I recently spoke to some sisters in Christ about the Psalms. Both replied that they don’t usually read them. Years ago, a brother in Christ, after experiencing a relationship break-up, confided that he was reading the Psalms because they were comforting in his time of need. 

​

Wherever we fall on the continuum of loving or ignoring the Psalms, we can’t avoid this fact: the Psalms is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament.1  The first-century Christians sang the Psalms. Luke notes the connection between Christ and the Psalms (Colossian 3:16; Luke 24:44). From praises to lament, the Psalms document highly emotional expressions in poetic form, covering a range of human experiences. Clinton McCann, an Old Testament scholar, makes a convincing argument that the Psalms were also Israel’s instruction manual.2  As such, Psalms was both hymn book and prayer book for the Jews. 

​

Reading the Psalms is like reading someone’s diary where they’ve recorded the highs and lows of life. Victories. Loneliness. Confession. Prayer. The Psalmist reveals what perhaps one might only dare to think. Within the Psalms, we’re privy to discovering YHWH, the Lord. Although we may be uncomfortable in knowing that we cannot hide from an all-seeing, all-knowing God, it may also be comforting to know that nothing surprises him (Psalm 139). 

​

Couched in these terms, the Psalmist teaches us to be honest with God: we bring to God our whole selves in order to have our blind spots revealed (Psalm 139:23-24). This confidence in God gives the psalmist reason to extol God’s ways from the beginning of the psalter. That’s why Psalm 1 teaches that if we want a blessed life, we will choose God’s ways. 

​

Who doesn’t want a blessed life? Experience tells us that disease occurs, thieves break in and steal, and bad things happen to good people. Psalm 73 speaks of a time when the psalmist was envious of the wicked who were getting away with their wrongdoings. The psalmist petitions to God: ‘It’s not fair’(Psalm 73:13). 

​

Yes, the wounds of life are difficult to avoid. The psalter reflects this truth. Approximately 40% of the psalter comprise psalms of lament.3  When trouble enters our lives, uncertainty, pain, and fear may wash over us, causing disorientation. Perhaps we may feel that God has abandoned us (Psalm 13:1). 

​

In this context, a lament has a typical structure consisting of an address to God, the complaint, a petition, before ending on a note of trust in God.4  The common element in the laments is a call to trust. Away from the glitz and masks, the lament psalms restore the prayer of despair and anger within the container of faith. 

​

Like the lament psalms, imprecatory (or cursing) psalms are also directed to God. You may have heard it said that Christians ought not to feel this way. (Have you ever prayed: ‘O God, break the teeth in their mouths’, as in Psalm 58:6?) The psalmist seeks justice and vengeance with language that may expose unfettered anger. 

​

How can God’s people pray these imprecatory psalms? A key point is to remember that the psalmist is directing these emotions to God, the One who hears and will handle the problem in his good time.5 Also, it is unwise to deny completely the emotions which may manifest themselves in other undesirable forms. Instead, raw honesty should not be buried under a stiff upper lip or clenched jaw. Rather, feelings and problems are to be handed over to God and entrusted to him to solve.

​

When we feel lost for words and don’t know what to say to God, we can turn to the Psalms. We can use the Psalms like a template for our own prayers. We can be reminded that we can find a safe place near to the heart of God. 

​

Out of the pit of life, we raise both lament and praise to God. At the end of it all, we find that he makes us lie down in green pastures and restores our souls (Psalm 23).