THE PSALMS OF LAMENT, A MODEL OR NOT?

          It is my hope that the title of this essay alone will get you asking some questions. Questions like, “What is a lament?” and “Should we pray like that?” In the following paragraphs it is my hope to explain what a lament is and why it is biblically acceptable to pray them. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a lament is defined this way, “verb intransitive 15th century : to mourn aloud : wail verb transitive: to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively :mourn; to regret strongly synonym see deplore; ²lament noun 1591 1: a crying out in grief.”^[1]

            So in today’s vernacular we would say that “to lament is to fuss with God for our sorrow.” For modern day followers of YWAH it seems almost sacrilegious to think about going to God in prayer and blaming him for anything bad that happens in our lives; but that is exactly what these Psalmists did. The psalms are the best place to learn how to pray, and Logan Jones elaborates on that thought. Jones says, “The psalms teach us how to stand faithfully before God, asking and even demanding response, action and answers. The psalms teach us to bring our hopes, praise and joy to God. They also teach us to bring our pain, fear and sorrow.”[2]

            Something that is very intriguing is while most commentators agree that psalms of lament take up a large portion of the Psalter; it has been hard to find several that agree on which psalms actually deserve to be categorized as lament. Then, after figuring out which psalms belong in this genre there are two broader categories the lament of the people and that of an individual.[3] After reading the material for this week and learning just these basic tenants of a lament psalm it showed me how broadly I have been brushing over things with God. Jones in his article proposes that, “At its core, the lament is witness to a profound faith that takes God seriously and takes the covenantal relationship with God seriously.”[4] The only thing that arises with this train of thought is for a young believer it could become a discouragement or an even greater encouragement depending on the atmosphere of their theological heritage.

            There is a deepening of relationship that takes place when you confront God. As Morpehus said in The Matrix “I’ll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” This is exactly what praying the psalms of lament do they allow us to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Through the lament the psalmist invites each of us deeper into the life of faith.[5] One of the most touching psalms to me was the third psalm, because as Craig Broyles explains, “what is most remarkable about this psalm is the security (esp. vv. 3-6), and assurance (esp. v. 7b) believers can enjoy in the midst of dire threat.”[6]

            Of all the psalms that were covered this week (3, 6-7, 13, 26,44, 79-80) number thirteen has to be one that stands out to me the greatest. The author feels like God has left him alone and is unwilling to provide him with any kind of solace against his problems especially his thoughts. One of the hardest things to accept about this psalm was mentioned by Broyles in reference to the statement, “will you forget me forever.” Broyles says, “As hiding the face” implies a deliberate act, so will you forget me forever may imply the same—in other words, these problems may not have merely slipped God’s mind, God maybe deliberately ignoring them. That is a hard thing to grasp, God ignoring one of his children’s problems. But Isaiah tells us his thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways. (Is 55:9)

            In the end we learn to take everything to God because he is ultimately in control and wants to hear from us. By us speaking to him in frank, yet reverent manner there is far more good that will come of it than bad. Build your trust in our almighty God and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

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^[1] Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary., Eleventh ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

[2] Logan C. Jones, "The psalms of lament and the transformation of sorrow." Journal Of Pastoral Care & Counseling 61, no. 1-2 (March 1, 2007): 47-58. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed August 30, 2013)47.

[3] C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic , 2001)136.

[4] Jones, Lament, 49.

[5] Ibid., 49.

[6] Craig C. Broyles, Understanding the Bible Commentay Series- Psalms. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999)51.

Who Were the Recipients of the Book of Hebrews?

Just like the author of the book of Hebrews the exact recipients are not actually known; so all we can do is speculate and attempt to make intelligent guesses. Cockerill acknowledges that, “The members of the congregation to which Hebrews is addressed were obviously well versed in the OT and had been followers of Jesus for some time (2:1-4; 5:11-14).”[1] When paying close attention to the text we realize that the recipients of Hebrews were becoming very weary in their daily living due to the persecution that they were experiencing. Pretty much every commentator believes that this work is written not to a large church, but to a small home church possibly located in Rome[2]. There are some who feel that it may be written still to a home church but in Palestine, Ephesus or even Corinth.

            We have no clear way of knowing if those in the congregation were Jewish Christians or Gentile believers. Either way they were still facing some pretty harsh troubles. According to George Guthrie, “…Nero’s rising threat to the church accounts for the feat of death and the waning of commitment indicated in Hebrews.”[3] Not only were these believers facing all of these things from the Roman government they also had to deal with consistently public  harassment, imprisonment, and the confiscation of property, but not to the point of being martyred.[4] The letter exhorts them to trust in the great High Priest whom they have in heaven in the form of Jesus Christ. 

            The basic worldview of the letter to the Hebrews is one the is Christocentric, meaning that the way they see the world should ultimately be through Christ and what has been accomplished for us. Just as the recipients of Hebrews were becoming anxious and growing weary we have to remember that there is no trial we cannot face with Christ on our side. Cockerill adds, “This High Priest is also the “Pioneer” (12:2) through whom they can be certain of entering God’s future promised “rest,” the eternal “City” that has always been the destiny of the people of God (11:8-10, 13-16; 12:22-24).”[5] We can apply this to our lives by understanding that we have someone who stands before the Father to plead on our behalf; while knowing that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and by being such should be honored by us as his people living honorable and sacrificial lives.

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[1] Gareth Lee  Cockerill,. The Epistle to the Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Edermans Publishing Co., 2012)16.

[2] George H. Guthrie, The NIV Application Commentary-Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998)21.

[3] Ibid., 22-23.

[4] Cockerill. Hebrews., 17.

