The Psalms have been the Jewish hymn and prayer book since the time of King David.  Certainly, they functioned this way at the time of Jesus in the temple and in the synagogue.  Even today, the first 150 hymns in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (our hymnbook) are psalms.

Luther in the Preface to his translation of the Psalms says the Psalter contains the whole Bible in a nutshell and can therefore “be called a mini-Bible” for “it shows the manner and practice” of our relationship to God, the world, and ourselves.  In his commentary on Psalm 119 Luther notes how the Psalms comfort us in our “spiritual struggle,” teaching us “not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God’s Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom.”

The Bible study this year will look at the various genres, forms, and styles of Psalms, how the Psalms reflect Hebrew poetry, and take a closer look at some of the Psalms, such as Psalm 23, that have shaped and formed the spiritual life and worship of the church and synagogue.  Please join us at Pastor Michael’s home, 1010 Duke Street.  We meet at 7:30pm the first and third Thursdays of the month.