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Bless - Psalm 1 Last Edit 11/20/2019
© 2019 by Greg Clements Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document as long as no fee of any kind is charged and this copyright notice is included in the document.
(NBC) The New Bible Commentary Revised 1970 Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(NET) . THE NET BIBLE, NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION, COPYRIGHT © 1996 BY BIBLICAL STUDIES PRESS, L.L.C. This Bible is a free download from www.bible.org. The First edition without notes is free from https://netbible.com/download. The second edition with notes is $4.95 download as of 2018. The NET 2nd edition can be read online for no cost at https://lumina.bible.org/bible/Genesis+1 (starts at Genesis).
(Vines) Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Thomas Nelson Inc. 1996
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From Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary for “bless or blessing or blessed”:
Old Testament verb, God is usually the subject of the sentence.
Old Testament noun, when expressed by men, a blessing was a wish or prayer for a blessing that is to come in the future.
When a blessing was directed to God, it was a word of praise and thanksgiving.
OT Blessed denotes a state of prosperity or happiness that comes when a superior bestows his favor (blessing) on one.
NT verb bless means to speak well of or to praise, to celebrate with praises, to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers, to (have God) cause to prosper.
NT adjective: blessed, praised (applied only to God)
NT nouns: good speaking, praise
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Psalm 1: 1-3 “How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. 2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts.” (NET)
Verse 1 The three descriptions have some common ground: a) don’t do these b) they are bad.
These descriptions cover a lot of a person’s daily actions: walk, stand, sit.
(NBC) The verbs indicate the resolute case of the man’s mind: he has determined to differ from the principles (counsel) which govern the life of the wicked, to make no common cause (stands) with those whose lives miss God’s mark, they shun the fellowship of the avowed enemies of God
A person will “walk in the counsel of the wicked (NIV)” when they listened and let the advice of wicked people affect their decisions and actions. Wicked people have their own interest at heart. Wicked people are opposed to God.
A person will “stand in the way of sinners” when they follow the behavior of sinners. (Vines): way = distance, journey, manner, conduct, condition, destiny
A person will “sit in the seat of mockers” by putting their mental attitude in line with mockers.
Luke 6:43-45 “43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. 45 The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.” (NET)
See also … Proverbs 10:31; 15:28 and Psalms 5:9
Verse 2 You will be blessed when you take pleasure in putting yourself in agreement with God’s word; in obeying God. In your inner self you know you are doing the right thing. In order to be in agreement with God’s word you need to be very familiar with God’s word. Meditation on God’s word means spending time thinking about what you have read in the Bible. As you read you should think about how the Bible verses spoke to the original readers but you should also look to see how the Bible verses apply to your life. This verse is in direct contrast to verse 1. Verse 1 describes how you are led astray. Verse 2 describes how you get good advice for your life.
(NBC) The determination to do right is rooted in enjoying and understanding God’s word. The outer life is influenced by the inner life.
Psalm 119:11-16 “11 In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you. 12 You deserve praise, O Lord. Teach me your statutes. 13 With my lips I proclaim all the regulations you have revealed. 14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules as if they were riches of all kinds. 15 I will meditate on your precepts and focus on your behavior. 16 I find delight in your statutes; I do not forget your instructions. “ (NET)
For me, I don’t do enough meditation on scripture. I tend to move on to the next verse or chapter too soon. At times I do read a chapter, and then read the chapter one verse at a time and think about the verses, and then read the chapter in a forward direction again to try to absorb more of the principles of the verses.
Meditation also includes memorizing verses. I have read the Bible, especially the New Testament, Proverbs, and Psalms, many times and the words are familiar to me and I can recall the general content of verses and know where to find the verses in scripture should I need to study the passage again. As we meditate on the passages we should think how the verse applies to me and how it connects to the rest of the Bible.
Note that we will benefit by meditating on God’s word day and night.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. “ (NET)
Verse 3 Trees grow well when their roots take up water. Your spiritual life will grow when you take God’s word into your heart. Trees that are healthy yield fruit at the proper time (the fruit doesn’t drop off early, before it is healthy fruit that will multiply). Your spiritual life will yield fruit if you are spiritually healthy. A healthy tree does not shed its leaves to conserve the water in its trunk and branches. Your spiritual life will show itself to be healthy when you are well fed with God’s word.
Having God’s word and principles in your character will lead to success in your life. God designed and created this universe. It is not strange to consider that by following God’s instructions written in the Bible we will be able to do well in the world he created.
We do need to keep in mind that we don’t see the big picture (big in scope and big in time) as we have our activities and attempts. Romans 8:28 has a firm promise that in the big (scope and time) picture all things come together for good. We have to let God define the meaning of “good.” This promise is for those who have accepted Jesus as their savior. Non-Christians do not have this promise.
Read Genesis 39:2 and 50:19-21 Joseph was successful even though bad things happened to him. Joseph realized God was working all things for good.
Psalm 1:3 is written for those who trust in God; who are seeking God’s advice.
Read Isaiah 61:3 oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord
Psalm 1:4-6 “Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff. 5 For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. 6 Certainly the Lord guards the way of the godly, but the way of the wicked ends in destruction. “ (NET)
The chaff is the waste material found during harvest. The valuable crop is the material that is heavier and drops back down into the collecting area when the grain is tossed into the air. The wicked and sinners won’t stand before God’s judgement. They will be swept away to the place of judgement, eternal separation from God, hell. God guards the way of the Christian in the sense that we will find our way to eternal life with God even though we may have difficulties during our life on Earth. God will make all things “right” for eternity. Those who acknowledge and obey God will spend eternity with him in heaven. Those who ignore and disobey God will spend eternity separated from God in hell.
Read 2 Timothy 2:19 The Lord knows those who are his.
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Other verses: Blessed are those who are close to God and his purposes Psalm 34:8, 40:4, 41:1, 84:5; Proverbs 16:20, 29:18
You will be blessed if you find wisdom and understanding. Proverbs 3:13, 3:18 8:32
Others will recognize you are blessed as you do what is good for others. Proverbs 31:28
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