‘Like the snail that dissolves’: Construction of Identity of Psalmist and Enemy in the Lament Psalms of the Individual

The paper explores how the psalms of lament of the individual constructed the identity not only of the Israelites who used them in worship but also of their antagonists. It starts with a critique of Amy Cottrill’s Language, Power, and Identity in the Lament Psalms of the Individual, which is critical of the psalmist’s non-specific presentation of the enemies that ‘obscures the humanity of the one he prays against’. This alleged dehumanisation of the enemies is explored further through the dialogical framework of Martin Buber’s ‘I-Thou’. A consideration of Buber’s two basic word pairs, ‘I-You’ and ‘I-It’, prompts the question of whether the psalmist treats the enemies as ‘You’ or ‘It’. Further arguments based on the social setting of the lament psalms lead to the conclusion that they construct an identity of a psalmist who is in real relationship with both God and the enemy and who treats them as genuine relational beings.

“Our Tongue-Cut God, Respond to Us”: Prayer of Righteous Anger and Communal Lament as Theology of the Oppressed

This article offers a theological reflection on prayer of anger and lament as a formative source for the oppressed in constructing and embodying their own theology. For this purpose, particular attention is paid to Kim Heunggyum’s scandalous prayer-song “The Father of Minjung,” which was widely sung by Korean minjung amid their political resistance against the authoritarian regimes in the 1980s. This article historically traces this prayer-song’s original context and developmental stages and analyzes its use of cross-genre that blends the styles and structures of the minjung-gayo and the lament psalms. Theological reflection on this prayer-song focuses on particular religious affections, righteous anger and communal lament, shaped by the Korean minjung’s collective performance to sing this prayer-song as a means of political resistance. By drawing on Audre Lorde, Johann Baptist Metz, and Emmanuel Levinas, this article points out limitations of Barth’s theology of prayer and presents how Kim’s prayer-song that evokes righteous anger and communal lament served as a formative source for the Korean minjung in doing their own critical and incarnational theology.

ALLAH MENDENGAR SERUAN DAN TEMPAT BERLINDUNG: Penelitian Puitis Mazmur 5

Abstrak: Pembacaan Mazmur 5 dengan menggunakan metode penelitian puitis (poetic criticism) menyingkapkan pesan berbeda dengan metode pemberian makna teks oleh para penafsir mazmur ratapan (lament psalm) sebelumnya. Metode penelitian puitis memperhatikan keluhan pemazmur, perasaan pemazmur yang disebabkan keluhannya, pengertiannya dan pengakuannya tentang Allah di dalam keluhannya dan perubahan suasana teks (mood) dalam menguak pesan mazmur ratapan. Penerapan penelitian puitis terhadap Mazmur 5 menghasilkan pesan tentang Allah yang mendengar seruan dan tempat berlindung. Pengenalan pemazmur akan Allah yang mendengar seruan dan tempat berlindung mengubah ratapan (lament) pemazmur menjadi pujian. Abstract: Reading psalm 5 by using poetic criticism reveals differing message with the methods used by lament psalms’ interpreters when reading psalm 5. The method of poetic criticism takes into consideration the lamentation of the psalmist, the feelings resulted from the lament, the psalmist understanding dan knowledge of God in the midst of psalmist lamentation dan the mood of the text in examining lament psalms. Applying poetic criticism to psalm 5 produces a message concerning God who hears and protects. The personal knowledge of the psalmist of God who hears dan protects radically changes the lament into joy. Kata-kata Kunci: Mazmur ratapan, penelitian puitis, keluhan, perasaan, Allah, perubahan suasana teks (mood), takut akan Allah, ibadah. Kepustakaan Anderson, A.A. The Book of Psalms: Psalms 1-72. Vol. 1. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1972.Barrett, C.K. The Gospel according to St John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text. 2 ed. London: SPCK, 1978.Barth-Frommel, Marie-Claire, dan B. A. Pareira. Kitab Mazmur 1-72: Pembimbing dan Tafsirannya. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia, 2012.Barus, Armand. Mengenal Tuhan Melalui Penderitaan. Jakarta: Scripture Union Indonesia, 2016._____________. "Menghadapi Kebohongan: Penelitian Puitis Mazmur 4." Amanat Agung 14, no. 1 (Juni 2018): 1-24._____________. "Sembuhkanlah Aku: Penelitian Puitis Mazmur 6." Amanat Agung 12, no. 2 (Desember 2016): 175-206.Blocher, Henri. "The fear of the Lord as the "principle" of wisdom." Tyndale Bulletin 28 (1977): 3-28.Broyles, Craig C. "Psalms Concerning the Liturgies of Temple Entry." Dalam The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, disunting oleh Peter W. Flint dan Patrick D. Miller, Jr, 248-287. Leiden: Brill, 2005.Craigie, Peter C. Psalms 1-50. Word Biblical Commentary 19. Dallas: Word Books, 1983.Davidson, Robert. The Vitality of Worship: A Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1998.Dyrness, William. Themes in Old Testament Theology. Downers Grove: IVP Press, 1979.Eichrodt, Walther. Theology of the Old Testament. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961._____________. Theology of the Old Testament. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967.Goldingay, John. Psalms 1-41. Vol. 1. Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006._____________. Psalms 90-150. Vol. 3. Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008.Keel, Othmar. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1997.Lee, Sung-Hun. "Lament and the Joy of Salvation in the Lament Psalms." Dalam The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, disunting oleh Peter W. Flint dan Patrick D. Miller, Jr, 224-247. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum XCIX. Leiden: Brill, 2005.O’Connor, Michael Patrick, dan Bruce K. Waltke. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2004.Ridderbos, Herman N. The Gospel according to John: A Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1997.Roberts, J.J.M. "Mowinckel’s Enthronement Festival: A Review." Dalam The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, disunting oleh Peter W. Flint dan Patrick D. Miller, Jr, 97-115. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum XCIX. Leiden: Brill, 2005.Routledge, Robin. Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2008.Schwab, Zoltàn. "Is Fear of the LORD the Source of Wisdom or Vice Versa?" Vetus Testamentum 63, no. 4 (Oktober 2013): 652-662.Villanueva, Federico G. The ’Uncertainty of a Hearing’: A Study of the Sudden Change of Mood in the Psalms of Lament. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 121. Leiden: Brill, 2008.Waltke, Bruce K., James M. Houston, dan Erika Moore. The Psalms as Christian Lament: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 2014.Weiser, Artur. The Psalms: A Commentary. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962.

