The first psalm has no title prefixed to it, which is the case, also, with many others, Psalms 10; Psalms 116; Psalms 117:1-2, and others. It is now in vain to attempt to search for the cause of this omission. On the origin and authority of the titles prefixed to the Psalms, see the introduction, Section 4. Some have supposed that the reason why no title was affixed to this psalm was that the general title, “The Psalms of David,” was prefixed to the whole book, and that that was a sufficient indication of the author of this the first in the series. But this is mere conjecture, and this reason would no more make proper the omission of the title to the first psalm than of any other that came under that general title. In some manuscripts (2 codices of Rossi) this psalm is not numbered; in some others (4 codices of Kennicott, and 3 codices of Rossi) it is united with the second psalm, and the two are reckoned as one.
It is, however, manifestly a distinct composition from the second psalm. It has a unity of its own, as the second has also; and there are almost no two psalms in the whole collection which might not be united with as much propriety as these. It is impossible now to ascertain the authorship of the psalm, though the common opinion is probably the correct one, that it was composed by David. But on what occasion it was written it is now equally impossible to discover. There are no historical allusions in it which would enable us to determine the occasion on which it was written, as there is nothing in it which certainly determines its authorship. The terms employed are of the most general character, and the sentiments are applicable to all times and all lands. It has all the marks of being a general introduction to the Book of Psalms, and of having been designed to express in a few sentences the substance of the entire collection, or to state the great principle which would be found to run through the whole of it - that a righteous life will be attended with prosperity and happiness, and that the life of the wicked will be followed by sorrow and ruin. This was the great principle of the Jewish theocracy; and was of sufficient importance to be stated clearly in the commencement of a book that was designed to illustrate so fully the nature and the value of true religion. Compare Deut. 27–28.
The psalm is designed to describe the blessedness or the happiness of the righteous man. This is done “literally and figuratively, positively and negatively, directly and by contrast, with respect both to his character and his condition here and hereafter.” - Prof. Alexander. It is not, however, as Prof. Alexander supposes, a “picture of the truly happy man;” it is a description of the blessedness of the righteous man, in contrast with the condition of the unrighteous. The righteous man is indeed prosperous and happy; and it is one design of the psalm to show this. But it is not the happy man, as such, that is in the eye of the psalmist; it is the righteous man, and the blessedness of being righteous.
The psalm is properly made up of two parts - the blessedness of the righteous man, and the unblessedness, or, the German word, “ungluck” (DeWette), of the wicked or ungodly man.
I. The blessedness of the righteous man, Psalms 1:1-3. This consists also of two minor parts:
(1) His character Psalms 1:1-2, and this is described also in two forms - negatively and positively.
(a) Negatively. He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, Psalms 1:1.
(b) Positively. He delights in the law of the Lord, and he has pleasure in meditating continually on his truth,Psalms 1:2 Psalms 1:2.
(2) his prosperity, as the result of being righteous, Psalms 1:3. His condition is compared with that of a tree planted in a well-watered place, whose leaves are always green, and whose fruit never fails; so whatever he does shall prosper.
II. The condition of the unrighteous, or the strong contrast between the unrighteous and the righteous, Psalms 1:4-6. Their condition and destiny are expressed in three forms:
(1) They are like chaff which the wind drives away, Psalms 1:4.
(2) They shall not be acquitted in the judgment, nor have a place among the righteous, Psalms 1:5.
(3) They shall not be approved by God, but shall perish, Psalms 1:6.