Day 19

I’m left with the same feeling I had yesterday after the first three books of Psalms. These are meant for devotional engagement. I wonder if Proverbs will be the same way.

I’m still delighted by these. Some of them were familiar, but I was surprised at the breadth they offered. You had elation followed by despair followed by joy followed by wallowing…and so on and so forth. There were militaristic Psalms, ones that were obviously written in exile, others upon returning, and others still that captured the good life.

One thing I definitely noticed here was the emphasis on the poor and forgiveness. There was room in these sacred songs for forgiveness. Psalm 51 is, I would say, a Universalist Psalm. It describes people that were scorned in previous songs or books of the Bible and how they were ultimately forgiven by God. It serves as a model for how we should deal with ourselves and others. Now, what’s also clear is that the road to forgiveness — for the forgiver — often winds its way through an angry path. Forgiveness is not easy…but this Psalm encourages us on our way.

The poor were always regarded with dignity and emphasis. They were not to be cast off in the Psalms, instead they were to be tended to and cared for. The same is true for the widow and the orphan. What this shows us is that the Psalms and several parts of the Bible have a deep concern for justice. Don’t believe me? Well, you’re in luck. The Poverty and Justice Bible highlights all of the verses in the text that have to do with poverty or justice. Easy. I’m reminded of a reflection from the late Rachel Held Evans that essentially boiled down to: If you go into the Bible looking for harm, you’ll find it. If you go looking for healing, you’ll find that, too. Let’s be a people of healing.

The last piece of the Psalms that I want to lift up are the more anguished and dour Psalms. Some are rough to read. However, they were amongst the most beautiful. They captured, very clearly, heart wrenching pain and wrestling with what it means to be human. I wouldn’t want to read these Psalms all the time, but I can see them giving voice to pain in a time of need.

Anyway. Instead of my usual list, here’s some Psalms that I particularly enjoyed and why.

One Word for Psalms & Psalm 151: Symphony

Psalms I Particularly Enjoyed

1. Ps 8. The wonder at the natural world here is beautiful.
2. Ps 13. We all feel abandoned at points in our lives. This Psalm says it plainly.
3. Ps 41. One of many Psalms that speaks of justice for the poor.
4. Ps 51. Forgiveness available to all, even the worst amongst us, if only it is sought.
5. Ps 69. A difficult but beautiful lament.
6. Ps 88. An existential crisis if I’ve ever seen one.
7. Ps 102. Described as “a prayer of one afflicted.”
8. Ps 107. God is with all. I can appreciate this feeling of not being alone. (Especially after all the laments.)
9. Ps 112. Another justice Psalm. “The desire of the wicked comes to nothing…” May it be so.
10. Ps 133. In what I’m sure is meant to be a beautiful Psalm, we get an image of oil dripping off of Aaron’s beard. I guess some images don’t translate well to 2021. Go ahead, imagine it…ZZ Top with oil dripping off their beards.
11. Ps 136. A beautiful call and response Psalm
12. Ps 151. Unlike the last handful of Psalms, this apocryphal Psalm doesn’t praise God, but instead gives us a brief biography of King David. I liked it and wish it was in the actual Psalms.

This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.