[5] Ibid., 17.

Who Could Be the Author of Hebrews?

         The book of Hebrews has always been one that is fascinated me, and like many of you we were led to believe that the Apostle Paul was the author. However, with greater understanding and newer research we know that it is not him. This still leaves the question of who is the author of Hebrews. According to George H. Guthrie, “earlier suggestions include such noteworthy people as Paul, Luke, Clement of Rome, and Barnabas. More recent proposals set forth for Priscilla, Jude, Apollo’s, Philip, and capital Silvanus.”[1] We come to understand that Paul did not write this book on several different levels. According to Cockerill, “these many ways, therefore, in which Hebrews differs from the Pauline letters and style, vocabulary, in content all but rule out Pauline authorship.”[2] 

            There is a great deal that can be learned from the writing found in the book of Hebrews. Just like in our modern-day we can learn about the author of the letter or some other material by the level of the vernacular use in said material. As Guthrie has stated, “His use of the Greek language ranks at the top of the New Testament authors; his rich vocabulary reveals the background of one widely read… What is certain is that our writer brought numerous skills gained through advanced education to his task.”[3] On top of observing that the author is a highly educated person, and is one that is highly versed in the Old Testament and his interpretations while being an extremely dynamic preacher.[4] 

            It is important to discuss the possible author of the book because it gives us a greater insight into those he/she may have been writing to, and we could better understand the theological background of the person writing. There are many questions that could be answered if the human author of this work was known. Ultimately we all should be able to agree God is the author. If I personally were to make the pronouncement on who wrote the book I feel that it very easily could have been Apollos. We know from Scripture that he was well educated, and he was taught by others about the Gospel, unlike Paul who received it directly from the Lord himself. Cockerill supports this suggestion when pointing out, “The description of Apollos in Acts 18:24-19:1 is a descrition of the kind of person who wrote Hebrews.”[5]

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[1] George H. Guthrie, The NIV Application Commentary-Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998)23.

[2] Gareth Lee  Cockerill,. The Epistle to the Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Edermans Publishing Co., 2012)7.

[3]Guthrie, NIV Application, 26.

[4] Ibid., 24.

[5] Cockerill., Hebrews., 9.

Review of The Good Life

I have been a fan of Trip Lee's music for several years now. When I heard he was writing a book I immediately became intrigued. His book shares the title of his latest (possibly last) album The Good Life, both are well worth your time.  I was not sure what to expect when I received this work, should I expect a hip-hop artist to have some deep theological pondering or shallow thoughts of a merely religious nature.
This book exposes all of the different areas of life that we often try to rely upon instead of Jesus. In the process of cutting away all the things we use to hold ourselves up, he digs away the foundation of our "good life" but he does not leave us without something to rest upon. He always points us to Jesus, breaking apart the societal norms we have been spoon fed for the last half century. While this book is very strong in its Christology, it is not one a seasoned Christian would re-read if they already has the foundation that has been laid in this work. Personally I am not your "average" Christian; I am a seminary student that already has a degree in religion.
I would happily recommend this work to any new believer, or especially to someone who has been living under the teaching of false teachers or prosperity preachers. This work is not extremely large, and if you read quickly it could be consumed in a few hours. But if you do not have the foundation of a solid knowledge of who Christ is then I would recommend taking your time to digest what Trip is explaining and implementing this new found understanding in your walk with Jesus.
I was given a copy of this book for my fair unbiased review, I was under no obligation to write a positive review.  Pick up two copies one for you and one for friend and learn how to gain the Good Life.

How Should We Classify Ourselves?

Over the last several weeks here in the USA there has been an upheaval about the verdict of one highly publicized homicide trial (George Zimmeran vs Florida) in the death of a teenage boy Trayvon Martin. There have been numerous people coming out screaming and yelling about what a miscarriage of justice this is and a white man was able to kill a black boy and it wasn't that big of a deal to the majority so he was able to get away with it. But if you look closely Zimmerman is not a white male he is hispanic/white and looks more hispanic. While it is sad that a young man lost his life, the life of George Zimmerman will never be the same either.
What I find to be the most disheartening are several things; first is it is okay for black people to discuss their view of this case and how it turned out, but as soon as a white person says anything we are called a racist or a bigot. Secondly, there are those who call themselves Christians that have not shown very much grace to those around them, how are we to classify ourselves? Do we start with our ethnicity, the nationality, our sex, and finally our religion? Well, if we call ourselves Christian and truly believe that makes us who we are, then it should override every other label we would choose to place upon ourselves. The Apostle Paul tells the Galatians, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28 ESV)
This has not been the case of what has been seen at least from most of the African American community. While our country has had a tremoltus past with racial tensions, it will never get any better if all that is focused on is what separates us instead of what unites us. While it will never be easy to live as the Apostle spoke to the Galatians is does not mean that we should not strive for that kind of unity. We will never be able to fully experience all that Christ has intended for us until we stop segregating ourselves and start uniting under the headship of Jesus. The price He paid over 2,000 years ago, was more than enough to bring reconciliation to the people of His time, and it can do the same for us. The more we grow in Christlikeness the less we should see of all the barriers that get in the way of us loving those around us, even when they have done us wrong.
Christ's own countrymen had him arrested and executed and while He hung on the cross He cried out to His father, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." And as long as we continue to persecute those who are supposed to be of the same faith as us we will be no better than the Jewish religious leaders of the time. So let us be sorrowful not only for the loss of one young man's life and the destruction of another, but mourn the fact that the body of Christ still has a long way to go. If we want to bring people into the fold the best way we can do that is by handling events like these with more grace, love and humility.