungodly and instead delights in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night until he flourishes like a tree planted by rivers of water, while the wicked are but chaff the wind drives away. The psalm ends by declaring that the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. This opening portrait of the truly blessed man, answered finally in Christ, frames the entire collection as instruction in the fear of the LORD.