souls thirsty for god march 5, 2009 sits conference: psalms speaker: allen dvorak souls thirsty for...
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Souls Thirsty For God
March 5, 2009
SITS Conference: Psalms
Speaker: Allen Dvorak
Souls Thirsty For God
March 5, 2009
SITS Conference: Psalms
Speaker: Allen Dvorak
In the opening prayer…
“Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise!
Do not cast us off forever. Why do You hide Your face, and
forget our affliction and our oppression?”
(44:23-24)
In the opening prayer…
“O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the
sheep of Your pasture?” (74:1)
Bold Language!
“Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” (10:1)
“How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face
from me?” (13:1)
“For You are the God of my strength; why do You cast me off?” (43:2)
Bold Language!
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not
hear;” (22:1-2a)
“O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For
Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.” (38:1-2)
“Whiners Never Prosper”
• Are the authors of the lament psalms just full of self-pity?– Israelite complainers: “they
tempted the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” (Ex. 17:7)
– A legitimate question• The lament psalms are
emotional in natureThe lament psalms “reflect fundamental dimensions of
human experience: suffering, despair, pain, hopelessness, and anguish.”
[Bellinger, 44]
Souls Thirsty For
God
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my
soul for You, O God.”-- Psalm 42:1
Praise
Categorization of Psalms
“As we turn to the lament (from the hymn – asd), we go from the height of our relationship with
God to its depths. The lament is the polar opposite of the hymn on
the emotional spectrum.” [Longman 26]
Lament and praise “correspond to the two most basic ways in which the heart
responds to God (Psalm 30:5; Romans 12:15; James 5:13).”
[Roberts 16]
Categorization of Psalms
Praise
Declarative
Descriptive
“We need to be flexible as we speak of a psalm’s
genre.”
Categorization of Psalms
Praise
Declarative
Descriptive
Differentiated on the basis of the “mode”
of praise
Differentiated on the basis of the “source”
of the petition
Categorization of Psalms
Lament
Individual
Community
12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 90, 123,
126, 137
Bellinger AndersonBoth
14, 53, 106, 108
89, 94, 129
3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 39, 40, 42-43, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71, 77, 86, 88, 109, 120,
140, 141, 142
6, 11, 16, 38, 51, 62,
94, 102, 130, 143
14, 41, 53, 139
Westermann (I)
Westermann (C)LongmanBellingerRoberts
Address to God
Remembrance of Past Salvation
Lamentation
Description of Wicked
ConfessionPlea/Protest
Declaration of Trust
Petition
Motivation for God to Act
Vow of Praise
Assurance of Being Heard
Invocation
Complaint
Petition
Conclusion
Invocation
Complaints
Curse of Enemies
Confession Assertion
Confidence in God’s Response
Hymn/Blessing
Address/ Petition
Lament
Confession of Trust
Petition
Vow of Praise
Address
Lament
Confession of Trust
Petition
Double Wish
Vow of Praise
Assurance of Being Heard
Praise of God
Plea to God for help
Westermann (I)
Westermann (C)LongmanBellingerRoberts
1Address to God
2Remembrance of Past Salvation
3Lamentation4Description of
Wicked5ConfessionPlea/Protest
6Declaration of Trust
7Petition8Motivation for
God to Act
9Vow of Praise10Assurance of Being Heard
1Invocation
2Complaint
3Petition
4Conclusion
1Invocation
3Complaints5Curse of Enemies
4Confession Assertion
6Confidence in God’s response
7Hymn/Blessing
1Address/ Petition
2Lament
3Confession of Trust
4Petition
5Vow of Praise
1Address
2Lament
3Confession of Trust
4Petition
6Double Wish
7Vow of Praise5Assurance of Being Heard
8Praise of God
2Plea to God for help
Value of the Lament Psalms
“As we probe the Psalms together, our ultimate purpose is not to
increase our knowledge of ancient customs and poetic forms; we are
studying to know God better through his Word.” [Longman, 15]
“The lives of obedient Christians are always fulfilling, but never easy. As Christians, we have
something which the world lacks – Christ who brings meaning to our lives. Nonetheless, as long as we are in the world we will confront
hostility, frustration, fear and danger.” [Longman, 133; emphasis mine - asd]
Value of the Lament Psalms
“While the general language of the laments causes difficulty in identifying the specific crisis
behind the laments, it has the advantage of making the texts relevant to different people in
a variety of crises.” [Bellinger, 47; emphasis mine - asd]
• We can relate to them.– We also confront crises in our lives.– The psalmists are vague in their descriptions
of the nature of their crises. – Who are the enemies?
