Thank the miracle-working God,
His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos,
His love never quits.
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,
His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light,
His love never quits.
Psalm 136
The psalms—like all great art—lead us to a truer image of ourselves, reality, and God. St. John Cassian (c. 360–c. 435) taught that the psalms carry in them “all the feelings of which human nature is capable.”
Psalms with strong difficult emotions:
- Psalm 55 – about being betrayed by someone close to you.
- Psalm 56 – feeling trapped, pinned down or captured.
- Psalm 57 – feeling threatened by a powerful force.
- Psalm 51 – feelings of guilt and repentance.
In expressing all the complexities and contradictions of human experience, the Psalms act as good psychologists. They defeat our tendency to try to be holy without being human first. We find encouragement in the midst of anger, hurt, fear and confusion, as well as joy, faith and hope.
The Biblical Psalms remind us of the way we judge each other, with harsh words and acts of vengeance, or injustice, and they remind us that it is the powerless in society who are overwhelmed when injustice becomes institutionalized.
Common ways of putting a psalm together
- Saying the same thing slightly differently for emphasis – two lines nearly the same: Ps 1.1; Ps 27.1
- Putting opposites together – successive lines saying two different things, each related to the same theme. Ps 25.3
- Using a group of successive lines to build up a significant point, systematically showing or convincing the reader. Ps 139: 1 – 6;
- Using a metaphor or word picture over several lines – the tree in Psalm 1.3 the Shepherd in Ps 23.1 – 4
- Repeating one core phrase at intervals to underline the message. Ps 136, Ps 107.8,15,21,31
- Repeating a pattern to include different examples: Ps 107.4f; then10f; then17f, then23f….
Remember the point of writing a personal psalm isn’t to compose a masterpiece for your church to sing, but to give voice to your joy and pain. It is your truth, and its validity doesn’t depend on how skillfully you write.
Examples of common themes in the Biblical Psalms:
- Healing (22, 38, 41)
- Joy (11, 18, 23, 27),
- Love (33, 62, 99, 103)
- Thanksgiving (30, 32, 65, 75)
- Justice (26, 52, 114).
Try writing your own psalm as a way of praying. You don’t need to be “a writer”, just willing to write your heartfelt thoughts knowing that the task is simply to express one’s truth to God.
- Read several psalms before you get started
- Think about the longing in your own heart. Note down any random words that articulate your current feelings and situation. Remain in quietness and solitude for some time to let your soul ‘s expression rise gently to consciousness.
- Consider your theme, your feelings. Which structure or pattern might fit the mood you want? Choose a format or structure for your psalm . . . choose several!
- Experiment with the words you wrote randomly when you sat still and silent. Let them find their way into sentences, exclamations, questions, sighs….
- Write a free-form psalm based on the deep feeling or longing of your heart.
- Read it aloud when it is complete. Offer your psalm to God.
