[free blog #3]
In his recent blog, Peter mentioned the violence depicted in the Psalms, and his blog prompted me to think about something else from the Psalms. I too noticed the violence (I think it's impossible to ignore), but another thing that I keep getting stuck on are the pleas. It seems like wedged in between all the Psalms about vengeance, and the few lovely ones actually about spiritual love and connection, there is an enormous amount of Psalms about crying out to God in despair.
Honestly, what struck me the most about these sorts of Psalms is just the lack of faith. Religion is built on faith, and it was always my understanding that the purpose of Psalms and hymns was to foster that feeling of connection to God, but when I read Psalms like Psalm 60 (which starts off with "God, You have abandoned us, breached us."), I can't help but feel a little confused. I understand that there are times in a person's life when they feel completely disconnected to the Divine source(s) that they usually align with, and that it can be really quite distressing and depressing when the link feels lost, but a lot of these sorts of Psalms boarder on whiny, or act as if to give God an ultimatum. Some, like Psalm 44, are a puzzling mix of awe and admiration, and admonishment.
I guess I just find it strange because when you read the Psalms straight through, you get this weird, moody picture of a follower, and some of the desperate Psalms make it seem like the winger/writer is about ready to give up on God, and that's a huge step for any religious person.
Yeah, i share the same feeling as yours when i read the Psalms. There are much complaining, desperately petitioning, and cruel imprecations to their enemies. I mentioned in my blog that Ancient Jewish people are avenging. They are unyielding and would not tolerate being bullied yet they also kept whining and felt frustrated when God did not assist them sufficiently.
ReplyDeleteThis Book of Psalms does not seem like a typical book of holy songs to praise God but like a petition book of Jewish Book.
It does seem that a lot of these psalms are pleas to God. They cry out to God to help them in times of need to defeat their enemies. This is an act of faith; to call upon God they have to believe that he is there and listening to their cries for help. While it is true that in Psalm 60 it appears that followers of the Lord believe that God has abandoned them, the last couple lines once again show faith that God is on their side and will help them; "Through God we shall gather strength,/and He will stamp out our foes" (verse 14).
ReplyDeleteI don't see this as people giving up on God. I see these pleas as cries for God to help them, but not that he has completely left them. I always was taught God is there, but you don't always see His presence in your life. If you don't believe this, I understand, but I don't believe God would abandon His people. I think the believers back in the day would see hardships as tests from God. They would understand He was still there.
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