What is the meaning of life? What could be a bigger question than that?

This post is the first in a series of brief reflections on the biblical book called “The Psalms.” So often the Psalms are mistakenly treated merely as works of religious devotion, whether by those who believe in them as God’s word or those who do not.

They are works of religious devotions and profound ones. However, in this series we are going to consider first how the biblical text and its underlying worldview interact with the universal questions raised in philosophy, history, and literature throughout time. Also, we will see how the Psalms’ worldview touches our contemporary lives at their very heart and instructs us how to think and live wisely. Thus, they should be given serious philosophical and theological consideration. We will start with Psalm 1.[1]

“Blessed is the man.” With this very first statement in the very first psalm of the Book of Psalms the psalmist joins the great philosophical discussion concerning the meaning of human life or, in other words, what it means to live wisely and well as a human being. We know that he is doing this for three reasons:

1. First, the universal language used
2. Second, the literary or structural aspects of the Psalms, individually considered or as a complete book
3. Third, the significance of the word “blessed”

First, we need to consider the universal language. “Blessed is the man.” “Man” here, of course, means “the human person,” any human person and all human persons. The psalmist is claiming, then, to present a view of how all human beings are to live well and wisely. Interestingly, Psalm 2:12 also has a universal note. “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” He uses “all,” which shows the universal focus of this psalm as well.

This conclusion of Psalm 2 leads us to a consideration of the literary and structural aspects of the Psalms, the second reason that we can know the psalmist is dealing with the universal question of living well or wisely as a human being.

The structure of the Psalms makes the theme of the blessed or good life foundational to it as a book. The Psalms were written over a thousand-year period from the time of Moses, the author to whom Psalm 90 is ascribed, to after Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile in 538 B.C., an event which Psalm 126 celebrates. Naturally, then, the entire Psalter reached its final form only after the Babylonian exile.

Now, some of you may have noticed in your Bible that before Psalm 1 there is a subtitle Book One. This is because the Psalter is divided into five books.

1. Book 1 Psalms 1-41
2. Book 2 Psalms 42-72
3. Book 3 Psalms 73-89
4. Book 4 Psalms 90-106
5. Book 5 Psalms 107-150

What you may have missed is the special role that Psalms 1 and 2 play. It would appear that these anonymous psalms were meant to be the introduction to Book 1 of the Psalms and probably to the whole Psalter. As we have seen, Psalm 1 begins with “Blessed is the man,” and Psalm 2 concludes with “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” This bookending of Psalms 1 and 2 with statements about the “blessed’ is called in technical terms an inclusio. Bookending the two psalms which introduce the entire Psalter is significant. It means that both are concerned with the same subject—the nature of the blessed life for humanity. In addition, as the introduction to the entire Psalter, the inclusio’s purpose is to prepare the reader of all the psalms to contemplate the nature of the blessed or good life. If you’re interested in exploring the theme of the structure of the Psalms more, I’ve shared a link below to an earlier post of mine on the subject.[2]

Additionally, we should note that Psalm 1 is often classified as a wisdom psalm, and Psalm 2:10 warns kings to be “wise.”[3] In the Bible, wisdom refers both to an understanding of reality and to how one is to relate to that reality in life. A true understanding of reality and actions properly conforming to that reality shape one into a wise person, or, in the case of Psalm 2, a wise ruler. For this reason, the wisdom psalms are addressed to all people calling them to live wisely. A life of wisdom is characterized by attitudes and actions that make for a blessed or fulfilling human life. Other examples of wisdom psalms are Psalms 14, 49, 112, and much of Psalm 119.

Without denying that the Psalms is a collection of prayers and hymns to God, often of an intensely personal nature, the very first line in the book is “Blessed is the man.” This should make us realize that the Psalms are stating a case for the nature of the good life, for what it means to be a happy, fulfilled, and successful human being. In this way it should be considered as a main contributor to the philosophical discussions of the meaning of human life.

This is the third reason that we know that Psalm 1 is speaking to the nature of the fulfilled human life—the significance of the word “blessed.” The sheer number of occurrences of the word “blessed” shows that the question of the good or “blessed” life is central to the Psalms. The Hebrew word translated by “blessed” is used 44 times in the Old Testament, but 26 of these, over half, are found in the Psalms. Clearly, then the Psalms have quite a bit to say about what it means to live a blessed or happy life.

