• Lesson 5: Wisdom Psalms
    • Purpose
      • To teach and instruct; tell coming generations about God (Psalm 32:8; 49:3; 78:1,4)
      • Calls to action in Psalms
        • Psalm 37:8,27 – cease from anger and wrath; do not worry; depart from evil
        • Psalm 112:9 – give freely to the poor
        • Psalm 119:1 – be blameless; walk in the way of the Lord
        • Psalm 119:9 – keep your way pure; walk according to God’s word
      • Fearing God and keeping His commandments brings about blessings. Psalm 1:3; 73:24; 112:1
    • Structure
      • Wisdom psalms have a variety of structures, so we will look at the unique structure of Psalm 119.
      • Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. It is divided into 22 sections of 8 lines each. Each section is named for a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each line in that section starts with the same letter.
      • Seven other psalms, Proverbs 31, Lamentations 1-4, and Nahum all contain at least partial acrostics.
      • God’s law is referenced in nearly every verse of Psalm 119.
    • Key features
      • Phrasing is similar in many passages, including:
        • Psalm 37:16 / Proverbs 15:16 – Better is … than …
        • Psalm 128:1 / Proverbs 3:13 – How blessed is …
        • Psalm 32:9 / Proverbs 25:8 – Do not … otherwise …
        • Psalm 49:1 / Proverbs 22:17 – Hear this …
        • All of these impart wisdom and try to show the importance and superiority of God’s way.
    • Example
      • Psalm 73
        • Psalm 73:1-9 – Complaint
        • Psalm 73:10-14 – Lament
        • Psalm 73:15-20 – Seeing the truth of the matter
        • Psalm 73:21-24 – God guides me
        • Psalm 73:25-28 – Rejoicing in a relationship with God