PSALMS 1


     We are about to begin one of the most loved books in the Bible.
The Psalms have been used at funerals, to comfort those who have lost
a loved one and have, also, been read for comfort and joy. The Psalms
comes from the Greek word Psalmoi which means songs. The Hebrew title
is Tehillim which translates praises or songs. We will find throughout
these writings that they are basicallya group of prayers and songs.
The most prominent of the penmen, was David. More than 72 of the
Psalms are attributed to him. Some of the other penmen are: 12
attributed to Asaph, 12 by the sons of Korah, 2 by Solomon, 1 by
Moses, 1 by Ethan and over 40 that the penman is unknown. I believe
that many of the unknown are, also, from David.  There are 150
chapters in this book of Psalms. The longest chapter in the Bible is
the 119 chapter of Psalms. It contains 176 verses. Some of the Psalms
are so personal in nature that you feel as if you are eavesdropping on
a conversation the penman had with God. Many of the chapters are
instructions for the proper way to worship. There are many lessons to
be learned in this book for us today.

     Jesus frequently quoted from the book of Psalms. There are well
over a hundred quotations in the New Testament {by various penmen}
taken from the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms is a book of
prophecy, as well. The birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and the
second coming of Christ are all spoken of in Psalms.

     As in no other of the books, we see a fellowship with the spirit
of man and almighty God. As in all of the other Bible studies, we will
be looking at the spiritual side of this book. The Christians, as well
as the Hebrews, have used the book of Psalms in their worship
services. The Hebrews sang from the book of Psalms as they entered
their place of worship. Perhaps, Jesus and the disciples sang from the
Psalms after sharing the passover feast. Matthew 26:30 "And when they
had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."  We do
know, from the Scripture above, that they sang.

     The Psalms are written as poetry. As we said above, the Psalms
are prayers and praise toward Almighty God. David wrote the most
popular Psalm, the 23rd. Many people have memorized this particular
Psalm. In it, we find that Jesus is the great Shepherd, and we
believers are His sheep. David makes us aware of the supernatural care
that God takes of His sheep. Notice that David calls God Lord in this
chapter. Then He goes on to describe the blissful state the man has
with His Lord. I won't quote it hear and ruin it for the lesson. We
will find in this first lesson, actually the message of the entire
book. The blessings for those who make God their Lord, and the
punishments for those who do not.

     I have recently acquired a King James version of the Bible that
was printed in 1873. The Psalms Of David are not only in the King
James version, but in another section are listed in metre. I will
bring at least one of these for each chapter where available. In many
cases, there are more than one listed in metre, I will bring one I
have selected to show how easily these Psalms could be sung. Now let
us begin.

                THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                        Chapter one

verse 1 "How blest and happy is the man Who walketh not astray
         In councel of ungodly men, Nor stands in sinners way,"
verse 2 "Nor sitteth in the scorners chair, But places his delight
         Upon God's law, and meditates On his law day and night."
verse 3 "He shall be like a tree that grows Set by a river's side,
         Which in its season yields its fruit, And green its leaves
         abide.
verse 4 "And all he does shall prosper well: The wicked are not so,
         But like the chaff before the wind, are driven to and fro.
verse 5 "In judgement therefore shall not stand Such as ungodly are;
         Nor in th' assembly of the just Shall wicked men appear.
verse 6 "Because the way of godly men Is to Jehovah known;
         Whereas the way of wicked men Shall quite be overthrown.

     You can see from this above, how easy it would be to sing this
Psalm. Now to begin the verse by verse study of Psalms.

     Psalms 1:1 "Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful."

     Just as the Sermon on the Mount began with blessings, we see this
book of Psalms begins with blessings. Blessed, in the verse above, is
not speaking of a single blessing, but of walking in blessings from
God. To be blessed of God means that we are walking in the salvation
that Jesus purchased for us with His precious blood. We are walking in
the righteousness of Christ. Notice in the statement {the man}, this
is an individual thing. Though there may be many worldly people living
next to this person, he or she has decided not to walk in the counsel
of the worldly. This is a deliberate decision on this person's part.
This person may be walking alone. The following Scripture describes
the walk of the person who decides not to walk in the counsel of the
ungodly. Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me."  The word {walketh} means to continually
walk. Notice the progression here. At first he is walking, then He is
standing, then last he is sitting. This shows that we must not
fellowship with those of unbelief. When you stop and stand, you are
giving more time than walking, and sitting requires even more time.
The scornful can be either someone who professes belief and feels he
is so much better than the average, or it could be those who totally
reject Christianity. We would call him an atheist. We need to see in
this that fellowshipping with those of unbelief is dangerous. A
believer in Christ is cautioned not to fellowship with those of
unbelief. Light and darkness cannot prevail in the same place. II
Corinthians 6:14 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?" True happiness comes from
fellowship with God, not with the world.

     Psalms 1:2 "But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in
his law doth he meditate day and night."

