Subject: Psalms of Lament |
Bible Note: Greetings JRM! Not every psalm of lament will fit the pattern perfectly. Some skip a step, while other's might combine several steps. In general though, the pattern seems to work quite well. I checked the book on Psalm 120. Westermann classifies it as a Psalm of praise. In general, he claims that the first half of the psalter is made up of psalms of lament and the last half of psalms of praise - with a few exceptions. For Ps. 56, he lists it as a lament of the individual, but a unique one in that the lament has already turned to praise at the end of the psalm. Here is a neat quote about this: "The fact that lamentation and petition can change into praise in the same Psalm has as a consequence a development which is peculiar to the Israelite Psalms, i.e., that praise is already heard in the conclusion of lament and petition, and that it forms the basis for the vow of praise....It should be noted that the grief over which the supplicant is lamenting, and for the removal of which he pleads with God, still remains. During the praying of these Psalms no miracle has occured, but something else has occurred. God has heard and inclined Himself to the one praying; God has had mercy on him. And in this the decisive event has taken place. That which is yet to come, the turning point in the situation, must of necessity follow. Therefore, it can now already be rearded as realized." (pp. 79-80). When I studied this in college, this was the point that really stood out for me. The lament is a heartfelt and brazen cry for help. But, in the midst of the plea, faith arises in the God who has demonstrated Himself to be faithful. Thus, by the end of the lament, praise begins to leak into the lament. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |