Interpreting the OT, Poetic Books - Day 4

We are back for the second round of Interpreting the Old Testament, and this time I was all attentive - I must have paid back all the sleep debt through the week.

I have been learning so much about psalms. We continued our lecture today into Royal Psalms, Individual Songs of Thanksgiving, Communal Songs of Thanksgiving and other minor types. What intrigues me was that there is just about a psalm for every event and every emotion of the human soul. As you experience life, good or bad, as you feel the emotions, happy or sad, look at the psalm and you will find one befiitting your situation. Use it, pray it, appropriate it and worship the LORD.

From all the 150 psalms, I have been told from young, that David wrote them all, but not so I discovered later in life. There are only 73, which are attributed to him. There are also psalms of Asaph, Korah, Solomon, Heman, Ethan, Jeduthun, and Moses. In fact, one fifth of the book, i.e. a total of 43 psalms, are anonymous. I would like to think that a number of them are written by women. This certainly show that almost anyone can write psalms - be it sonnets or haikus, odes or free verse, anyone can and should write poems to God.

I like to write poetry but it is not often that it happens. Over the span of 2 years, I have written about 10. Here are my poems, my so-called psalms per-se:

• When I am busy - written when I was so unbelievably busy and yet I had this peace in me which I thought was quite unusual a feeling when I am busy; rather than peaceful, I am usually flustered
• Let Him Lead - written when I was feeling some discontentment about life
• But - written when I was unsure about a decision I need to make
• The Eternity in My Heart - written when I needed to remind myself that whatever happens in life, it does not matter, because I look to the eternity, and I am living it now
• In the Stillness - written when I didn't know what to do
• Goodbye 2006 - written as an ode of thanksgiving and worship to God, to thank him for the passing year
• Waiting Room - written when I was going through a tough time
• A Lament - written when I was the victim of unkindness, of a torture of the spirit and mind, just so I would stay sane
• Never So Much - just a short release to God in my busyness
• Good Company - maybe I can call this narrative poetry, I wrote this to tell a story of a delightful evening spent with a good friend discussing biblical studies and theology

pearlie