of the Messianic hope in Psalms 2, 20, 28,, 40. The following Pss. are either quoted from or distinctly referred to in NT.: 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 22, 24, 32, 34, 40, 41. In several instances the NT. writer finds the fulfilment of the OT. passage in Christ. Thus Psalms 2, with its defence of Jehovah's righteous King, of whom He says, 'Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee,' is regarded as descriptive of Christ in Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5 and Psalms 22, with its pathetic presentment of the suffering Servant of Jehovah, is reported to have been actually quoted by Christ upon the cross (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:34), and Psalms 22:18 is asserted in John 19:24 to have been literally fulfilled in one of the incidents of His crucifixion.
The moral teaching of this first book of Psalms is simple and emphatic. It rests upon an unswerving belief in the will and power of God to uphold the moral values of life, and mete out punishments and rewards according to personal desert. In whatever circumstances they may be placed, the writers never lose hold of their conviction of the ultimate prosperity of the righteous and destruction of the wicked. Appearances may seem to contradict their faith, but they cling to it all the more strenuously, and insist that in the long run the balance will be redressed. The ideal' character portrayed by them is that of the good man, defamed, wronged, and oppressed by irreligious foes, but holding fast his faith in God, and trusting confidently that, in His own good time, He will deliver him. Sometimes there is a note of joy and thankfulness at the accomplishment of the deliverance; and this leads on to the anticipation of a time when, throughout the whole world, the justice of God will be manifested, and His power felt.
This Ps. forms an appropriate introduction to the whole Psalter. In some Hebrew MSS it is not numbered with the Psalms, but stands before them as a prologue, and in others it is combined with Psalms 2. It is one of the 'orphan' psalms, and the want of a title indicates that it did not originally belong to the Davidic collection, 3-41. The subject of the Ps. is the blessedness of the righteous man who studies the Law of Jehovah, as contrasted with the unhappy end of the ungodly. It consists of two strophes, Psalms 1:1-3 and Psalms 1:4-6, the former describing the character and destiny of the righteous, and the latter the character and destiny of the wicked.