Membaca Dan Memaknai Mazmur Ratapan 12 Dengan Metode Baca Gali Alkitab

One type of psalm is Lament. Psalms of Lament sung with weeping, weeping driven by the psalmist's sorrow. David wrote many psalms where one of them is lamentation in Psalm 12. In this article the psalmist experienced a change of mood (feeling) from lamenting, joyful hope then again lamenting. The research in this paper used a qualitative approach to library research methods. Literature research requires a study of related literature to guide researchers to achieve the research objectives of the data taken based on selected books. While the interpretation to find the meaning of the text of the Research Team uses the method of Reading the Bible (BGA). The methods of BGA are simple but practice interpretation that was designed initially for Christian quiet times. After Psalm 12 interpreted, the Research Team founded that the psalmist was still lamenting over the situation around him. Even though the psalmist experienced joy because God will save, but the wicked are still there and rottenness still arises among the sons of men. Because God works not based on the presence or absence of the wicked and rottenness among the children of men.

The Wisdom of Lament—Psalms

MANY READERS WHO first encounter the book of Psalms in its entirety—and not just isolated psalms in worship—are unprepared for the predominance of lament. Although the book as a whole bears the Hebrew title Tehilim, “Praisings,” the first half is dominated by cries of pain and appeals for deliverance. Many of these psalms are not carefully modulated expressions of agony and outrage, and for that reason, they tend not to be part of the functional theology of either church or synagogue. This is a sad irony, since the angry psalms are among those that may be most useful for pastoral ministry, as well as for spiritual growth and healing. As Calvin observed, the emotional honesty of psalms is a protection against and remedy for “that most baneful infection, hypocrisy”;...

The Psalms

Through prayer and poetry, the psalmists seek to situate themselves simultaneously in the world and in relation to God. The language of praise is grounded in recognition of divine generosity; God is both the subject and source of praise. The first-person psalms openly express vulnerability, awareness of a social world that is complex and often dangerous. Although the book bears the title Tehilim, “Praisings,” the first half is dominated by lament psalms. Genuine lament is a learned skill involving exacting theological work. The psalms offer emergency language to deal with fear and loss, anger toward enemies and the tension between faith and despair.

Marie de France, the Psalms, and the Construction of Romance Authorship

This chapter examines the influence of the Psalms on the development of vernacular authorial roles in the twelfth century. It argues that authors of courtly romances, in the period of the genre’s emergence, drew upon the Psalms and the figure of David to sanction a new authorial office. In particular, it argues that Marie de France, in both the General Prologue and the lais themselves, looks to the Psalms for notions of lament, remembrance, obscurity, and restoration that frame both her authorial persona and the purposes of her genre. In ‘Yonec’ in particular, we see a heroine’s lament that is carefully modelled on the lament Psalms but also reproduces the duties of authorship and genre that Marie claims for herself in the Prologue. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the Psalms, working through ‘neighbouring’ or ‘contrafactive’ rather than familial relationships, definitely shaped romance as a genre.

“I am Finished”

Psalm 88 is unrelentingly dark; it is the only one of the lament psalms that does not turn at some point to praise. How are we to read it? First, primarily, we should read it christologically—as witness to the experience of Christ. Read in this way, the Psalms give us insight into the passion narrative. Second, we should ask how the text matters for us as Pentecostals. It calls us away from triumphalism, requiring us to take seriously the experience of god-forsakenness, and forcing us to reimagine our core beliefs and practices.