The Psalms as Torah, Then and Now

Biblical scholars have traditionally struggled with the question of where to begin an exposition of the book of Psalms. There are so many psalms to choose from—150. And there are several different types. Should one begin with the songs of praise? Should one begin with the prayers of lament or complaint? Should one begin with the psalms of thanksgiving, or perhaps the entrance liturgies, or the psalms that recite Israel's saving history? Seldom has it occurred to scholars to begin at the beginning. In fact, Psalm 1 has often been relegated to last place in treatments of the Psalms. Psalm 1, along with Psalms 19 and 119, is a torah-psalm, a psalm in which the concept of torah, "instruction" (NRSV "law"; see below) is preeminent (see Pss. 1:2; 2; 19:7; 119:1, 18, 29, 34, 44, plus twenty more times in Ps. 119). The effect of treating Psalms 1, 19, and 119 last has been to relegate the concept of torah to one of minor significance in understanding the Psalms. But having made the decision to take seriously the canonical shape of the Psalter, we shall begin at the beginning—Psalm 1. The effect is to elevate the concept of torah to one of central significance in understanding the Psalms. As suggested above and again in this chapter, the Psalms are to be heard as God's instruction to the faithful.

This chapter begins and ends with an interpretation of Psalm 1; the middle consists of a briefer look at the other torah-psalms, Psalms 19 and 119. Chapter 2 will begin with an interpretation of Psalm 2, which is linked to Psalm 1 and also forms part of the introduction to the Psalter.

PSALM 1:1-2

Upon reading the first two verses of the Psalter, one is struck immediately by two things. First, there is a sharp contrast drawn between the wicked/sinner/scoffer and people whose "delight is in the law of the LORD" (v. 2). Verses 3-6 will sharpen this contrast even further, eventually identifying the latter type of people as "the righteous" (vv. 5-6). We shall return below to the significance of this contrast.

A second observation is the focus on "law" at the very beginning of the Psalter. For many biblical scholars and non-specialists alike, this emphasis on "law" has proven problematic. One interpreter captures well the nature of the problem: "It's not difficult to see why someone might find Psalm 1 a quite insufferable Psalm about a quite insufferable fellow. There he sits, day and night, brooding and fretting over the law. What a pedant!" For Christian readers of Psalm 1, "the righteous" may sound even worse than pedants. Christian readers are inclined to hear Psalm 1 in the light of New Testament affirmations such as "we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law" (Rom. 3:28; see Gal. 2:16). When this is the case, then "the righteous" of Psalm 1 begin to sound like the kind of people who were frequently Jesus' opponents and whom Jesus accused of self righteousness (see Matt. 25:27-28; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 18:9-14). The inclination is to be rather suspicious of people whose "delight is in the law of the LORD." If Psalm 1 is an introduction to the Psalter, then the Psalter does not sound too promising or inviting.

To hear Psalm 1:1-2 this way, however, is to misunderstand it entirely (as well as to misunderstand the New Testament, in which Paul can say in Rom. 3:31 that "we uphold the law," and in which Jesus says in Matt. 5:17, "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them"). The problem stems from translating the Hebrew word torah as "law." The Hebrew word can mean "law" in the sense of specific injunction (Exod. 12:49) or a collection of legislation (Exod. 24:12; Deut. 4:8); however, it essentially means "instruction." The introductory verses of the Psalter have an entirely different sound when torah is so translated:

Happy is the one who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
and in the way of sinners does not stand,
and in the seat of scoffers does not sit;
but rather who delights
in the instruction of the Lord,
and upon God's instruction meditates day and night.
(my translation)

The introduction to the Psalter is anything but an invitation to pedantry, legalism, or self-righteousness. On the contrary, it is an invitation to be open to God's instruction and to the reality of God's reign in the world (see chap. 2).

We shall return below to the question of how openness to God's instruction means that one is "happy," but for now it is important to point out that the Torah for Judaism is the five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy (which include not just "laws" in the strict sense but also stories). It is highly significant that the Psalter also consists of five books (Psalms 1–41, 42–72, 43–89, 90–106, 107–150). The editors of the Psalter wanted readers to grasp the analogy between the Torah, God's "instruction" par excellence, and the Psalter. In short, the Psalter is to be read and heard as God's instruction to the faithful. Regardless of the fact that the Psalms originated as the response of faithful persons to God, they are now to be understood also as God's word to the faithful.

Obviously, the concept of torah was both very significant and very positive for the shapers of the Psalter. To appreciate this more fully, we turn now to Psalms 19 and 119 before returning to Psalm 1.

PSALM 19

The difficulty interpreters have had with the torah-psalms is indicated by the fact that many scholars divide Psalm 19 into two separate psalms. Psalm 19A (vv. 1-6) deals with creation, and Psalm 19B (vv. 7-14) deals with torah. Supposedly, there is no relationship between the two. To bisect Psalm 19, however, is to fail to appreciate a carefully constructed poem and to miss entirely its message about the torah of the Lord.

Granted, verses 1-6 talk about creation. Without literally being able to speak, the heavens offer powerful and convincing testimony to the glory of God. No corner of the universe is unreached by this witness (note the three occurrences of "end" in vv. 4 and 6). When verses 7-13 are heard immediately following verses 1-6, the message about God's torah is clear. The...