Psalm 1:6 Komentář

This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. The different character and condition of godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words; so that every man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face and then read his own doom. That division of the children of men into saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient, ever since the struggle began between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, so it is lasting, and will survive all other divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free; for by this men's everlasting state will be determined, and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell. This psalm shows us, I. The holiness and happiness of a godly man (Psa 1:1-3). II. The sinfulness and misery of a wicked man (Psa 1:4, Psa 1:5). III. The ground and reason of both (Psa 1:6). Whoever collected the psalms of David (probably it was Ezra) with good reason put this psalm first, as a preface to the rest, because it is absolutely necessary to the acceptance of our devotions that we be righteous before God (for it is only the prayer of the upright that is his delight), and therefore that we be right in our notions of blessedness and in our choice of the way that leads to it. Those are not fit to put up good prayers who do not walk in good ways.

This psalm, though without a title, may reasonably be thought to be a psalm of David; since the next psalm, which is also without a title, is ascribed to him, Act 4:25; and since both are joined together as one psalm by the Jews (k); See Gill on Act 13:33; and since this is the general preface to the whole book, which is chiefly of David's penning, it is entitled, in the metaphrase of Apollinarius, "a Song of David, the Prophet and King.'' (k) T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 9. 2.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,.... The way in which he walks by faith, which is in Jesus Christ; the way in which he goes to the Father, and carries to him his sacrifices of prayer and praise, which meet with acceptance through him; the way in which he seeks for and expects justification, pardon, and salvation, namely, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ: and also it may denote his course, his walk and conversation; for the righteous man is a follower of God, he takes up the cross and follows after Christ: he walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, according to the rule of the word, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: and this way of his in every sense the Lord "knows"; not merely as he is omniscient, for by his omniscience his eyes are upon the ways of all men; he knows the way of the wicked as well as the way of the righteous; but the sense is, that the Lord approves of and is well pleased with his way of faith and holiness; he knows this person, so as to love him and take delight and pleasure in him; his countenance beholds him with a smile; he is well pleased with him in Christ and for his sake, on whose account he has respect to him and to his offerings, to his service and duty, to his ways and works; and hence he is a blessed man, is in a happy situation, and all he does prospers, for he and his ways please the Lord: and hence also it is that neither he nor his way shall perish; the way he is in leads to everlasting life, and he being a follower of the Lord in a way pleasing to him, he shall never perish, but have eternal life; but the way of the ungodly shall perish; for his way is a wicked way, the way of sinners, Psa 1:1; it leads to destruction and death, and all that walk in it shall perish; for if is a way the Lord knows not, does not approve of, he abhors it; wherefore the man that continues in it will be unhappy, wretched, and miserable to all eternity. These last words therefore show the reason of the happiness of one sort of men, and the unhappiness of the other; and prove and confirm the same: the Lord knows, approves of, loves, and delights in the one; he does not approve of and delight in the other. Next: Psalms Chapter 2

God is ignorant of evil deeds, not because he is unable to understand everything or to grasp it with his own intelligence (for it is wrong to think this way about God) but because those deeds are unworthy of his contemplation.… God is ignorant of the way of the wicked, and he knows the way of the righteous. Further, who is the way of the righteous except the one who said, “I am the way” whom the Father knows? “No one has known the Son except the Father.” The distinction between the knowledge and ignorance of God is referred to in the prophets as “the memory and forgetfulness” of God. Often it is said in prayer: “Be mindful of me” and “Why have you forgotten our poverty?” Just as God removes sinners from his own memory, so does he again receive the repentant and become mindful of them.

