In preparing for this topic something I came across a number of times was the depiction and use of water in the Psalms. In his essay called Patterns for Life: Structure, Genre, and Theology in Psalms Dennis Bratcher describes the “cultural language of the Ba’al myths where water is the metaphorical imagery of chaos that threatens the order and stability of the world.” The same imagery of water is also used in the Psalms to describe the control and sovereignty of God and how He provides stability (as in Psalm 23, “you lead me beside still waters.”)
Our bodies are made up of a significant amount of water. If you have spent a while on a boat or in the ocean, you may notice how long it can take for you to stop feeling that swaying and rocking sensation. A small amount of “rocking” or unsettling can have a profound influence on our bodies, and much more on our souls. How do we find the still waters of the soul, described in Psalm 23?
God’s very nature opposes chaos. The Psalms are incredibly structured and designed, not just to be aesthetically pleasing but to coincide with the inner workings and variations of the soul. One reason I am drawn to the liturgy of the church and the use of the Psalms is that it provides a narrative for all areas of life. There is no emotion that is not explored, and no suffering that is overlooked and that we cannot relate to.
We will begin by looking at the structure of the Psalms from a textual and Biblical lens, before moving to practical and therapeutic techniques. There is no therapy tool or strategy that does not already exist in God’s word. Therapy asks the questions, the Bible provides the answers.
Structure and Outline of Lament Psalms (from Dennis Bratcher)
I. Address to God, Invocation
a) first person address to God (I, you)
b) an initial plea
II. Complaint to God
a) description of problem, questions asked of God
b) crisis of any kind; in penitential psalms it is sin
c) claim of innocence
d) often includes an initial plea for help
e) condemnation of “wicked” or “enemy”
III. Affirmation of Trust
a) “But as for me” or “Nevertheless”
b) turning point of the psalm; theological focus
IV. Petition
a) plea for God’s intervention
b) often uses the words “save” or “deliver”
V. Acknowledgment of Response
a) assurance of hearing
b) vow of praise, worship
VI. Doxology: blessings, praise
III. Acknowledgement of God’s aid in Praise/Thanks
a) worship, with the word todah: praise, sacrifice, blessings
b) cry of praise
(Source: Patterns for Life: Structure, Genre, and Theology in Psalms by Dennis Bratcher.
Url: http://www.crivoice.org/psalmgenre.html)
Steps to Calm Provided in the Psalms
- Reframing– an attempt to shift how a person views a problem as a method for moving forward rather than replacing a faulty belief with a more accurate one.
Example: Moving from “I feel alone” to “my loneliness is also felt by the Lord.”
Reframing helps us to process our feelings and experiences without replacing them.
- “Sitting with it.”- when we identify what we feel, and allow ourselves to feel it to the full extent. Many times, change happens after we accept and fully feel our emotions, no matter how difficult.
Example: Identifying and talking with the Lord about a sense of loss, describing how a
sense of loss seeps into different areas of life.
- Questioning- When we are honest with God, admitting that we don’t understand. The questions we ask of God often reveal our inner motives and thoughts. We often need to also question ourselves and our own beliefs.
Example: Asking “why is God not fixing something?” Exploring why I believe something needs to be fixed. What would fixed look like?
- Crisis and Turning Point- When we want to give up or feel like we can’t take any more is often when a turning point can begin. Acknowledging our own weakness can allow God’s strength to be more evident in our life.
Example: “I can’t take this type of suffering anymore” leading to understanding that I
haven’t been fully trusting God with it, or I have been relying on myself.
- Nevertheless- What I love about the point in the Psalms is that the speaker does not say “but instead of feeling x I am going to feel y.” The Psalms model that we often live for an extended period with suffering, and also continue and strengthen our relationship with God by turning back to Him. This step emphasizes focusing our attention back on God and may invite us to listen to Him.
- Praise and Worship– Notice that this is definitely not the first step. This happens after the speaker has worked through many of the above steps. After focusing our attention back on God, it becomes necessary to provide praise to Him as we reflect on His nature. It is much harder to praise the Lord and reflect on Him when we are burdened by something.
Psalm 13[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 142[a]
A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
1
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
2
I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
3
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4
Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
5
I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6
Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7
Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
Psalm 42[a][b]
For the director of music. A maskil[c] of the Sons of Korah.
1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8
By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9
I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10
My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Matthew 26:36-50
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
References
Patterns for Life: Structure, Genre, and Theology in Psalms by Dennis Bratcher
The Voice (http://www.crivoice.org/psalmgenre.html)
Structure of Psalms from ESV.org
(https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/chart-19-03/)
Degrees and Acronyms 