– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Joy … Despair … Anguish … Gratitude … Just some of the myriad of emotions expressed in the Psalms.

We all seek modes of expression for our deepest thoughts and feelings. Perhaps you enjoy song, artwork, prose, dance … or poetry?

The Psalter is ancient poetry, written between the time of Moses and the Babylonian Captivity (around 1440BCE-586BCE). Yet as we read, we find it has a timeless relevance, and can help us express our deepest emotions to God in prayer whether our hearts are dry or filled with joy.

The Hebrew title for the book, ‘Tehillim’ literally means ‘praises’. Whilst raw honesty characterizes the book, most of the psalms are framed by a call to praise, often with the word: Hallelu – Yah (Hallelu meaning ‘praise’; Yah representing ‘Yahweh’). Interestingly, out of the many different types of psalm, the majority are ‘Laments,’ suggesting pain and praise can be closely linked.

In the midst of pain or disappointment, we often have to make a conscious decision to praise God despite our circumstances; not many people feel like praising after falling into debt, for instance. Crucially however, we learn from the psalms that praise is transformative. Nearly every lament finishes by stating God’s faithfulness, thereby moulding despair into hope. ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast?’ the psalmist asks himself, ‘Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God’ (Psalm 43.5) Whilst the psalmist is still opposed by an ‘unfaithful nation,’ praise appears to strengthen his hope as he proclaims the saving power of his God (Psalm 43:1,5).

Significantly, a conscious decision to rejoice is needed. There is often a ‘vow’ of praise made, such as in psalm 77 in which the emotive language ‘has his steadfast love forever ceased?’ is eventually checked by ‘I will remember the deeds of the Lord,’ (Psalm 77:4,11).

It is evidently important to choose to praise – but why? How exactly does praise transform?

We all know words are potent. They’ve pierced our hearts and filled us with joy. The psalmist declares that the Lord created the entire world through speech (Psalm 33:6,9). Power is attributed to human speech when praise is shown to be constitutive. It doesn’t have to be Handel’s Messiah; the most basic praise from the lips of ‘infants’ is a weapon in establishing a ‘stronghold’ against evil (Psalm 8:2). When we declare God’s goodness, we see our circumstances differently. Our souls can be ‘fully satisfied as with the richest of foods ’ when we worship (Psalm 63:5).

What about the shocking cries of vengeance we find in the psalms, such as, ‘may their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever’? (Psalm 69:23) Do we ignore these; or pray them? I’m not sure. At its most basic level however, this shows we can ‘pour out’ our hearts to God (Ps 62:8). Sometimes I'm afraid to admit feelings to the Lord - but the psalmists come before Him with complete honesty. Feelings are taken into the presence of God until they are either changed or understood. For example, when the psalmist is grappling with the prosperity of those who do wrong, he says, ‘it troubled me deeply … until I entered the sanctuary of God,’ (Psalm 73:16-17).

Bonhoeffer stated that it is not what ‘we want to pray’ that is important, but what God wants us to pray (Bonhoeffer, The Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible p.14-15). Whilst I wouldn’t go that far, it is true that the psalms help us pray according to His promises, not always in line with our emotions  (Psalm 62:8). Additionally, rather than letting our imaginations fabricate another kind of god, the psalms tell us who He really is (see Psalm 97:1-6 for example). 

Finally, the psalms help us move from inward to outward focused. We develop a more real perspective through lines such as ‘all my bones are out of joint,’ which help us identify with Christ and his sufferings (Psalm 22:14).

The psalms are a powerful mode of expression that can help us pray honest prayers and lift our eyes to our Creator.

Is it right to pray out of the overflow of our hearts, or do you agree with Bonhoeffer that the psalms should tell us what to pray?

Should we pray the cries of ‘vengeance’?