Why psalms? - January 9
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 121, 122, 123; Isa. 63:1-5; Rev. 2:18-29; John 5:1-15
A parishioner asked this week about the psalms, as they have tried to read them all in a period of time; they got bogged down in the middle and felt frustrated. So, why do we sing, pray, and quote psalms? Our Holy Scriptures include 150 lyrical pieces from antiquity – called the psalter – containing emotive, expressive waves of praise and joy; weeping and lament; anger and regret. These ancient psalms are the backbone of Jewish and Christian prayer…offerings of words about God, for God, and with God. Think about it like this: the psalter is the compendium of poetry and songs of Jesus’ time. While we lack the first musical settings, they are melodic in composition. The Hebrew people probably memorized them, at all ages, and recited them during work, or walking, or worshipping. The psalms speak of, and call us to proclaim, God’s steadfast faithfulness and mighty glory.
In his book Praying the Psalms, Thomas Merton says of the psalms, in his own decadent language: “…we drink divine praise at its pure and stainless source, in all its primitive sincerity and perfection. We return to the youthful strength and directness with which the ancient psalmists voiced their adoration of the God of Israel…the Psalms are the songs [of those] who knew who God was. When we pray the psalms, we get to learn and unearth this Lord to whom we pray...the psalms are the songs of the whole Church, the very expression of her deepest inner life…soul, desire, longing, sorrow, joy.”
The psalms do hold for us this opening into raw emotions, unfettered by social niceties. In today’s vernacular, we could say that psalms “keep it real”. In one verse, things are peaceful and serene, and in the next verse, there is a flood of vomit and meanness. Perhaps your life has been on such a rollercoaster this week. But why must we revisit the hateful verses of psalms? In opening prayer to all depths of feeling, we incorporate those darker spaces of self-loathing, righteous indignation, and rage:
Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me. (Ps. 31:11)
Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him,
Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off;
In a following generation let their name be blotted out. (Ps. 109:12-13)
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks. (Ps. 137:9)
And why do we keep saying these psalms that feel awkward and indecent? Because those verses of Holy Scripture are words that capture how someone – maybe you – is feeling right now. Those words put into phrase the devastation of those too tired, too angry, too broken to pray to God.
I know that the psalms appointed for today are more mild and comforting…and perhaps they are even more so in comparison to the harsh language of those cited above. What I hold up in closing is the prayer offered in Psalm 122 for the peace of Jerusalem – and for all cities. Let us all pray this prayer for our world:
"May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls
and quietness within your towers.
For my brethren and companions' sake,
I pray for your prosperity.
Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek to do you good." (Ps. 122:6b-9)
Let us seek to do good because of the love of the Lord our God this day.
-- Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
What psalms do you know by heart? What psalms are your favorites? Which leave you confused?
Daily Challenge
Read more about the visceral psalms and others at The Psalms Project. Share what you learn with someone else…and share a story of when you were mean or less than graceful. See how God’s faithfulness redeems us, no matter what.