Salmos 1
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
Salmos 1:2
Meyer - It is not enough to read the Bible as a duty - we must come to it with delight. This is possible if you eschew light and foolish literature which cloys the appetite. Read the Book in happy fellowship with its Author; meditate until it is assimilated (Jas 1:25-note) Better one verse digested than a whole chapter bolted. Jeremiah in the context of a difficult time of ministry to rebellious Judah said… Thou Who knowest, O LORD, Remember me, take notice of me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Thy patience, take me away. Know that for Thy sake I endure reproach. Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I have been called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:15,16-note) Note Jeremiah's ministry mindset which called for a (the) cure. Specifically note that the effect of eating (cp meditating or "chewing the cud", digesting, assimilating) the Word was an to enhance his sense of "taste". God's Words actually stimulated delight, delight being the psalmist's "starting point" in Psalm 1. And so as we choose to separate from the profane and seek to delight in God (something He places in our heart for no man seeks after God on his own) and savor (meditate) His Word, His Spirit transforms our hearts (according to Jeremiah 15:16), stimulating even greater delight, so that the cycle begins anew with ever deepening intimacy and fellowship with the infinite, holy God. It is easy to see how such a man or woman who is being progressively transformed by the Word and the Spirit (see John 6:63), begins to grow into an oak of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified (Isa 61:3, Ps 1:3) Oh, how the body of Christ needs to delight to get into the Word of God today that thereby the Word gets into us. We don’t need just a little surface learning of a few rules (not "on" the Word but "in" the Word!), or just a little guideline with a few steps to take to make us "feel better". We need to delight and digest God's living and abiding Word (Heb 4:12-note, 1Pe 1:23-note) , so that it becomes part of our being and gives life to our soul (cp John 6:63, Dt 32:46, 47). Steven
Salmos 1:2
Meyer - It is not enough to read the Bible as a duty (ED: OR EVEN WORSE AS "DRUDGERY") - we must come to it with delight. This is possible if you eschew light and foolish literature which cloys the appetite. Read the Book in happy fellowship with its Author; meditate until it is assimilated. Ray Pritchard - Now we come to the positive side of the ledger. Having refused to walk in the way of evildoers, we instead focus on knowing God’s Word. We do this because the true way to float rubbish out is to pour water in. You can’t get rid of the garbage in your life simply by mental effort. You must replace the negative with something positive. The psalmist tells us that the godly person “delights” in the law of the Lord. That means he loves the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. The word “delight” means to take great pleasure in. It has the idea of a consuming passion that controls your life. Everyone “delights” in something. Some people delight in food. Others delight in a job or a hobby or a career. Some delight in a particular friendship. Many people delight in money or the things money can buy. And many delight in evil pleasures and wrong desires. Mark this well. Your “delight” determines your direction. What do you delight in? What gets your motor running? What gets you excited in the morning and keeps you awake at night? What do you daydream about? Tell me the answers to those questions and I’ll tell you something crucial about who you are. To delight is to be so excited about something that you just can’t wait. Watch a young couple in love and you’ll know what “delight” means. Or take a young man who has fallen in love for the first time. Ask his friends and they’ll say, “He’s not the same guy he used to be.” They mean he has radically changed. He doesn’t want to hang around with them anymore. All he does is talk about “that girl.” Just look at him. He’s got this goofy grin on his face. He’s in love. Now apply that principle to the Word of God. We are to delight in God’s Word as a lover delights in a letter from his beloved. (Trees Planted by the Water) (Comment: And we are to delight in God Himself in the same way! Ps 37:4 - See "Delight Yourself in the Lord) Thomas Watson in his Excellent Article on Meditation writes that… Grace breeds delight in God, and delight breeds meditation. Meditation is a duty wherein consists the essentials of religion, and which nourishes the very life-blood of it. That the Psalmist may show how much the godly man is habituated to this blessed work of meditation, he subjoins, "In his law does he meditate day and night;" not but that there may be sometimes intermission: God allows time for our calling, he grants some relaxation; but when it is said, the godly man meditates day and night, the meaning is, frequently—he is much conversant in the duty. It is a command of God to pray without ceasing, 1Th 5:17 (note). The meaning is—not that we should be always praying—but that we should every day set some time apart for prayer. We read in the Old law it was called the continual sacrifice, Nu 28:24, not that the people of Israel did nothing else but sacrifice—but because they had their stated hours, every morning and evening they offered, therefore it was called the continual sacrifice. Thus the godly man is said to meditate day and night, that is, he is often at this work, he is no stranger to meditation. Doctrine. The proposition that results out of the text is this—that a godly Christian is a meditating Christian, Ps 119:15-note. "I will meditate in your precepts." 1Ti 4:15, "Meditate upon these things." Meditation is the chewing upon the truths we have heard. The beasts in the old law which did not chew the cud, were unclean; the professor who does not by meditation chew the cud, is to be accounted unclean. Meditation is like the watering of the seed, it makes the fruits of grace to flourish. The law of the Lord - This phrase describes God’s entire word, not just the "10 Commandments" or the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). The righteous man delights in (not just "on" but "in" picturing a more intimate involvement with) the word of God! In the great Psalm 119 (virtually every verse of which deals with some aspect of God's Word) the psalmist gives us a beautiful picture of what it means to delight writing… Psalm 119:131 I opened (LXX = anoigo - see Rev 3:20-note) my mouth wide and panted, (Why did he "pant"?) for I longed for Thy commandments. The English rendering of the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation is… Psalm 119:131 I opened my mouth, and drew breath: for I earnestly longed (see study of epipotheo; the verb tense is imperfect = pictures the psalmist over and over longing) after Thy commandments. THOUGHT - Beloved, does this describe your Christian walk? If not perhaps you might dare to pray this prayer to God, asking Him to give you a desire that pants for and cannot live without His Word of truth and life. When we pray boldly in God's will, we can be assured that He hears us and that He will give us the requests that are in accord with His good and acceptable and perfect will - see 1Jn 5:14,15. Matthew
Salmos 1:3
Meyer - The rewards of the blessed man - He shall be under Divine culture, planted (Ps 92:13); within reach of perennial supplies, planted by rivers (John 7:37, 38,39); prepared against any demand or emergency - fruit in season; unfading beauty and freshness, a spiritual evergreen; and prosperity even in this world, because his life is ordered by discretion and obedience to Divine principles. Joseph realized this picture (Ge 39:3, 4) Like a tree - "A lively emblem of vitality and fruitfulness." (J. Alexander) The psalmist introduces a simile, a term of comparison, which functions much like a window which God's Spirit opens in order to give us added insight into the meaning of a particular passage of Scripture. Remember that these "windows" are not to be abused by a fanciful, even "sanctified" imagination, but must always be interpreted in light of the context. The danger of figures of speech is for us to "run wild" with speculative interpretations, forgetting that all figures of speech are meant to convey literal truth. A W