The word “blessed” in the sense of its meaning is also significant. It is often translated today as “happy,” since “blessed” is not a word we commonly use. I have no problem with that translation as long as we avoid the superficial notion of being happy as dependent upon temporary circumstances and our emotions. What Psalm 1 is setting before us is a description of the fulfilled human life that flourishes in all circumstances and in the midst of varying emotions. It asks us to consider how we are to live wisely as human beings or, in other words, to consider what the good or happy life is.

This understanding of the Psalms as having philosophical importance probably seems mistaken to many of us. However, it is we who are mistaken. This is because we have been misled by the fact that much modern philosophy and, sadly, theology, is an academic affair written by professors to professors and often without the purpose of putting any of the ideas into practice. However, for centuries philosophy was explicitly directed toward the art of living wisely.

For example, Aristotle, the Greek philosopher of the 4^th century B.C., began his classical discussion of ethics by asserting “Every art and every inquiry, and in a similar way every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim” (Nicomachean Ethics I. 1. 1094a. 1-3). Notice, Aristotle is saying here that whenever we act, we are seeking some good.

He continues reasoning that there must be “some end of the things we do, which we desire for its own sake” (I. 2. 1094a. 18). This good that we desire for its own sake he calls “the chief good” and asks rhetorically “Will not the knowledge of it, then, have a great influence on life” (I 2. 1094a. 23)? By that, Aristotle means that whatever we view as the chief good will direct our individual actions in life. Clearly for him, philosophy is not just abstract thought but rather concerns itself directly with living.

So, according to Aristotle, what is this chief good, the knowledge of which determines how we live? The famous Greek philosopher informs us that “both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it is happiness and identify living well and doing well with being happy” (I. 4. 1095a. 18-20). Therefore, both Aristotle and Psalm 1 seek to explain what is a happy or blessed human life.

Augustine of Hippo, the great Christian theologian at the end of the 4^th century A.D, agrees. In his spiritual autobiography called The Confessions he asserts, “without exception we all long for happiness” (Book X:21).

In addition, Thomas Aquinas, from the 13^th century and arguably the greatest thinker of the Middle Ages, reasons as well that happiness is “the last end (or you might say “the ultimate purpose”) of human life” (ST. II-I. Q1.pr.).

Finally, and famously in the 20^th century in contrast to the academic philosophy of his time, the French writer Albert Camus argued that the fundamental philosophical question is whether life is worth living (“Myth of Sisyphus,” p. 3).

So, notice how all these philosophers and theologians are genuinely concerned about discovering the meaning of human life and how we are to live. Consequently, we should not think of theology and philosophy as containing merely useless theoretical ideas. Great philosophy and theology want to help us to live wisely, to understand and to live the blessed or happy life.

However, the problem, as Aristotle notes, is that “with regard to what happiness is they differ” (I. 4. 1095a. 20). Indeed, Augustine goes so far as to admit that because men reject true happiness, he cannot say without qualification that all men desire happiness (Confessions, X:23), and Thomas examines extensively several false views of happiness. Clearly, then, “happiness” is a fundamental philosophical and theological issue. The challenge is to determine what true happiness is for human beings. In other words, we need to think wisely if we are going to live wisely and be happy.

In our next post we shall look at what Psalm 1 contends is the happy or blessed life. Please feel free to respond with comments and questions. In the meantime, why don’t you reflect on your choices by asking this question? What is the good that I am seeking in my actions and ultimately the good of my life as a whole?

 

 

 

 

[1] Unless otherwise noted, biblical quotations are from the English Standard Version.

[2] “Understanding the Psalms: Their Not-So-Hidden Structure” https://billisley.com/2013/09/understanding-the-psalms-their-not-so-hidden-structure/

[3] It should be noted that the Hebrew translated “Now, therefore,” in Psalm 2:10 is the same as the “And now” of Proverbs 8:32. Characteristic of biblical wisdom literature, both passages point to a reality and then call upon the audience to draw a wise conclusion, which is to act in a certain way so that their way will be blessed.