Beckett: Law & Gospel in Psalm 1

I encourage you to have your Bible open as you read this article.

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Psalm 1 functions as a preface to the Psalter. As such, its primary juxtaposition between the righteous and the wicked is a key motif that appears throughout the Psalter. It also notes the vitality of meditation on God’s Word. It should be noted that this is not Eastern meditation—of emptying one’s mind. Rather, the Hebrew word often translated as “meditate” in common translations could most accurately be translated as “moan” (think the laments in the Psalter), “growl” (think the imprecatory psalms), “utter,” “speak,” and “muse” (for the poet), or simply as the word appears, “Torah.” Meditation on God’s Word, then, is not a silent emptying of one’s mind but the verbal utterance of it, and therefore the filling one’s mind with His Word.

In Psalm 1, the Law is expressed in the negative commands of verse 1: the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the wicked/ungodly, he does not stand in the way of sinners, and he does not sit in the seat of scoffers. In short, he does not accept the evil counsel and share in their ungodly behaviour. This verse thus reveals to us the behaviour of the ungodly: they live in open sin and scorn.

Verses 4-6 reveal the consequences of their actions: they will not be able to stand in God’s judgement but will be swept away by His wrath as easily as wind sweeps away feckless chaff when the farmer (the angels?) is reaping.

Yet we hear the Gospel in the promises of verses 2 & 3. The blessed man is not like the ungodly; rather, his delight is in the Law, or direction/instruction, of the LORD, i.e., His Word. Rev. Dr. Timothy Saleska is quick to note in his commentary that this is not something the blessed man does; rather, the delight is a gift given to him from the LORD:

A state is something we are either in or not in. Instead of giving us tasks to do, “delight” is actually something that we have been given, something that we experience. In other words, delighting in Torah is not something we can rationally choose to do, even if we want to, just like we can’t choose to like broccoli or force ourselves to fall in love. Delight cannot be imposed upon someone, nor can we conjure it up in ourselves. You either get it or you do not… Delight is more like a gift than an achievement.

Saleska, 141

Have you ever tried forcing yourself to delight in God’s Word? I certainly have. Indeed, I have even skipped daily devotions because I wasn’t “in the mood” to read the Word! Delight is given through the Holy Spirit. It is the wicked, without the Spirit, who despise God’s holy Word.

The simile in verse 3 gives us a beautiful image of what this looks like. Like his delight, his blessedness is completely passive. A tree planted by a stream of water does not nourish itself; it depends entirely on the stream. This is what God does for His people through the Holy Spirit.

Using the image of water, Jesus said, ” ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”‘ Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39).

Likewise Peter, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). As trees, we are completely passive to the gift of faith and Baptism, which work salvation (cf. 1 Peter 3:18-21).

In the remaining verses (4-6), Law & Gospel are sharply reinforced as the wicked will not be able to withstand God’s judgement (Law) while the righteous will remain established (Gospel). The Law in the psalm warns us of what ungodliness looks like and its consequences. The Gospel comforts us with God’s protection and salvation he has promised for the righteous, which, again, is a passive condition receive from God’s waters—the Holy Spirit through faith and Baptism.

Bibliography

Saleska, Timothy E. Psalm 1-50. Concordia Commentary. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2020.