Torah Psalms Psalm 1 Key Terms Way or

Torah Psalms

Psalm 1 - Key Terms • Way or Path (1, 6, 6) • Sinners (1, 5) • Wicked (1, 5, 6) • Righteous (5, 6) • Connections with Psalm 2 • 1: 2 meditates; 2: 1 devising • 1: 1 Blessed; 2: 12 Blessed • 1: 6 Perish; 2: 12 Perish

Psalm 1 • 1 -2 The blessed man decides for righteousness – Walk/ stand/ sit (Dt. 6: 7) – Wicked/ sinners/ scoffers • 2 meditates day and night- Qumran someone studied torah every hour • Dt. 17: 18 -20; Joshua 1: 8 • 3 Picture of righteous- tree by waters (Ps 92: 1214; Jeremiah 17: 7 -8)

Psalm 1 • 4 Picture of wicked- like chaff (Job 21: 18; Psalm 35: 5; Matthew 3: 10 -12) • 5 -6 The Lord decides for the righteous • Shall not stand (5: 5) • 6 Antithetical • May have been written as an introduction to the entire book of Psalms Dt. 30: 15 -20 choose between life and death

“Natural Revelation” • What we can learn about God from the world (nature) around us • Psalm 8 • Psalm 19 • Psalm 29 • Acts 14: 15 -17 • Acts 17: 22 -31 • Romans 1: 19 -20

Psalm 19 • 1 -6 God’s awe inspiring revelation in nature • 1 - Romans 1: 20 • Expanse- firmanent (8: 3) • 2 Unceasing testimony (day to day, night to night) to the Creator- pours forth speech • 3 Silent- no speech, nor are their words…. • 4 But their language is universal • 4 b-6 Polemic- sun worship (Dt. 4: 19) • Ecclesiastes 1: 5 gives the same picture but there it emphasizes meaningless repetition

• 7 -10 God’s holy revelation in scripture • 10 wealth Proverbs 3: 13 -18; honey 16: 24 • 11 -14 Prayer forgiveness • 12 Nothing can be hidden from the sun’s heat (6) but we ourselves may have our own faults hidden from us • 13 blameless- same word perfect in v. 7 • 14 meditation- 1: 2; 2: 1

Synonyms for the Law • Law of the Lord (7) • Testimony of the Lord (7) • Precepts of the Lord (8) • Commandment of the Lord (8) • Fear of the Lord (9) • Judgments of the Lord (9)

Descriptions/ Benefits of the Word • Perfect / restoring the soul (7) • Sure/ making wise the simple (7) • Right/ rejoicing the heart (8) • Pure/ enlightening the eyes (8) • Clean, enduring forever (9) • True, righteous altogether (9)

Psalm 119 • Longest psalm and longest chapter • Alphabetic acrostic- First 8 verses begin with the 1 st letter of alphabet; 9 -16 2 nd • The Psalmist seeks God and loves Him (2, 10, 58) • He finds his greatest joy in God’s word (14, 20, 24, 35, 47 -48, 54, 70, 72, 77, 97, 103, 111, 113, 119, 127, 131, 140, 143, 159, 163, 174) • Asks for help in understanding God’s word (12, 18, 33 -34, 66, 68, 73, 124 -125)

Psalm 119 • He is angry and broken hearted at those who break God’s word (53, 104, 113, 128, 136, 139, 158, 163) • He is persecuted and mistreated (23, 25, 51, 69, 84 -87, 95, 107, 110, 121 -122, 134, 150 -152, 157, 161) • What the word can do for us? keep us pure (911); revives (25, 40, 50); strengthens (28); produces reverence for God (38); loving kindness & salvation (41)

