M. Eve White Genre Critique CPO 698 11/11/15 Psalm 142 Genre Critique Psalm 142 falls under the genre of Poetry. In particular, it can be described as a psalm of lament. Psalms of lament are characterized by a particular structure, which Psalm 142 holds to. It begins by addressing God, and presenting a petition. Next, the psalm references God or an enemy, a declaration of trust, a plea for God’s intervention, a promise of praise should God intervene, and finally thanksgiving in anticipation of God’s response. Psalm 142 clearly states in verse one, “I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord.” This clearly marks the beginning of the passage. The last line is, For you will dеal bountifully with mе.” This dеclaration of thanksgiving …show more content…
Phrases such as “our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol” and “my heart is appalled within me” show a similar theme to Psalm 142. Psalm 142 is given the heading “Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.” Some suggest that this refers to the cave at in 1 Samuel 24. At the time in 1 Samuel 24, David is being relentlessly pursued by Saul. He is physically endangered, as well as spiritually. Had he not been so weak of faith prior to this, David may not have needed to say a prayer of lament. David seeks shelter in a cave and awaits the Lord’s …show more content…
The first line of the verse states that the psalmist pours out his complaint to God while the second line says that the psalmist will tell his troubles to God. The psalmist doesn’t complain about God, but rather declares his troubles to Him as a confidant and friend. This verse also continues the psalmist’s intent to plead his case to God for deliverance. Psalm 142:3 says, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path.” When the psalmist’s spirit was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t see to make the right choice, the Lord knew his path. He indicates that although he cannot see the snares laid in his path by his enemies, the Lord can. The psalmist is aware of the trap or snarе his adversaries have placed for him and believes he lacks the ability, faith, strength or courage to escapе from it or fight
St. Albans Psalter Psalm 68 is not long, but it does have lots of detailed material to study the author’s choice of language, and the power of the images that are being conveyed to the readers through an emotional and sentimental way. The simplicity of this psalm’s gives it power, since it expresses an emotional despair in a careful shaped prayer, which comes from a human being in what seems to be a life-threatening situation. In the image and the content, the psalmist’s travels an arc of desperation to salvation, in a vivid personal plea to Christ to save him from what seems to be a swirling vortex of hopelessness that threatens to pull him under forever.
I first stumbled upon the strange nature of Psalm 46 in Anthony Burgess's autobiography, You've Had Your Time. The argument that Burgess makes, as an aside on composing a musical on the life of Shakespeare, is not meant to be conclusive but is offered as a curio.
Psalm 89 of the Book of Psalms, advocates the message of consequentialism, foreground by man’s relationship with God, with direct lin...
Psalms 8, 23, 121, and 137 are Judeo-Christian writings from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) that were written around 1000 BCE in present-day Egypt and Israel. These pieces of writing express praise to God and were written with intent to be sung; in fact, the word psalm literally means “a plucking of strings” (“Before You Read […]”). These pieces also convey a multitude of emotions ranging from euphoria to hostile anger. In “Psalm 8” the excellence of God and all of his creations are praised, especially humanity because God “made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor” (“Psalm 8”). This praise toward God is a constant theme throughout the psalms. Fittingly, the Hebrew word for psalm, tehillim, means “songs of praise.” Furthermore, “Psalm 23” conveys the everlasting protection of God and the “goodness and mercy [that] shall follow” those who believe in his greatness (“Psalm 121”). A similar subject is examined in “Psalm 121” when it is stated that “the Lord shall protect thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul” (“Psalm 121”). God is portrayed as a divine protector in many psalms, as shown previously, but he is also questioned for pushing hardship on his people, such as in “Psalm 137”. The anger and sadness of the Hebrews who were exiled from Jerusalem is preserved in the words of this psalm: “we wept, when we remembered Zion” (“Psalm 137”). This unique expression of specific feelings to God is what sets the psalms apart from other parts of the Hebrew Bible (“Before You Read […]”).
Psalm 113 reads like a 1st century pep talk for those with spiritual burnout. The writer makes his case for the Lord by pointing to the many ways that God earns our praise. These nine verses of scripture are saturated with three specific reasons to praise the Lord – He is Su...
The speaker of the poem believes himself to be weak in his faith and he wants to be conquered by God and not by Satan.
The headings in Psalms 3, 18, and 63 are related to the historical event described in the books of Samuel. They have similar themes to the passages that portray the mood and feelings that David would have felt while encountering these events. According to Nogalski, the connections of the headings in each Psalms “suggests that the psalms were used to clarify and sharpen the narrative or David’s character” (2001, p. 169). The title of a Psalm, however, does not create a perfect harmony with the psalm and its historical event (Slomovic, 1979, p. 351). Many scholars believe that the historical headings on Psalms were not initially part of them (Slomovic, 1979, p.350). Although it is difficult to identify if these headings were specifically related to the Psalms, it is clear that readers are able to understand the psalm better with these headings and are able to relate to David’s situation with the situations they are familiar.
middle of paper ... ... David was a shepherd boy, but he displayed incredible courage by killing Goliath. David had been faithful and obedient to God, and God saw David’s heart. "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature: because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Psalm 109 begins with a superscription that we have seen several times before, “A Psalm of David” (Bible 873). David is believed to be the author of this Psalm. Psalms 109 though is not a usual Psalm by David; this particular Psalm is classified as an Imprecatory Psalm or a Cursing Psalm. The idea of Imprecatory Psalms is very unsettling for people and the church. This though goes with a misunderstanding of what is involved in actually making an imprecatory prayer.
A person may feel unforgiven and angry with God. Something could have happened in a person’s life that makes him or her feel unworthy of salvation and forgiveness. The individual may begin to feel like life has no meaning. In class we looked at Psalm 88. The author of this Psalm says, “You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief” (Psalm 88: 6-9 New International Version). This is an example of how a person can blame God for the problems they go through in life. If a person begins to feel abandoned by God, they may fall in to depression because they feel as though life is
The second verse tells us about the many attempts the mentor has made to rejuvenate the teens life, ?Lay down a list of what is wrong/The things you've told him all along.? The last two lines in the second verse are repeated ?and pray to God he hears you/and pray to God he hears you? which is emphasizes the angst of the mentor because of the numerous times he has tried to save the teen.
Throughout the many, many years of our beautiful Church, we have seen many Saints that have suffered in the name of God and prevailed. Due to their great faith and love for God, they were victorious in their respective battles for who they suffered for; because of the many saints that we have and their sufferings, we can admire and imitate these saints. Three particular saints we can look up to are Saint Joseph, Saint Paul and Saint Abanoub with each saint suffering something different. Saint Joseph was given away by his own brothers. Saint Paul was beaten, and Saint Abanoub was whipped. In the Book of Psalms David, the Prophet writes a Psalm that perfectly represents all the saints that have suffered as it says “For the Lord God is a sun and
The Bible says to praise God for who He is, particularly in prayer. Much of Psalms is a good case of this. Most people focus their praise in just a few places, including God's love, and then spend the remainder of their prayers asking Him for things.
Psalms 149:4 says “the LORD takes delight in his people.” He rejoices over us unconditionally! Even when we scribble a mess in our lives, we have the promise of knowing He loves and accepts us as His precious children.
Psalm 43 is a cry to God: “Judge me O God and plead my cause against