If You Wrote a Psalm
After reading so many psalms and trying to put myself inside the expressions of praise and pleading, prophecy and prayer, trouble and triumph, and confidence in the mercy of God, I wondered if I could compose a psalm that would encompass the circumstances of my life and articulate them in a way that adequately expresses the deepest feelings of my soul. If I were to attempt it, I doubt that I would post it online for all to see. However, I believe it will be something I should try.
What I will do today is to write an outline or set a foundation for some ideas to compose a psalm of my own. I will include a few examples from the Book of Psalms with these ideas. If you want to write your own psalm, maybe you could get a few ideas from what is to follow.
The purpose of a psalm is to remind us of the way to act in the world, to keep us grounded, and to provide a proper and helpful perspective on life. Once you have written your psalm, read or sing it often.
The Psalms in the Bible have a few common things that appear in one form or another. One is that God is good, and another is that life is hard. Others are that neither fame, riches, nor prominence guarantees happiness or comfort, that living a righteous life will be easy, or that you are above temptation and sin.
And so, to write a psalm, you need to reflect on your day-to-day life, recall the times of greatest joy, and relive the most excruciatingly painful and disappointing experiences of your life. The biblical psalms are very dramatic as they go to the most profound feeling of the psalmists. They are not about mundane occurrences, yet they are pleadings to God, hoping that life can be a little more plain or sane. Primarily, you need to recognize the hand of God in your life, in both good and bad times.
To start your psalm, think about the times when God has intervened in your life. This may be hard for some of us because we may be experiencing times that we believe God has forsaken us or because we are forsaking him. But if you think hard enough, you will remember times when small or significant miracles occurred that changed how you feel, act, or interact with the world and others.
Tangent: Miracles are things that happen to us that should not occur. If you have drifted far away from God and become cynical, you may regard these occurrences as luck, fate, or some predestined and predictable outcome. In this case, you may be proud, which means that you are a little too clever for your own good because pride comes before a fall. There is some science/predictable behavior for you—end of tangent.
Next, expressions of praise are appropriate. Being specific about your feelings of gratitude will help you form phases. Good on you if you can make them poetic and rhythmic. Again, recalling the emotions you felt when good things happened to you will help you find the best way to express yourself. You should include the significant events and the overall things you may consider blessings. Psalm 145:1-2 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Other things you may want to include are how you feel about yourself or something you know about yourself. You could list your strengths and talents and also your weaknesses. Self-evaluation can be difficult because it causes you to be honest with yourself, but it may be a way to motivate you to move on to bigger and better things. In this case, the repetitive recitation of the psalm will remind you that you can be better each day. Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Perhaps the most vital component of your psalm is your expression of the deepest desires of your heart and soul.
Asking for deliverance from those who seek to destroy your liberty, restrict your agency, and relieve you of your responsibilities. Psalm 140:1-3 Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips.
Asking for the courage and strength to stand and defend truth and virtue. Psalm 27:1 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? and 14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Expressing hope in the salvation offered by Christ through his atoning sacrifice and feeling the love of God in your life. Psalm 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Pleading for the tender mercies of God in preserving your family and loved ones. Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the things you can include in your psalm, but it is a good start. If this has caused you to think about what you could express in a song of prayer, praise, and pleading, I have accomplished what I set out to do in all of these Sunday thoughts. If you put your thoughts on paper, that’s even better.