Psalm 1

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/ps1/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p><strong>Introduction to the Psalter</strong></p><ul><li>The Psalter (the five books of the Psalms) forms a central part of the treasury that is God’s word.</li><li>Central in the thought of first century Jews and Christians (as we know from quotations) in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, and the early Christian writings.</li><li>Mastering the Psalms is no easy task. There are so many psalms, and their themes are not always obvious. Sometimes they feel chaotic. (They weren’t written by engineers.)</li><li>Still, Psalms <i>can be </i>relatively easy to recall, since they are poetry. They have lyrics, they are sung, and they're self-contained.</li><li>Recommended: <i>Into the Psalms: Verses for the Heart, Music for the Soul </i>-- Rolan Monje (Manila, Philippines), 2012.</li></ul><p><strong>General principles to keep in mind</strong></p><ul><li>Psalms are human words addressed to God, more than the word of God to us.</li><li>They are characterized by thought-rhyme, as opposed to sound-rhyme. Usually the second line in the couplet expands on the first.</li><li>OT history and geography are essential (e.g. Psalms 133, 136, 137).</li><li>Every psalm has a theme.</li><li>Big themes:<ul><li>Temple worship, monarchy, exile, law, God, creation, history, covenant...</li><li>Each psalm has a context. (Many were written out of the painful experience of the Exile). We need to know what the theme is if we are to profit from the Psalm.</li></ul></li><li>They don’t offer solutions to all our problems so much as they offer therapy.</li><li>Christians are supposed to use them (Ephesians 5:18-19, Colossians 3:15-16).</li></ul><p><strong>Psalm 1</strong></p><ul><li>Two paths.</li><li>Way of Wisdom (Psalm 1 sounds like the introduction to Proverbs).<ul><li>This is a wisdom psalm – like 14 and 37 (where each stanza contains a proverb).</li><li>By spending time in the Psalms we