Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

LSB #705 "The Man Is Ever Blessed"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 1; Psalm 119:16, 35; Psalm 92:12-14; Psalm 145:20

Psalm 1:  "1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

"3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.  4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

"5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

Psalm 119:16:  "I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."

Psalm 119:35:  "Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it."

Psalm 92:12-14:  "12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.  14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green"

Psalm 145:20:  "The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy."

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The text is public domain:
1 The man is ever blessed
Who shuns the sinners' ways,
Among their counsels never stands,
Nor takes the scorners' place.

2 But makes the Law of God
His study and delight
Amid the labors of the day
And watches of the night.

3 He like a tree shall thrive,
With waters near the root;
Fresh as the leaf his name shall live,
His works are heav'nly fruit.

4 Not so the wicked race,
They no such blessings find;
Their hopes shall fleet like empty chaff
Before the driving wind.

5 How will they bear to stand
Before the judgement seat
Where all the saints at Christ's right hand
In full assembly meet?

6 He knows and He approves
The way the righteous go;
But sinners and their works shall meet
A dreadful overthrow.
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This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 1; each verse of the hymn corresponds to the same numbered verse in the Psalm.  The other Psalm verses cited in the hymnal simply overlap with sentiments in Psalm 1.  The two verses from Psalm 119 overlap with the second verse (of Psalm 1 and of the hymn); Psalm 92:12-14 overlaps with the third verse; and Psalm 145:20 overlaps with the sixth verse.