Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom in the Psalms
Part 1: Wisdom in Psalm 1
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1: 1-2) NASB 95
This series of devotions will explore the theme of wisdom throughout the Psalms. The Psalms contain Hebrew lyric poetry and songs of praise as well as laments to the Lord. They are deeply personal and express emotional cries, as well as worship or praise to the Lord. Some are classified as “wisdom Psalms” by theologians because they have a wisdom theme.
While the word “wisdom” (Hebrew root חכם [chakam “to be wise”]) may not occur in some of the passages we study, the concepts of wisdom are clearly present:
- The fear (Hebrew yir’ah) of the Lord as the beginning and first principle of wisdom (Psalm 25:14, 86:11,111:10; Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Deut. 10:12)
- The walk (Hebrew halak “to walk”) with the Lord in daily living a moral character (Gen 5:22,24, 6:9, 17:1, Deut. 5:33, 8:6, 10:12, 11:22; Joshua 22:5; I Kings 8:23; Isa 2:5, 30:21)
- The way (Hebrew derek “way”) of the Lord as the path we follow in life l(Genesis 18:18; Deut 8:6,10;12, 11:22; Psa 18:21, 25:9, 27:11, 86:11, 119:1)
Now, we look at the first Psalm, which some consider the chapter that provides an introductory summary of the entire collection of Psalms. This is an example of a passage where the word “wisdom” does not appear, but the wisdom concept is clearly present. The short, 6-verse chapter can be divided into six parts:
- The Life of the Wise, Blessed Man (Verses 1-2) The wise man avoids sin and delights in God’s instruction in His word. He avoids the downward spiral of walking with the wicked, which leads to standing with them and finally sitting with the worst of the fools – those who scoff at God. Instead, in his fear of God, he learns from God’s word, meditates on it and thinks as God wants him to think.
- The Blessing of the Wise Man (verse 3). The meditation in God’s Word will result in a firm foundation – like Jesus taught about building your life on a rock (Matt. 7:24-27)
- The Wicked (foolish) Man (Verses 4-5) The wicked are unwise and are blown through life like chaff by the wind. Job said that those who want no part of God are like straw: “Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away? (Job 21:18). And David prayed against his wicked pursuers, “Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the LORD driving them on.” (Psalm 35:5) Isaiah also prophesied against the wicked Assyrians, too, “But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; And it will happen instantly, suddenly” (Isa 29: 5)
- Eternal Consequences – (Verse 6) The final verse succinctly concludes the eternal consequences of the wise and foolish man – the wise are known by the Lord (In relationship with Him), and the fool will perish.
The figure below provides the structure of the Psalm and the wisdom themes in related Psalms.
May we avoid the downward spiral of the fool, and delight in God’s word to live on a firm foundation and be a fruitful follower of Jesus Christ. The Lord knows our way, and He will prosper us with a fruitful life.