Oh How Vast the Blessings (Psalm 1): Notes and Discussion

Because God delights in worship that is biblical, thoughtful and passionate—what we often call intentional—please consider the following overview of the biblical texts and doctrinal themes behind the psalm Oh How Vast the Belssings:

The Psalms comprise God’s inspired hymnal. We should be singing them (as I discuss here), and we should understand what and how they communicate. For example, why did God choose to open the collection of songs with Psalm 1? What is it calling our attention to, and why?

Psalm 1 actually works with Psalm 2 to provide the introduction to the entire collection of Psalms. Though you may not notice them immediately, there are three themes that link them together. First, Psalm 1 begins with and Psalm 2 ends with a statement of blessedness. Psalm 1:1, “How blessed is the one who rejects ungodly company and ungodly thinking and who, instead, delights himself in God’s word.” Psalm 2:12, “How blessed are those who trust in [take refuge in] the Lord.” The collection of Psalms begin with two songs that declare the blessedness of a right relationship with the one true God!

The second similarity between the first two Psalms is their emphasis on thinking—what’s going on in the heart. The most obvious connection is the term “meditate” in 1:2 and “imagine” in 2:1—they are the exact same Hebrew word. The godly man meditates on God’s law. The ungodly man meditates on rebellion against God. Notice also the emphasis on the godly person’s delight in meditation (1:2) and his submission, fear, and trembling joy (2:11-12).

The third similarity between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 is the warning each gives to the wicked. Psalm 1:6, “The way of the ungodly will perish.” Psalm 2:12 says essentially, “Submit yourself to God’s Messiah lest you perish from the way.” Both of these Psalms issue eternally-serious warnings to people regarding the road which they choose to walk in life.

From each of these three similarities it is clear that there are only two kinds of people in the world—the godly and the ungodly; those who are blessed and those who perish; those who delight to meditate on God’s Word and submit to His authority with fear and joy and those who devise how they are going to rebel against God’s authority. Psalms is a book of worship, and the two introductory Psalms teach us that true worship comes from those people who have discovered the great blessedness and joy of submitting to God and His Word. So the God-breathed hymnal opens by drawing a line in sand which only those who delight in God’s word and submit to His Messiah are allowed to cross. But once you’ve crossed that line, you enter a world that is dominated by eternal blessing and praise.

All of the primary themes of Psalm 1—righteousness, blessedness, fruitfulness, eternal security, and delight in God’s Law—must be interpreted in light of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who imputes to us His own perfect righteousness (Ps. 32:1-2; Php. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21), the one in whom all God’s blessings come to us (Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:9-10; Rom. 8:32), the one who is the source of all our fruitfulness (John 15:1-11), the one in whom we are forever safe (Matt. 7:24-27; Rom. 8:1, 38-39), and the one who is the focus of all God’s revelation (John 1:1; 5:39; Gal. 3:24).

(The notes for Oh How Vast the Blessings were written by Joe Tyrpak.)