Psalms and Proverbs

King David lived a tumultuous life, during which he composed songs of praise and despair to God called psalms. Some of his psalms are referenced by Jesus during his life. His son Solomon wrote short aphorisms called proverbs, which are nuggets of wisdom and insight into the human condition. Solomon wrote the books Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The irony is that the psalms and the proverbs were written by men who did not always live up to their own standards of wisdom and morality.

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures:

he leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul:

he leads me in the paths

of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil:

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies:

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me?

You are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the one Israel praises.

In you our ancestors put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

“let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him since he delights in him.”

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs and villains surround me,

they pierce my hands and my feet.

All my bones are on display;

people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them

and cast lots for my garment.

Psalms of David

Psalm 31:5

Into your hands I commit my spirit;

deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

Psalm 34:20

He protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

Psalm 118:22

The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

Proverbs of Solomon

My son, keep my commands in your heart, for they will

prolong your life and bring you peace and prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you, then you will

win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Pay attention to my wisdom, listen to my words of insight,

that you may maintain discretion and preserve knowledge.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Ecclesiastes 1

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

What do people gain from all their labors

at which they toil under the sun?

The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;

round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

All things are wearisome, more than one can say.

The eye never has enough of seeing,

nor the ear its fill of hearing.

What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

No one remembers the former generations,

and even those yet to come

will not be remembered

by those who follow them.

With much wisdom comes much sorrow,

the more knowledge, the more grief.

Continue

Gerrit van Honthorst - King David Playing the Harp