Day 1

Psalms is one of the greatest works of literary history in the world! Even non-Christians understand that. When anyone is traveling ‘through the valley of shadows’ (Ps23:4) they more often than not turn to the psalms of David or the writings of Paul. This is because both of these men experienced life’s traumas and we can identify with their struggles. David was hounded and persecuted, he lost a son and his family became dysfunctional. He also made some big mistakes for which God forgave him. His Psalms were his prayer journal.

Paul recounted that, “at times we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life” 2Cor 1:8.RSV He had started this letter talking about how he had been “weighed down with troubles, …. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. …”.2Corinthians 1:2-5NLT “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 2Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT

Regarding the plethora of poetic devices, I will not comment in my reflections because space precludes this. As you read the psalm you should be able to recognize the similes, metaphors, & personifications – but especially the parallelisms – a very common device where the second line repeats the first line in different words & thereby intensifies it. E.g. Psalm 2:1-3. There are also chiasms – a mirror structure where the psalm is arranged in an ‘A,B,C,D,C,B,A’ form. The apex(D) is the punch line. May God bless our journey together.