The psalms are one of the more interactive portions of the bible. I say this because there is room for reflection and interpretation from the reader. The psalms are relatable to everyday emotions, such as grieve, joy, anger, and many others. The use of poetry in these portions of the bible allow the reader some creative analysis, which carries higher complexity and understanding of the readings. The topics of these poetic writings assigned are diverse, yet manage to remain around similar themes.
The first psalm is centered around the theme of wisdom. It is with wisdom that we see, “the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin” (Psalms 1:6). If we, as a people, did not comprehend that doing right by God is correct and doing evil deeds will bring destruction, there would be added chaos in our already cruel world. Psalms 22, 42, and 53 were centered around the theme of questioning God and how he interferes, or lack of interference. There is a sense of lamentation in these psalms. There are several times where the author asks God where he has gone and why will he not stop the suffering at the individual and community levels. This is similar in psalm 130 because it is a cry to the Lord, but …show more content…
There are three main parts to the paradox. Her first part states that, “pain is indeed missed—in praise” (Norris 93). This essentially means that singing God’s praises will not take all of our pain away, yet we cannot truly praise God, without first experiencing the pain that leads us to him. The second part claims that the psalms are written for the individual, but cannot be removed from the context of the community. This is interesting because individual actions through faith do not always correspond in community settings. The third part claims that the psalms are holistic or all encompassing. The divine and the mundane are linked as one, and as such humans are linked to God as
The first psalm is centered around the theme of wisdom. It is with wisdom that we see, “the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin” (Psalms 1:6). If we, as a people, did not comprehend that doing right by God is correct and doing evil deeds will bring destruction, there would be added chaos in our already cruel world. Psalms 22, 42, and 53 were centered around the theme of questioning God and how he interferes, or lack of interference. There is a sense of lamentation in these psalms. There are several times where the author asks God where he has gone and why will he not stop the suffering at the individual and community levels. This is similar in psalm 130 because it is a cry to the Lord, but …show more content…
There are three main parts to the paradox. Her first part states that, “pain is indeed missed—in praise” (Norris 93). This essentially means that singing God’s praises will not take all of our pain away, yet we cannot truly praise God, without first experiencing the pain that leads us to him. The second part claims that the psalms are written for the individual, but cannot be removed from the context of the community. This is interesting because individual actions through faith do not always correspond in community settings. The third part claims that the psalms are holistic or all encompassing. The divine and the mundane are linked as one, and as such humans are linked to God as