It becomes obvious to any reader of the Psalter that the psalms are not all of a kind. Some lift us to stratospheric heights of wonder and praise. Others make us weep both for the despair of the psalmist and for the assurance that we are not alone in our travail. Still others lecture us on the way of right living.
Many attempts have been made to sort out the various types of psalms into some systematic order, and the truth is that there are many ways to cut the pie. One way of understanding them is to see them as falling into two broad and main categories of praise and lament representing the two poles of human emotional experiences and the two major approaches to praying to God. Claus Westermann sees this reflected in the composition of the Psalter; after a comprehensive analysis, he says,
The resultant picture is quite clear: The first half of the Psalter is comprised predominantly of Psalms of lament, the second predominantly of Psalms of praise.1
Another way of understanding the psalms is to see them life as transitioning through different phases of orientation, dis-orientation, and re-orientation. Orientation represents the pattern of "normalcy," when we are in no dire physical needs or emotional-psychological disruption. Life proceeds with simple prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God, or communal hymns as they go on celebrative pilgrimages during the festivals. Sin and disaster - whether these are self-, or other-inflicted, or caused by natural disruption - catapult them into dis-orientation, when chaos (physical, societal, emotional or psychological) reigns, hope is suspended or even jeopardized.
The scholar to whom the modern study of the Psalms owes more than anyone else is probably Hermann Gunkul (1862-1932).
This is a work in progress. Sorry.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2014