Psalms 14 and 53 • Basically the same psalm recorded twice • 1 Fool- I Sam. 25: 25; Isaiah 32: 6 • There is no God- 10: 4, 11, 13; 73: 11; Jer 5: 12; Zeph 1: 12 • There is no one who does good- 12: 1 • Hebrew word for there is not- 1 man says no God; 1, 3, 3 there is no one who is good • 2 Lord looked down- 11: 4; Gen. 11: 5 -7 • 3 Language used in Rom 3: 10 -12 show all have sinned

• Is this language as universal as it sounds? My people (4), righteous (5), afflicted (6), His people (7) • 4 Eat my people as bread- done daily and casually • Psalm 14 uses LORD 4 times (2, 4, 6, 7) and God 3 times (1, 2, 5) while Psalm 53 uses Elohim all 7 times • Anything unique? Psalm 53: 5 shows this Psalm’s emphasizes on the judgment of the wicked; while 14: 5 b-6 shows this Psalm emphasizes on deliverance of righteous

Psalm 30 • 30: 1 -5 Praise and Thanksgiving • 30: 1 extol- translated lifted up in 27: 5 -6 • Lifted up- Ex. 2: 16, 19 drawing water out of well • 30: 2 healed- Ex. 15: 26 • 30: 3 Parallelism shows He kept him from dying • 30: 5 Anger short (Ps. 103: 9; Is. 26: 20; 54: 7 -8) • Weeping may last for a night- 126: 5; Jn. 16: 2022 • 30: 6 -9 His trouble • 30: 6 never be moved- positive 15: 5; 16: 8; 21: 7; 112: 6 negative in 10: 6

• 30: 7 He stands by God’s strength • Hid your face- 31: 16 • 30: 9 What is the view of life after death? • 30: 10 -12 Final thanksgiving • 30: 10 My help- 27: 9 • 30: 11 gladness is the same word for rejoice in v. 1 • 30: 12 Thanksgiving is an inclusio

Psalm 107 • 107: 1 -3 A Call to give thanks to the Lord • 107: 4 -32 Lord delivers men from problems • Structure of 4 -32 • 1. A specific statement of problem (4 -5, 10 -12, 17 -18, 23 -27) • 2. Supplication: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he delivered them out of their distresses” (6, 13, 19, 28)

Psalm 107 Structure cont. • 3. A specific act of deliverance for the problem (7, 14, 20, 29 -30) • 4. An exhortation to Thanksgiving: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindnesses …” (8, 15, 21, 31) • 5. Final call to thanksgiving based on the works of the Lord (9, 16, 22, 32)

Psalm 107 • 107: 4 -9 God rescues those hopelessly lost • 107: 10 -16 God saves from dark and dreary prisons • 107: 17 -22 God lifts the sick from their death bed • 107: 23 -32 God rescues those about to drown at sea • 107: 33 -34 God changes fruitful lands into desolate areas because of sin • 107: 35 -38 God changes desolate areas into fruitful lands • 107: 39 -42 God pours contempt on princes

Psalm 107 • A specific calamity from which God delivered people • These tell the story of Israel’s history- from one stage to another • They are all pictures of deliverance from captivity • They also foreshadow what God did in Christ • Christ satisfies the hungry (Jn 6: 35) and thirsty (Jn 4: 10 -14); He releases those bound in prison (Lk 4: 18 -19); He saves those sick and near death (Lk 7: 1 -10); He rescues those in danger at sea (Mk 4: 35 -41; Mr 14: 22)

Psalm 23 • The Lord is my Shepherd (Genesis 31: 40; 49: 24; I Sam 17: 34 -37; Ps 80: 1; Is 40: 11) Flock (Ps 74: 1) • My-6 times, me- 7 times, I- 3 times • What is meant ? Shepherd-King (Ps 78: 70 -72; Jer 23; Ezek 34) it would take a page of prose to describe all that is in that line of poetry • 1 b-3 a He provides • 3 b He leads • 4 He protects • 5 -6 God as host: fellowship, abundant provision, vindication • 6 pursues Josh 10: 19; Ps 83: 15

