PROVERBS

“It is not a portrait-album or a book of manners: it offers a key to life. The samples of behaviour which it holds up to view are all assessed by one criterion, which could be summed up in the question, ‘Is this wisdom or folly?’”

                                                                                                                               —Derek Kidner

    MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Pr 1:1

The MacArthur Study Bible indicates:
The title in the Hebrew Bible is “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1), as also in the Greek Septuagint (LXX). Proverbs pulls together the most important 513 of the over 3,000 proverbs pondered by Solomon (1Ki 4:32; Ecc 12:9), along with some proverbs of others whom Solomon likely influenced. The word “proverb” means “to be like,” thus Proverbs is a book of comparisons between common, concrete images and life’s most profound truths. Proverbs are simple, moral statements (or illustrations) that highlight and teach fundamental realities about life. Solomon sought God’s wisdom (2Ch 1:8–12) and offered “pithy sayings” designed to make men contemplate 1) the fear of God and 2) living by His wisdom (1:7; 9:10). The sum of this wisdom is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ (1Co 1:30).

MacArthur, John: The MacArthur Study Bible : New American Standard Bible. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006, S. Ps 150:6

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
                                                                                                                                     Prov 1:7 (NIV)

This is the central theme of Pr. The "fear of the LORD" involves worship of the Lord and respectful submission to His authority in every area of life. It is this reverence of the Lord, according to Pr, that constitutes the only sure foundation for the pursuit of knowledge.
                                                                                                         —Apologetics Study Bible, The

PSALMS

“I may truly call this book an anatomy of all parts of the soul, for no one can feel a movement of the spirit which is not reflected in this mirror. All the sorrows, troubles, fears, doubts, hopes, pains, perplexities and stormy outbreaks by which the hearts of men are tossed have been depicted here to the very life.”
                                                                                                                                                       —John Calvin
MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The Disciple’s Study Bibles Introduction to Psalms in part indicates:

The faith of Israel set to music—that is what we find in Psalms, the hymnbook of the Bible. The 150 hymns provide a source of praise, prayer, and worship. They sound the notes of both celebration and lament. They allow God’s people to speak to Him in every mood of life. Written over many centuries, the Psalms are a treasury of devotion, both personal and national. They were not written to be analyzed, but to be read, recited, and sung in the worship of God.

The Psalms mirror life and have as their central theme God Himself. Each psalm presents a new setting in which the faithful bring a special moment of life with all its hopes, needs, and frustrations before the Lord of life. The Psalms provide a way for the human creature to meet and converse with the Creator either in private devotion or in public worship

The focus of theology and doctrine in the Psalms is God. They teach that:

1. God is One.

2. God is Holy

3. God is Spirit.

4. God is steadfast Love.

---Disciple’s Study Bible  Copyright © 1988 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN. All rights reserved.









Copyright © 1988 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN. All rights reserved.