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Biblical Studies: The Psychology of the Psalms pop Chris�anity. The Psalms have caressed the
Maybe we can use Psalms in our prac�ce to souls of millions through the centuries, provid-
give clients/pa�ents a language with which to ing the language for emo�onal experience.
express their pain and find a literary context At the heart of these sacred texts is, Don’t be
in which to do so. John Calvin stated that the stoic! Weep it! Call it for what it is, offer it all to
psalms act as a mirror in which we can see God. The Psalms refuse to pretend everything
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into the depths of our psyche . He also said is Ok. They stay clear of moralizing and won’t
that the Psalms contain the anatomy of the se�le for pla�tudes. The Psalms speak with
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soul. There is a suitable Psalm for all the seasons candor and allow us to do the same .
of life. Joni Earekson Tada, who because a diving The Hebrew �tle of the psalms is Tehillim, in
accident in her youth, ended up a quadriplegic English ‘praises’. But the psalter doesn’t con-
wrote, ‘when pain comes lumbering through tain 150 joy songs. There is a preponderance of
the door, we need language for our pain’. She what are called Laments, to which we will re-
found this language in the Psalms. She writes, turn. There are also accusatory and impreca-
‘The Psalms wrap verbs and nouns around our tory psalms. The Psalms contain the music of
pain be�er than any other (literature)’. 24 confusion, doubt and heartache that signifi-
cantly outnumber the hymns of joy. And re-
Psalms, Poetry and Pain member these songs were wri�en for public
Stephen Fry writes in The Ode Less Travelled worship. There was apparently no s�gma about
that ‘poetry is a primal impulse within us all. pain and speaking candidly about it. Instead,
That poetry can comfort as well as discomfort’. the Psalms invite us to ques�on God in the
Allender and Longman 25 note that ‘The Psalms context of worship. Allender and Longman
are composed in poe�c and musical form. Po- write that: ‘God invites us to bring before Him
etry reaches the realm beyond the word of our rage, doubt, and terror. But He intends us
sight and sounds revealing what our senses to do this as part of our worship’. This kind of
long to hear’. Again, Allender and Longman’s outpouring of raw emo�on is rarely witnessed
comments on Psalms are informa�ve. They in the context of worship, especially in some of
write that the Psalms use a form of language our more formal church se�ngs. O�en
not so much of the truly real. The language churches simply do have the �me, the pa-
used here cannot be grasped through scien�fic �ence, the confidence or the liturgy to deal
precision. The language of joy, love and pain with real pain.
which do not yield themselves to purely cere-
bral evalua�on. The Psalms may contain lan- Psalms of Lament
guage that is beyond ‘reason’ in the tradi�onal The psalms of Lament give voice to our pain
meaning of that word. Like all poetry, the and anger. They encourage us to risk the dan-
psalms can be provoca�ve, pressuring us to ger of speaking boldly (ven�ng?) and person-
move out of our denial – away from the adept ally to the Lord of the Universe. However, Wal-
numbing we use against powerful and painful ter Brueggemann adds some posi�vity to the
emo�ons. Alain Emerson 26 experienced the discussion of Laments when he writes, ‘the
devas�ng loss of his young wife, just a year Laments are refusals for the ways things are –
a�er their marriage. In his profound and in- the status quo. They are acts of relentless hope
sigh�ul book into bereavement, grief and loss, that believes no situa�on falls outside Yah-
he tells of the ‘tough love language’ he found in weh’s capacity for transforma�on. No situa�on
the Psalms. He writes: The Hebrew prayers of falls outside Yahweh’s responsibility’. 28
the Old Testament are more veracious than our In the Psalms in general and Laments in par�c-
current Western subculture of self-help and ular we cannot escape paradox. 29
23 Calvin’s Commentary on the Psalms.
24 Parenthesis added.
25 Dan B Allender and Tremper Longmann III, The Cry of the Soul. 27 Emerson
26 Alain Emerson, Luminous Dark. 28 Brueggeman cited in Alender and Longmann.
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