Preparing to Pray is Preparing to Live
length: 86:36 - taught on Oct, 16 2022
Class Outline:
Psalms 1 and 2 are the introduction to the entire collection of 150.
Along with Psa 1, Psa 2 forms an introduction to the collection. Thus at the outset of the book we have one psalm focusing on the way of the righteous, and another psalm focusing on the victory of the Lord’s anointed king over the nations.
When the entire Book of Psalms was finally edited, after the monarchy was gone, these two were placed as the introduction and served as a reminder of God’s plan: the way of the righteous and the final victory of the King of the righteous.
Psa 1
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!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
As long as there is so much evil in the world, and society is what it is, godliness must be largely viewed as negative, and its possessors a different people whose laws are different from all the people of the earth. So, Jews have been persecuted in almost every country for being different and successful (adhering to the moral law of the Torah), and Christians from the start in the Roman Empire; who were not successful but very different.
“Live fish swim against the stream; dead ones go with it.” [A. MaClaren, The Book of Psalms]
In the distractions and activities of the busy day, the law in which he delights and loves will be with him, illuminating his path and shaping his acts. In hours of rest it will solace weariness and renew strength. The habit of patient, protracted meditation (brooding) of the revelation of God’s will needs to be cultivated. Men live meanly because they live so fast. Religion lacks depth and volume because it is not fed b
y hidden springs.
Men live meanly because they live so fast, without depth.
My eyes anticipate the night watches,
That I may meditate on Thy word.
When the disciples left Jesus at the well He was wearied from the journey. As they were gone Jesus spoke the Samaritan woman about the living water of life. When the disciples returned they found Jesus refreshed and not hungry and wondered how He might have eaten, and He said,
JOH 4:32,34
"I have food to eat that you do not know about." … 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.
The psalm anticipates Christ’s teaching of the good tree bringing forth good fruit, and how the seed planted in the good soil produces abundant fruit.
The wicked are in the soil of self-will while the good tree is in the soil that delights in God’s law.
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The blessed know that all that meet them serve the will of their Sovereign King - to Whom they freely and daily hold court (pray).
They to whom the will of God is delight can never be hurt by evil, for all that meets them expresses and serves that will, and they know that. They can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.
The path of the ungodly seems to start out okay, but like some paths in the forest that are not kept or used, it narrows and then dies out in the overgrowth and leaves the traveler bewildered amid impenetrable forests. Compared to the stable tree that delights in the Lord, they are worthless chaff blown away by the breeze, who in the end will be judged.
Psa 2 is a royal psalm focusing on the coronation of the Davidic king in the holy city of Mount Zion.
Along with Psa 1, Psa 2 forms an introduction to the collection. Thus at the outset of the book we have one psalm focusing on the way of the righteous, and another psalm focusing on the victory of the Lord’s anointed king over the nations.
When the entire Book of Psalms was finally edited, after the monarchy was gone, these two were placed as the introduction and served as a reminder of God’s plan: the way of the righteous and the final victory of the King of the righteous.
Map - Nations surrounding Israel
The monarchy of Israel runs from Saul to the captivity (roughly 500 years). It was frequent that when Israel installed a new king, the surrounding nations saw an opportunity. The coronation of a new king was a particularly vulnerable time, for the surrounding nation would have seen it as an opportunity to raid across the borders, capture cities, and in general, try to end Israelite control over them. Accordingly, one of the first tasks of a new king would have been to solidify the borders by defeating the enemies.
Like Psa 1, Psa 2 is well-crafted, having four stanzas of three verses each.
Psa 2
Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His
Anointed:
3 "Let us tear their fetters apart,
And cast away their cords from us!"
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury:
6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain."
7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son,
Today I have begotten Thee.
8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.
9 'Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron,
Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.'"
10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to [Hebrew: Kiss] the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
1) The plan of the nations to rebel against the Lord and His anointed king, 2) the response of the Lord to their ridiculous plan; 3) the king’s claim to the throne despite their position; 4) and then sage advice to those foolish nations.
The theology of Psa 2 is the sovereignty of the Lord as king of the universe. It is His prerogative to control the nations.
It would have been easy to apply this royal psalm to every Davidic king, but a careful reading can only, ultimately apply to David’s greatest Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This king is the begotten Son of the Lord. This was understood in the early church.
For to which of the angels did He ever say,
"Thou art My Son,
Today I have begotten Thee"? [PSA 2:7]
to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces [PSA 2:9], as I also have received authority from My Father;
The psalm could apply to no other than our Lord Jesus Christ whose victory and authority on the one throne of the universe will be seen and acknowledged by all - “every knew will bow, in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
The psalm exhorts the ungodly to abandon their foolish and rebellious plans. The exhortation is pointed at rulers, but all who read it are warned.
Stanza 1:
Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His
Anointed:
3 "Let us tear their fetters apart,
And cast away their cords from us!"
The word “uproar” can be used to describe something like the raging of the sea, and here to a tumultuous meeting of rebels to plan an attack. It is in the present tense. The psalmist is not looking at a past meeting but a current one. We can imagine this meeting going on at the same time as the coronation of the king in Zion. Parallel to it is the “devising.” Here is our word meditating, used on Psa 1 for the godly who meditate on God’s law, but rather than meditating on God’s law, this cabal of usurpers are plotting a rebellion.
The rebels are called “nations” and “peoples,” terms often used to refer to the tribes around Israel. These were constantly fighting with Israel, trying to wipe them off the map.
The psalm depicts their plan as a vain thing or empty.
Peter used this line to the Jews who rejected the crucifixion of Christ and thus including them in the rebellious nations.
Jesus warned His disciples, and so also the rest of us who are lights to the world, that the conflict of Psa 1-2 would be all around us and that the ungodly rebels would seek to destroy our testimony, discourage us, dishearten, dispirit, and demoralize us.
How could we wall ourselves off from consistent communication with the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit and possibly fight through:
the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! (PSA 1:1)
How blessed is the man who does not walk in, nor stand, nor sit with them, and in spite of them:
Worships the Lord with reverence,
And rejoices with trembling.
Kisses the Son, (PSA 2:11-12)
Hold a place in Psa 1-2 so you can leaf back and forth …
Matthew places this discourse directly after Jesus selects the twelve.
In Mat 10, Jesus teaches the disciples to handle their ministries in light of Psa 1-2.
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. 17 "But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. 20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 "And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved [delivered]. 23 "But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.
24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 26 "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury:
6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain."
27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
31 "Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 "Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 "For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. 37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.
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