Value of the Lament Psalms
“In most cases the references are vague, and we have every reason to believe they are so intentionally. The psalms are purposefully
[emphasis mine – asd] vague in reference to historical events so that they can be used in a
variety of situations.” [Longman, 27]
• We can relate to them.– We also confront crises in our lives.– The psalmists are vague in their descriptions
of the nature of their crises. – Who are the enemies?
Value of the Lament Psalms
They remind us of the nature and role of our God.
• “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.” (5:4)
• “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.” (22:28)
Value of the Lament Psalms
They remind us of the nature and role of our God.
• “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.” (36:6-7)
Value of the Lament Psalms
They remind us of our dependence upon God.
• “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” (3:3)
• “But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.” (94:22)
• “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (4:8)
Value of the Lament Psalms
“The psalms call upon God to act as God should and deliver and bring justice as promised, and the speakers expect it to
happen.” [Bellinger, 72-73]
“The psalmists are not like Greek tragedians who portray a no-exit situation of fate or necessity; rather,
they raise a cry out of the depths in the confidence that God has the power to lift a person out of the
‘miry bog’ and to set one’s feet upon a rock (Ps. 40:1-3). Hence the laments are really expressions of
praise, offered in a minor key in the confidence that YHWH is faithful and in anticipation of a new lease on
life.” [Anderson, 60; emphasis mine]
Value of the Lament Psalms
• They manifest faith in God’s promise to protect His people.– “The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.” (27:1-3)
Value of the Lament Psalms
• They manifest faith in God’s promise to protect His people.– “You are my King, O God; Command victories
for Jacob. 5 Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.” (44:4-5)
– “Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.” (54:4)
– “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” (56:3-4)
Value of the Lament Psalms
They remind us of the need to pray.
• “We can learn from the laments how to be honest with God. The psalmist held nothing back; neither should we.” [Longman 71]
Value of the Lament Psalms
They remind us of the need to pray.
• The spirituality seen in the honest dialogue of faith in the laments is not weak or weary but bold and tough, even in the face of trial. An honest faith acknowledges life’s realities. In the Psalms, no part of life is ever beyond dialogue with God.” [Bellinger, 71-72]
Value of the Lament Psalms
• Divine promises• Jacob’s vow• Jacob – “greatly afraid and
distressed”• Jacob reminded God of His
promises• Jacob wrestled a “man”• “for you have struggled with God and
with men and have prevailed”
From the life of Jacob
Our language in prayer becomes bolder and more passionate as we begin to fully appreciate our
dependence upon God.
Purposeful Arrangement?
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5
(1-41)
(42-72)
(73-89)
(90-105)
(106-150)
-41
-31
-17
-17
-44
Book
1 2 3 4 5Number of Laments
6
12
18
24
Bellinger Anderson
24
20
8
4
11
21
18
9
2
10
Purposeful Arrangement?
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5
(1-41)
(42-72)
(73-89)
(90-105)
(106-150)
-41
-31
-17
-17
-44
Book 1 2 3 4 5
% of Laments 10
35
45
55
Bellinger Anderson
59%
65%
47%
24%
25%
51%
58%
53%
12%
23%
30
40
50
20
15
25
60
65
“In Hebrew, the book of Psalms is entitled tehillim, which (when translated) means
‘songs of praise.’ As we look at the psalms, though, the laments substantially
outnumber the songs of praise. In what sense then is this book characterized as
tehillim? A close examination of the Psalter suggests an answer. A decided shift takes place as we move from the beginning of
the book to its end. As we move toward the end, praise overtakes lament until at the
very end of the book we have a virtual fireworks of praise.” [Longman, 45]
The Five Books of Psalms1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75
76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
The Form of a Lament Psalm
• Invocation– How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You
hide Your face from me?
• Complaint– How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart
daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
• Petition– Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I
sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him"; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
• Conclusion– But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your
salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13