     The law of the Lord, here, means the Word of God {the Bible}. To
meditate is to think strongly on the matter. We find, then, that we
are not only to read the Bible, but to think strongly about what it is
saying to us. We are to ever keep the teachings of the Bible before
us. When we think upon God's Word, the Holy Spirit will teach us of
the hidden things of the Word. The more we meditate, the more we know.
We will never be able to learn it all, but we can learn more each time
we study and think on God's Word. When it says, day and night, it is
speaking of taking God's Word with us wherever we go. Our waking
thoughts are all guided by God's Word. Even in business transactions,
we should make our decisions based on God's Word.

     Psalms 1:3 "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also
shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

     A tree planted by water would be a very strong tree. For a tree
to be planted, would indicate that it was not a wild tree. It would be
nourished by the water.  Water in the Scriptures many times means the
Word. We see an example of that in the following Scripture.  Ephesians
5:26 "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word," Then what this is saying to us, is that if we read and
think on the Word of God, we shall be made very strong. This
nourishment of the Word of God will make this Christian very strong in
the spirit, and will make him or her to be fruit bearers. Christianity
is contagious, if you have a good dose yourself, you will give it to
others around you, as well. You will become a fruit producer. Matthew
13:23 "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that
heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit,
and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
We see in the Scripture above, the leaf that shall not wither. This
means that it is evergreen. The evergreen symbolizes everlasting life.
This person has everlasting life. The prosperity mentioned above is in
the soul. III John 1:2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou
mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Some
people cannot handle great wealth. If a person who cannot handle
wealth, becomes rich in this world's goods, they might lose their
soul. The best policy is in this next Scripture. Matthew 6:33 "But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you."  The closest walk that most of us
have with God, is in the real trials of life. We realize that we are
not able to handle a problem on our own, and we reach out to God.  If
riches would cause me to wander away from God, I do not want riches.

     Psalms 1:4 "The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff
which the wind driveth away."

     We know that the chaff grows with the wheat until harvest time.
The chaff is destroyed, and the wheat is carried into the barn. The
ungodly live around the godly in this world, but at harvest time there
is a separation. The ungodly, like the chaff, are destroyed at harvest
time. The ungodly are of no use, just as the chaff is thrown away at
harvest.

     Psalms 1:5 "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."

     At harvest time, we shall all appear at the judgement seat of
Christ. The ungodly shall be cast into the lake of fire and the
believers in Christ shall reign with Him. How wonderful to stand
before Jesus and hear Him say, Well done thy good and faithful
servant. How terrible for the ungodly who will hear Him say, Get away
from me, I never knew you. We stand or fall by the judgement of Jesus.
The ungodly will fall at this judgement. Heaven is for the believers
in Christ. There will be no ungodly in heaven.

     Psalms 1:6 "For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but
the way of the ungodly shall perish."

     There is the broad way which leads to destruction, but there is
also the narrow way of righteousness which leads to eternal life in
Christ. The righteous have their names written in the Lamb's book of
life. We, by our own free will, choose eternal life, or death. The way
we choose to follow on this earth determines the outcome. The
righteous are made righteous in the sight of God, when we accept Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Our own righteousness was as filthy
rags, until we washed in the blood of the Lamb and took on His
righteousness. God knows even the thoughts of your heart. God knew
from the foundation of the earth. He did not, foreordain, but
foreknew.





















                             Questions 1

1.  What Greek word does Psalms come from?
2.  What does the word mean?
3.  What is the Hebrew title of Psalms?
4.  What 2 things does the word translate to?
5.  Who wrote most of the Psalms?
6.  Name 3 others who wrote at least one Psalm.
7.  Who does the author believe that some of the Psalms, not
    attributed to a specific penman, were written by?
8.  What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
9.  How many verses does it contain?
10. Many of the Psalms are giving instructions for the proper way to
    do what?
11. How many quotes from Psalms are there in the New Testament?
12. What things cause the book of Psalms to be known as a prophetic
    book?
13. Who used the book of Psalms in their worship services?
14. What 2 things are the Psalms?
15. What is the most popular Psalm?
16. What is the title of the Psalms done in metre?
17. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ______.
18. Nor standeth in the way of ________.
19. Nor sitteth in the seat of the __________.
20. What is blessed, in verse one, really speaking of?
21. What does the statement, {the man} indicate to us?
22. What does Galations chapter 2 verse 20 tell us about the Christian
    walk?
23. What does walketh mean?
24. Who can these scornful be?
25. What does 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 tell us about
    fellowship?
26. What is the law of the Lord?
27. What does meditate mean?
28. What does the statement {day and night} mean here?
29. The person who delights in the Lord is compared to what in verse
    3?
30. What nourishes the tree?
31. What does the water symbolize?
32. If we read the Bible and think on the Word, what will happen to
    us?
33. What is the fruit spoken of in verse 3?
34. What is meant by the leaf not withering?
35. What type of prosperity is verse 3 speaking of?
36. What are the ungodly like in verse 4?
37. Who will not stand in the judgement?
38. What do the Christians hope to hear the Lord Jesus say, when we
    stand before Him?
39. Who knows the ways of the righteous?
40. What will happen to the ungodly?