Jesus as a fulfillment of Psalm 23 • Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10: 1 -18) • He satisfies our deepest needs (John 4: 7 -14; 6: 35) • 2 green pastures Mark 6: 34, 39 • He walks with us in the darkest times (Acts 7: 54 -60; 9: 4) • Live in the house of the Lord forever – longing in Psalms (15: 1; 26: 8; 27: 4 -5; 28: 2) (Rev 7: 15 -17; 21: 22 -23; 22: 1 -5)

Psalms of History • Psalms 78, 105 -106 • Historical psalms focus on the two main characters of scripture: God and man • God has blessed man/ Man rebels against God • Reviews of Israel’s history: Nehemiah 9; Ezekiel 16, 20, 23 ; Acts 7 • Purposes of this history: Tell future generations mighty acts of God (4); put confidence in God (7); not be like their fathers (8)

Psalm 78 • 1 -8 An invitation to hear • 9 -16 God’s mighty works in Egypt • 17 -33 The people continue to murmur and sin in the wilderness • 34 -39 God’s mercy in spite of their sin • 40 -53 The people continue to test God • 54 -64 Rebellion continues in the land • 65 -72 God’s choice of David

• Forgetting/ Remembering (7, 11, 35, 39, 42) • Put God to the test (18, 41, 56) • Rebelled (8, 17, 40, 56) • God’s burning anger against the people (21, 38, 49, 59, 62)

Psalm 90 • 1 st person plural pronouns- 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17 • Attributes of God: His eternity (1 -2, 4) and His anger (7, 9, 11) • “God is the point of reference with which the Psalmist begins to discuss its problems…” Laymen’s, 664 Man “walks across life’s stage for a moment…doomed to disintegrate into dust” 664 • “Each human being is a drop in the giant stream of time” Van. Gemeren, 594

Psalm 90 • The Eternity of God (1 -2, 4) • The Brevity of man’s life –Man’s short life span (10) –Imagery of this short life (5 -6) –Reason for the brevity (7 -9, 11) –Connection between sin and death (Gen 2: 15 -17; 3: 3 -4, 17 -19; Rom 1: 32; 5: 12, 17, 21) • Teach us to number our days (12)

Psalm 50 • 50: 1 -6 The Lord summons His people into court • 50: 7 -15 God primary concern in thanksgiving, not sacrifice • 50: 16 -21 Mistreatment of their fellow -man • 50: 22 -23 Warning

Psalm 91 • LXX title Praise by a song of David • 1 the Most High- 91: 9; 92: 1 • Shadow- protection Judges 9: 15; Lam 4: 20 idea of God’s protection a key idea of Ps 91 • 2 My refuge, my fortress- 18: 2; 31: 3 • 3 delivers you from the snare of the trapper 119: 110; 124: 7; 140: 5; Prov 6: 5 • 4 under His wings- Ex. 19: 4; Dt. 32: 11; Ruth 2: 12; Ps 17: 8; 36: 7; 57: 1; 63: 7 • Shield and bulwark

• 5 -6 merisms: by night…by day, in darkness…at noon • God’s protection is not limited to certain times or places • 7 a thousand… ten thousand- I Sam 18: 7 • 10 No evil will befall you- Prov. 12: 21; Ps 34: 9 -10 • 11 Ps 34: 7; Mt. 4: 6 (Dan 3: 24 -28; 6: 22; Acts 5: 19; 12: 7) • 13 tread upon the lion and cobra- Lk 10: 19 • 14 -15 man’s responsibility to God- loved Me, known my Name, call upon Me • Compare Ps 50: 15: call, trouble, deliver, honor

• Are these comforting promises or cruel hoaxes? • What is the difference in emphasis from Job 5: 19 -23? • Does it promise us immunity from every trouble? Consider the psalms before it- 88, 89: 38 -52; 90: 1 -12 • How is it fulfilled? Ps 34: 19 -20; Luke 21: 16 -18