#11 Understanding the Variety of Psalm Types and Their Unique Expressions:

Part 1 – Individual Laments

 

Understanding & Using the Psalms

  • Individual Lament:

Cries of the individual in times of distress

5,6,10,13,22,26,35,38,39,40,42,43,51,54,55,56,57,59,64,69,70,86,88,102,109,120,130,142,143

  • Communal Lament:

Cries of the community in times of distress

60,74,79,80,90,108,123,137

  • Hymns of Praise:

Celebrations of Yahweh’s goodness & character

8,9,19,29,30,33,34,65,66,67,68,76,95,96,97,98,99, 100,103,104,111,113,116,117,134,135,138,144,145, 146,147,148,149,150

  • Songs of Confidence:

Declarations of trust in Yahweh

3,4,7,11,12,16,17,18,20,23,27,28,31,36,41,46,50,58, 62,63,71,77,82,83,85,89,91,92,93,94,114,115,121,124,125,126,129,139,140,141

  • Royal Psalms:

Song in praise of Yahweh as Israel’s true king and the monarch who rules on Yahweh’s behalf

2,21,24,45,47,61,72,110,132

  • Psalms of Zion:

“National Anthems” that praise the earthly residence of Yahweh

14,48,53,84,87,122

  • “Thank” Psalms:

Expressions of appreciation for Yahweh’s deliverance

75,118,136

  • Wisdom or Priestly Instruction:

Poems which contain condensed teachings to be passed along by memorization

1,15,25,32,37,44,49,52,73,78,81,101,105,106,107,112,119,127

 

Individual Laments

  • Character: Cries of the individual in times of distress
  • Examples: Psalms 5, 6, 10, 13, 22, 26, 35, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 64, 69, 70, 86, 88, 102, 109, 120, 130, 142, 143

 

Individual Laments: Example #1 – Psalm 6

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
    How long, Lord, how long?

4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
    save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
    Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping
    and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
    they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
    for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

 

Note these things:

  • Note the dedication and instructions in the title
  • Note the synonymous parallelism used throughout
  • Note the interspersing of declarations about suffering and questions to God as to why this is happening, or why God is silent, or why God is not acting quickly to remedy the situation
  • Note the concluding confidence:
    God had heard
    God will help

 

Individual Laments: Example #2 – Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

 

Note These Things

  • Jesus obviously knew this Psalm, and found in it a strong comparison between his circumstances and those of David
  • David’s tormenters used a variety of demeaning words and actions to accomplish their persecutions
  • The first two-thirds of the Psalm are very negative, describing in horrible detail the awful things that are happening to David, but the last third suddenly breaks out in a song of deliverance to be shared with God’s people at worship

 

Individual Laments: Example #3 – Psalm 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9     my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands to you.

10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
    and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

 

Note These Things

  • This is a “song” rather than a “psalm”, according to the title. The difference in these two words in the Hebrew language is only a slight variation in pronunciation, but a “song” was meant to be sung without instrumental accompaniment, while “psalms” were always accompanied with instruments. This may signal the horrible nature of this song’s message: I am left alone and no one shares my pain with me!
  • This is the darkest Psalm in the entire collection
  • Even God seems to be an enemy, according to Heman, at least from his limited perspective. There is almost no concluding note of confidence in rescue or salvation.

 

Reflections on Individual Laments

  • We live in a world that often thinks of “worship” as mostly songs of praise and prayers of thanks.
  • Laments help us remember our own needs and failures
  • Laments give voice to the cries of the heart that are too often left in the shadows of the lonely
  • Laments remind us of our dependence upon God, no matter what the circumstances of our lives.
Last modified: Tuesday, February 16, 2021, 9:41 AM