In his book entitled Praying the Psalms he suggests that the psalms reflect two very basic movements in everyone’s life. The first is the move into the “pit”. It happens when our world collapses around us and we feel that there is no way out of the deep hole into which we have sunk. The second is the move out of the pit into a welcome place. We suddenly understand what has happened and who has brought us up out of the pit. This is another way of capturing that movement from life to death, from cross to resurrection.
Brueggemann further suggests that human beings regularly find themselves in one of three places:
- a place of orientation, in which everything makes sense in our lives;
- a place of disorientation, in which we feel we have sunk into the pit; and
- a place of new orientation, in which we realize that God has lifted us out of the pit and we are in a new place full of gratitude and awareness about our lives and our God.
Using these three “places,” Brueggemann suggests that life has a rhythm as we move from one place to the next. He believes that that psalms match those places and the surprisingly painful and joyful moves we make. In short, there are psalms of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. Recognizing that different psalms match these three places in our lives can help us identify psalms that fit our personal lives. They give us resources for the journey of faith. They give us a voice to articulate the contents of our souls in every circumstance.
Brueggemann helpfully categorizes the psalms around this larger scheme. By doing so he gives believers moving through the three-fold cycle a voice and framework for engaging God. The Psalms are a sufficient resource to enable robust faith in the face of any situation.
Orientation
- Creation – in which we consider the world and our place in it
- Torah – in which we consider the importance of God’s revealed will
- Wisdom – in which we consider the importance of living well
- Narrative – in which we consider our past and its influence on our present
- Psalms of Trust – in which we express our trust in God’s care and goodness
Disorientation
- Lament – in which we/I express anger, frustration, confusion about the experience of God’s absence (both communal and individual laments)
- Penitential – in which we/I express regret and sorrow over wrongs we have done (both communal and individual penitential psalms)
Reorientation
- Thanksgiving – in which we thank God for what God has done for us/me (both communal and individual thanksgiving psalms)
- Hymns of Praise – in which we praise God for who God is
- Zion Psalms – in which we praise God for our home
- Royal Psalms – in which we consider the role of political leadership
- Covenant Renewal – in which we renew our relationship with God