Why did David write Psalm 1?

Answer 1

The first Psalm is an exhortation to delight in the law of the Lord, and not to be like the ungodly. Verse 5 says that the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, clear evidence that the first psalm was written after the Babylonian Exile, when the concepts of a final judgement and of a reward in heaven had already begun to enter Judaism.

Further evidence that this psalm was written late is that Psalm 1:3 contains a quote from Jeremiah 17:8: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water ..."

Answer 2

As seen in its translation, it contrasts the behavior and the outcome of those who serve God, and those who sin.

1 Happy is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stood in the path of the sinners, nor sat in the presence of the mockers.

2 Rather, his delight is in the Torah of the Lord; and in His Torah he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,

that brings forth its fruit in season, and whose leaves do not wither; and in whatever he does he shall prosper.

4 Not so the wicked, who are like the chaff which the wind pushes away.

5 Therefore the wicked shall not survive [God's] judgment, nor shall sinners [remain] in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord regards the way of the righteous; but the way of the wicked shall perish.

According to tradition, King David gave us the Book of Psalms. Seventy-three of the 150 bear his name, and tradition states that the unattributed ones are also from him (Talmud, Berakhot 9b).Concerning those Psalms that have the names of other authors, tradition teaches that we may thank David for them too (Talmud, Bava Bathra 14b). This is because it was he who recorded them in their permanent form and in a single book. If not for King David, those Psalms would have gone lost.

See also:

About King David

Psalm 23

The purpose of the Psalms