It is precisely the scheme and system thus laid down in the Gospel that the Prophet has followed, when he says: Therefore the ungodly shall not rise again in the Judgement, nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous. He leaves no judgment for the ungodly, because they have been judged already; on the other hand, he has refused to sinners, who as we showed in our former discourse are to be distinguished from the ungodly, the counsel of the righteous, because they are to be judged. For ungodliness causes the former to be judged beforehand, but sin keeps the latter to be judged hereafter. Thus ungodliness having already been judged is not admitted to the judgment of sinners, while again sinners, who, are yet to be judged, are deemed unworthy of enjoying the counsel of the righteous, who will not be judged. The source of this distinction lies in the following words: For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Sinners do not come near the counsel of the righteous for this reason, that the Lord knows the way of the righteous. Now He knows, not by an advance from ignorance to knowledge, but because He condescends to know. For there is no play of human emotions in God that He should know or not know anything. The blessed Apostle Paul declared how we were known of God when he said: If any man among you is a prophet or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are of the Lord: but if any man does not know, he is not known 1 Corinthians 14:37 . Thus he shows that those are known of God who know the things of God: they are to come to be known when they know, that is, when they attain to the honour of being known through the merit of their known godliness, in order that the knowledge may be seen to be a growth on the part of him who is known, and not a growth on the part of one who knows not. Now God shows clearly in the cases of Adam and Abraham that He does not know sinners, but does know believers. For it was said to Adam when he had sinned: Adam, where are you Genesis 3:9 ? Not because God knew not that the man whom He still had in the garden was there still, but to show, by his being asked where he was, that he was unworthy of God's knowledge by the fact of having sinned. But Abraham, after being for a long time unknown— the word of God came to him when he was seventy years of age— was, upon his proving himself faithful to the Lord, admitted to intimacy with God by the following act of high condescension: Now I know that you fear the Lord your God, and for My sake you have not spared your dearly loved son. God certainly was not ignorant of the faith of Abraham, which He had already reckoned to him for righteousness when he believed about the birth of Isaac: but now because he had given a signal instance of his fear in offering his son, he is at last known, approved, rendered worthy of being not unknown. It is in this way then that God both knows and knows not— Adam the sinner is not known, and Abraham the faithful is known, is worthy, that is, of being known by God Who surely knows all things. The way of the righteous, therefore, who are not to be judged is known by God: and this is why sinners, who are to be judged, are set far from their counsel; while the ungodly shall not rise again to judgment, because their way has perished, and they have already been judged by Him Who said: The Father judges no man, but has given all judgment unto the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

(Verse 6.) It follows: For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked shall perish. Pay attention to the meaning: The wicked do not rise in judgment, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous. Certainly He knows their ways, whose steps are directed by the Lord. They are the steps of men who are guided by the Lord. They are guided by the Lord and the ways of man. The Lord knows these ways, which are straight and tend toward that life of which it is said: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). This is the good way: but the way of the world is crooked. It does not deign to know that way. For it recognizes those who are its own, who do its works: but to those who do wickedness, the Lord says: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, I do not know you (Luke 13:27). They are not unknown due to ignorance, but because they are unworthy of the knowledge of God. However, he said beautifully: 'And the way of the wicked shall perish.' Latinus separated 'iter' to mean 'way' and as if distinguished 'iter' from 'via'; but the Greek said 'via' in both cases. However, Latinus did not speak in vain, for the Lord said: 'I am the way,' he did not say: 'I am the journey.' But he said the 'way' of the wicked shall perish, not the wicked themselves. He preserves the substance of those who, if they convert, will lose only the way of wickedness, which neither was nor will be from the beginning. Therefore, what is accidental perishes: what is substantial remains. But the wicked perish in such a way as it is said: The soul that sins, it shall die (Ezekiel XVIII, 4); so that by the sting of sin, they do not perish by the dissolution of their entire substance.

