The Bible in a Year

Psalms

Psalm 119 – Part One

Read this coming week:
Nov 8 Jer 42‐44, Ps 119:1‐8, 1 Cor 14, Nov 9 Jer 45‐47, Ps 119:9‐16, 1 Cor
15‐16, Nov 10 Jer 48, Ps 119:17‐24, 2 Cor 1‐2, Nov 11 Jer 49, Ps 119:25‐
32, 2 Cor 3‐4, Nov 12 Jer 50, Ps 119:33‐40, 2 Cor 5‐6, Nov 13 Jer 51‐52,
Ps 119:41‐48, 2 Cor 7‐8, Nov 14 Lam 1, Ps 119:49‐56, 2 Cor 9‐10, Nov 15
Lam 2‐3, Ps 119:57‐64, 2 Cor 11‐13

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading Psalm 119, vs. 1-64. Be
able to answer the following:
• Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem – each section
begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet (i.e.
“aleph” is the first word in the Hebrew alphabet).
What are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet you
are reading from?
• What is the writer of the Psalm petitioning God
for?
• Young men would memorize Psalm 119, what
passages of the Psalm encourage the idea of
memorizing the Word of God?
 • What is God’s role in the life of a young man
according to this Psalm?

The Bible in a Year

Psalms

Psalm 119 – Part One

Read this coming week:
Nov 8 Jer 42‐44, Ps 119:1‐8, 1 Cor 14, Nov 9 Jer 45‐47, Ps 119:9‐16, 1 Cor
15‐16, Nov 10 Jer 48, Ps 119:17‐24, 2 Cor 1‐2, Nov 11 Jer 49, Ps 119:25‐
32, 2 Cor 3‐4, Nov 12 Jer 50, Ps 119:33‐40, 2 Cor 5‐6, Nov 13 Jer 51‐52,
Ps 119:41‐48, 2 Cor 7‐8, Nov 14 Lam 1, Ps 119:49‐56, 2 Cor 9‐10, Nov 15
Lam 2‐3, Ps 119:57‐64, 2 Cor 11‐13

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading Psalm 119, vs. 1-64. Be
able to answer the following:
• Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem – each section
begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet (i.e.
“aleph” is the first word in the Hebrew alphabet).
What are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet you
are reading from?
 • What is the writer of the Psalm petitioning God
for?
• Young men would memorize Psalm 119, what
passages of the Psalm encourage the idea of
memorizing the Word of God?
• What is God’s role in the life of a young man
according to this Psalm?

About Wisdom: Wisdom as archetype

The book of Psalms is within the Biblical literature genre
of “the books of Wisdom”. It might be good to think of
wisdom literature as providing an archetype of man's
experience on the earth under the Lordship of God.
Robert McKee, a well renown scholar on the concept of
"story" and literature, describes an archetype as "a kind
of universal character that audiences can identify with,
while also possessing enough pathos and depth to avoid
cliché." Wisdom literature allows the reader to enter
into the world of God's plan for humanity in such a way
that it can be identified with, but without becoming
cliche.

About Psalms: The 5 Books

There are 5 books of the Psalms. Each subdivided book
has its own sense of character. While not all of the
Psalms in Book 1, for example, are intensely personal –
most of them are.

1. Book 1 - Psalms 1-41 - Intensely personal Psalms

of David
2. Book 2 - Psalms 42-72 - Nationalistic and kingdom
oriented Psalms, mostly of David
3. Book 3 - Psalms 73-89 - More nationalistic and
kingdom oriented Psalms, but rarely of David -
more often of other authors like the Sons of
Korah.
 4. Book 4 - Psalms 90-106 - A “grab bag” of
anonymous psalms and miscellaneous psalms
5. Book 5 - Psalms 107-150 - Songs of praise, mostly
of David again

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.

About Wisdom: Wisdom as archetype

The book of Psalms is within the Biblical literature genre
of “the books of Wisdom”. It might be good to think of
wisdom literature as providing an archetype of man's
experience on the earth under the Lordship of God.
Robert McKee, a well renown scholar on the concept of
"story" and literature, describes an archetype as "a kind
of universal character that audiences can identify with,
while also possessing enough pathos and depth to avoid
cliché." Wisdom literature allows the reader to enter
into the world of God's plan for humanity in such a way
that it can be identified with, but without becoming
cliche.

About Psalms: The 5 Books

There are 5 books of the Psalms. Each subdivided book
has its own sense of character. While not all of the
Psalms in Book 1, for example, are intensely personal –
most of them are.
1. Book 1 - Psalms 1-41 - Intensely personal Psalms
of David
2. Book 2 - Psalms 42-72 - Nationalistic and kingdom
oriented Psalms, mostly of David
3. Book 3 - Psalms 73-89 - More nationalistic and
kingdom oriented Psalms, but rarely of David -
more often of other authors like the Sons of
Korah.
4. Book 4 - Psalms 90-106 - A “grab bag” of
anonymous psalms and miscellaneous psalms
5. Book 5 - Psalms 107-150 - Songs of praise, mostly
of David again

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.