Session 2 – Psalm 145: an Alphabet of Praise
Exploring life as we would always like it to be … and perhaps think it ought to be
In session 2 we:
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- Introduce a different way of looking at the psalms – orientation/disorientation/reorientation.
- Explore the certainty and security of the orientation phase.
- Look at Psalm 145 as an example of how life ought to be.
- Explore some of our perceptions of God and the way He acts.
Session 2 Outline – from Powerpoint (in video)
(1) Happy Places & Safe Spaces – a simple framework to view the Psalms.
(2) Breuggemann’s Schema – the cycle of transformation: orientation/disorientation/reorientation.
(4) Expectations – our expectations of life, Christian living and God.
The structure of the session comes from the Powerpoint (in the video). You can download the powerpoint here.
Happy Places & Safe Spaces
HAPPY PLACE – the place, situation, or environment where one feels most happy and secure.
Do you have a happy place? Where is it? When do you go there? Why do you go there?
We can think of the many of the Psalms as a HAPPY PLACE.
Do you have a favourite psalm? Would you see this as some kind of spiritual HAPPY PLACE?
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SAFE SPACE – a supportive, non-threatening environment where you feel comfortable to express yourself and share experiences without fear of judgement, discrimination or reprisal.
The lament psalms reveal a safe space within which we can express our emotions and talk about experiences.
It is not just any safe space but it is a SAFE SPACE WITH GOD.
Brueggemann's Schema
The process of spiritual formation revolves around the cycle of life, death and the resurrection.
This cycle of transformation is at the heart of Deep calls to Deep and uses a schema developed by the Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann.
We move from seasons of well-being when we can see that God is in control (ORIENTATION) to times of hurt, disappointment and suffering (DISORIENTATION) which correspond to death. The final stage (REORIENTATION) is one where joy has been restored and our experience of who God is has been deepened through the difficulties encoutered.
These are best illustrated in the downloadable graphic from Steve Thomason.
Exercise - Psalm 145
Psalm 145 is written as an acrostic poem with each line starting with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
We can think of it a bit like an A-Z of who God is and how His people are to live in covenantal relationship with Him.
It is definitely a psalm of orientation. Everything is working perfectly and God is praised for His creation, His love and compassion, His provision and protection and so on.
There is no hint of walking through the dark valley.
‘God’s in His heaven—
All ’s right with the world!’
(Robert Browning – Pippa’s song)
Reflection: The world's 'all as it should be'
This reflection draws on Matt Redman’s song ‘Blessed be your name’
The song is almost psalm-like in the way it is written. A thought is expressed and then deepened and then of course there is the contrast between the good times and the tough times.
The third verse goes …
‘Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name’
In the reflection we explore how as Christians we can easily have expectations of how God should treat us or even reward us.
We see how we need to place Psalm 145 within the wider context of scripture and life where everything is not ‘as it should be or as we perhaps expect it to be in our Christian journey