{"id":65880,"date":"2024-01-13T17:29:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=65880"},"modified":"2024-01-13T17:37:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:37:17","slug":"how-blessed-are-all-who-take-refuge-in-him","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/some-thoughts-on-psalms\/how-blessed-are-all-who-take-refuge-in-him\/","title":{"rendered":"How Blessed Are All Who Take Refuge in Him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

How Blessed Are All Who Take Refuge in Him<\/h1>\n

I thought it would be a good idea to put up some more thoughts from the Psalms. Although my study is nowhere near complete (I am not even out of Book I in the notes I’ve been putting together for the last several months), I thought it would be good to write out a sampling of some of the ideas and points I have come up with so far. (This post represents about 2 pages of notes, but I have 22 more that may become future posts.)<\/p>\n

Some time ago, I got an idea from Tom Hamilton that while most people tend to use the Psalms for “devotional” purposes, their real function is actually “doctrinal.” This idea is definitely supported by the New Testament usage of the Psalms. In the minds of New Testament writers, a quotation from the Psalms seemed to be the last word in any argument. (The composite quote of the Psalms in Romans 3 is one good example of this, as is the Hebrews’ author’s central appeal to Psalm 110). This additionally makes sense when we realize the obvious fact that the Psalms are “Scripture,” and as such, they are as profitable for “teaching, reproof, correction, and training” as anything else. Particularly, the Old Testament teaching about the resurrection of the dead came largely from the Psalms.<\/p>\n

In an earlier post, I suggested that Psalms 1 and 2 should be viewed together as a sort of “introduction” to the book of Psalms. Further study of the Psalms has revealed just how far that idea extends. The two psalms are given below, and they are bracketed by the Hebrew term that is here translated as “How blessed.”<\/p>\n

How blessed<\/em>\u00a0is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
\nNor stand in the path of sinners,
\nNor sit in the seat of scoffers!
\nBut his delight is in the law of Yahweh,
\nAnd in His law he meditates day and night.
\nHe will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
\nWhich yields its fruit in its season
\nAnd its leaf does not wither;
\nAnd in whatever he does, he prospers.
\nThe wicked are not so,
\nBut they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
\nTherefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
\nNor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
\nFor Yahweh knows the path of the righteous,
\nBut the path of the wicked will perish.<\/em>\nWhy are the nations in an uproar
\nAnd the peoples devising a vain thing?
\nThe kings of the earth take their stand
\nAnd the rulers take counsel together
\nAgainst Yahweh and against His Anointed, saying,
\n“Let us tear their fetters apart
\nAnd cast their cords from us!”
\nHe who sits in the heavens laughs,
\nThe Lord scoffs at them.
\nThen He will speak to them in His anger
\nAnd terrify them in His fury, saying,
\n“But as for Me, I have installed My King
\nUpon Zion, My holy mountain.”
\nI will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh:
\nHe said to me, “You are My Son,
\nToday I have begotten You.
\nAsk of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance
\nAnd the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
\nYou shall break them with a rod of iron,
\nYou shall shatter them like earthenware.”
\nNow therefore, O Kings, show discernment;
\nTake warning, O judges of the earth.
\nWorship Yahweh with reverence
\nAnd rejoice with trembling.
\nDo homage to the Son that He not become angry, and you perish in the\u00a0way<\/u>,
\nFor His wrath may soon be kindled.
\nHow blessed\u00a0are all who take refuge in Him!<\/em><\/blockquote>\n

Psalm 1 is known for being a “Wisdom Psalm” contrasting the two “paths” or lifestyles. The idea of Psalm 1 is that those who are righteous will be blessed and those who are wicked will be cursed. It does not appear to be referenced much in the New Testament (James 1 appears to be a possible allusion).<\/p>\n

Psalm 2 is known for being a “Royal Psalm,” contrasting the wicked (presumably Gentile) nations with God’s “Messiah” or “Anointed One.” God installs His Son and King on the holy mountain of Zion and subsequently defeats the wicked nations. Interestingly, by contrast with Psalm 1, it is quoted and alluded to in numerous places in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

The connection of “How blessed” is also interesting — it suggests that the only people who will be counted as “righteous” are those who take refuge in God. If these two psalms are viewed together, Psalm 2 is essentially a practical carrying out of Psalm 1. The nations are the wicked ones who conspire and make their own plans as if God were not involved in this world. God meanwhile makes it clear that He is extremely involved in this world by installing His King (the righteous one) on Zion. Psalms 1:5 also mentions a “judgment” that the wicked will not stand in, and Psalm 2 illustrates a carrying out of this “judgment.”<\/p>\n

What is even more interesting is how this theme is developed afterward. Psalms 3-7 all appear to be petitions to God to deliver the Psalmist from trouble and impending death. Note the following:<\/p>\n