'For the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.' [Ps 1:6] 'For the Lord knows the way of the just.' Why is it so extraordinary that the Lord knows the way of the just? The Scriptures also say that God knows those whom He deigns to know. [John 9:31] In regard to the wicked, it says: 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.' [Mt 7:23, Lk 13:27] Moreover, the Apostle says: 'If anyone acknowledges the Lord, the Lord will acknowledge him.' 'For the Lord knows the way of the just.' The Lord does not know the sinner, but the just man He does know. We read in Genesis that when Adam transgressed, when he paid heed to the serpent rather than to God, when he hid himself from the face of God, God came into the Garden and was walking about in the cool of day [Gen 3:8]. Now listen to what the Scripture says. God sought out Adam, not at midday but in the evening. Adam had already lost the sunlight, for his highnoon was over. It was toward evening and God was walking about, for as far as the sinner is concerned, God is not standing, but is walking. He knew that Adam was in the Garden and He was well aware of what had happened, but because Adam had sinned, God knew him not. And God said: 'Adam, where are you?' We have heard enough on how God does not know the sinner, so we ought to consider now how the just man is known by Him. God said to Abraham: 'Leave your country, your kinsfolk.' [Gen 12:1] Abraham accordingly came into Palestine; he was in Abramiri; he sojourned a long time in Gerara. When his son Isaac was born, he had received the promise: 'In your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.' [Gen 22:18] He took Isaac and offered him to God, and a voice from heaven was heard to say: Spare thy son. Straightway, at the very moment that he offered his son, what does God say to Abraham? 'I know now that you fear the Lord, your God.' [Gen 22:12] Have you just now known Abraham, Lord, with whom You have communicated for such a long time? Because Abraham had such great faith in sacrificing his own son, on that account God first began to know him. Why have we said all this? Because it is written: 'For the Lord knows the way of the just.' Let us put it another way: The way, the life, and the truth is Christ; [John 14:6] let us walk, therefore, in Christ and then God the Father will know our way. 'But the way of the wicked vanishes.' That does not mean that the wicked will perish. If they repent and do penance, they too will be saved. When the Apostle Paul was persecuting Christ and His Church, he was wicked. If the wicked perish, there is no chance for their repentance. It does not say that the wicked shall perish, but that the way of the wicked vanishes, that is, wickedness shall perish. Not the wicked, but wickedness itself; not the man who was wicked will perish, but while he is repenting, wickedness vanishes. God vouchsafes to instruct us that there are three things we must not do, and two things that we must do. Let us be the just man compared to the tree of life; let us not be the wicked who are compared to dust; let us not be sinners, for sinners shall not stand in the assembly of the just. Let us take heed that the path of evil may vanish; and let us bless God to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

"For the Lord knows the way of the righteous" [Psalm 1:6]. As it is said, medicine knows health, but knows not disease, and yet disease is recognised by the art of medicine. In like manner can it be said that "the Lord knows the way of the righteous," but the way of the ungodly He knows not. Not that the Lord is ignorant of anything, and yet He says to sinners, "I never knew you." [Matthew 7:23] "But the way of the ungodly shall perish;" is the same as if it were said, the way of the ungodly the Lord knows not. But it is expressed more plainly that this should be not to be known of the Lord, namely, to "perish;" and this to be known of the Lord, namely, to "abide;" so as that to be should appertain to the knowledge of God, but to His not knowing not to be. For the Lord says, "I Am that I Am," and, "I Am has sent me."

Then the reason is given why they shall not rise in judgment: "because the Lord knows," etc. And he speaks properly, because when someone knows what is lost, it is restored; but when he does not know, it is not restored. The just indeed are dissolved through death, but God knows them. 2 Tim. 2: "God knows who are His" -- He knows, that is, with a knowledge of approval -- and therefore they are restored. But because He does not know the way of the ungodly with a knowledge of approbation, therefore "the way of the ungodly shall perish." Ps. 118: "I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; seek your servant, O Lord, for I have not forgotten your commandments." Ps. 34: "Let their ways be darkness and slippery," etc.

The character and condition, and the present and future destiny, of the pious and the wicked are described and contrasted, teaching that true piety is the source of ultimate happiness, and sin of misery. As this is a summary of the teachings of the whole book, this Psalm, whether designedly so placed or not, forms a suitable preface. (Psa 1:1-6) Blessed--literally, "oh, the happiness"--an exclamation of strong emotion, as if resulting from reflecting on the subject. The use of the plural may denote fulness and variety (Ch2 9:7). counsel . . . way . . . seat--With their corresponding verbs, mark gradations of evil, as acting on the principles, cultivating the society, and permanently conforming to the conduct of the wicked, who are described by three terms, of which the last is indicative of the boldest impiety (compare Psa 26:4-5; Jer 15:17).

knoweth the way--attends to and provides for them (Psa 101:6; Pro 12:10; Hos 13:5). way of the wicked--All their plans will end in disappointment and ruin (Psa 37:13; Psa 146:8; Pro 4:19). Next: Psalms Chapter 2

The Radically Distinct Lot of the Pious and the Ungodly The collection of the Psalms and that of the prophecies of Isaiah resemble one another in the fact, that the one begins with a discourse that bears no superscription, and the other with a Psalm of the same character; and these form the prologues to the two collections. From Act 13:33, where the words: Thou art My Son... are quoted as being found ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ψαλμῷ, we see that in early times Psa 1:1-6 was regarded as the prologue to the collection. The reading ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ τῷ δευτέρῳ, rejected by Griesbach, is an old correction. But this way of numbering the Psalms is based upon tradition. A scholium from Origen and Eusebius says of Psa 1:1-6 and Psa 2:1-12 : ἐν τῷ Ἑβραΐκῷ συνημμένοι, and just so Apollinaris: Ἐπιγραφῆς ὁ ψαλμὸς εὑρέθη δίχα Ἡνωμένος δὲ τοῖς παῤ Ἑβραίοις στίχοις. For it is an old Jewish way of looking at it, as Albertus Magnus observes: Psalmus primus incipit a beatitudine et terminatur a beatitudine, i.e., it begins with אשׁרי Psa 1:1 and ends with אשׁרי Psa 2:12, so that consequently Psa 1:1-6 and Psa 2:1-12, as is said in B. Berachoth 9b (cf. Jer. Taanith ii. 2), form one Psalm (חדא פרשׁה). As regards the subject-matter this is certainly not so. It is true Psa 1:1-6 and Psa 2:1-12 coincide in some respects (in the former יהגה, in the latter יהגו; in the former תאבד...ודרך, in the latter ותאכדו דוך; in the former אשׁרי at the beginning, in the latter, at the end), but these coincidences of phraseology are not sufficient to justify the conclusion of unity of authorship (Hitz.), much less that the two Psalms are so intimately connected as to form one whole. These two anonymous hymns are only so far related, as that the one is adapted to form the proaemium of the Psalter from its ethical, the other from its prophetic character. The question, however, arises whether this was in the mind of the collector. Perhaps Psa 2:1-12 is only attached to Psa 1:1-6 on account of those coincidences; Psa 1:1-6 being the proper prologue of the Psalter in its pentateuchal arrangement after the pattern of the Tפra. For the Psalter is the Yea and Amen in the form of hymns to the word of God given in the Tפra. Therefore it begins with a Psalm which contrasts the lot of him who loves the Tפra with the lot of the ungodly, - an echo of that exhortation, Jos 1:8, in which, after the death of Moses, Jahve charges his successor Joshua to do all that is written in the book of the Tפra. As the New Testament sermon on the Mount, as a sermon on the spiritualized Law, begins with maka'rioi, so the Old Testament Psalter, directed entirely to the application of the Law to the inner life, begins with אשׁרי. The First book of the Psalms begins with two אשׁרי Psa 1:1; Psa 2:12, and closes with two אשׁרי Psa 40:5; Psa 41:2. A number of Psalms begin with אשׁרי, Psa 32:1-11; Psa 41:1-13; Psa 112:1-10; Ps 119; Psa 128:1-6; but we must not therefore suppose the existence of a special kind of ashr-psalms; for, e.g., Psa 32:1-11 is a משׂיל, Psa 112:1-10 a Hallelujah, Psa 128:1-6 a שׁיר המעלות. As regards the time of the composition of the Psalm, we do not wish to lay any stress on the fact that Ch2 22:5 sounds like an allusion to it. But 1st, it is earlier than the time of Jeremiah; for Jeremiah was acquainted with it. The words of curse and blessing, Jer 17:5-8, are like an expository and embellished paraphrase of it. It is customary with Jeremiah to reproduce the prophecies of his predecessors, and more especially the words of the Psalms, in the flow of his discourse and to transform their style to his own. In the present instance the following circumstance also favours the priority of the Psalm: Jeremiah refers the curse corresponding to the blessing to Jehoiakim and thus applies the Psalm to the history of his own times. It is 2ndly, not earlier than the time of Solomon. For לצים occurring only here in the whole Psalter, a word which came into use, for the unbelievers, in the time of the Chokma (vid., the definition of the word, Pro 21:24), points us to the time of Solomon and onwards. But since it contains no indications of contemporary history whatever, we give up the attempt to define more minutely the date of its composition, and say with St. Columba (against the reference of the Psalm to Joash the proteg of Jehoiada, which some incline to): Non audiendi sunt hi, qui ad excludendam Psalmorum veram expositionem falsas similitudines ab historia petitas conantur inducere. (Note: Vid., Zeuss, Grammatica Celtica (1853) ii. 1065. The Commentary of Columba on the Psalms, with Irish explanations, and coming from the monastery of Bobbio, is among the treasures of the Ambrosiana.)