CW: Rape

Note: I didn’t limit myself to the specific verses suggested in the lesson, but tried (generally) to stay within the range of Psalms 1-46. I strayed a little outside that too, but hopefully it’ll still be useful for the other lessons on the Book of Psalms and will not interfere with anyone else’s lesson ideas. I just figured that many of the suggested Psalms are well-trodden territory and it is worth exploring more.

What I like about the Bible as compared to the Book of Mormon is that you get a more rounded understanding of the people – the heroes do things we see as villainous.  The villains act in ways we don’t understand to be wrong.  The people seem like real people, albeit living in a very different culture and society.  The book of Psalms encapsulates that – we don’t simply see Psalms of praise.  The Psalmists also rail against unfairness, question why God is gone, ask for their enemies to be punished, and lament the hardships in their lives.  In short, they remind me of my relationship with God – I want a relationship, but I am a hot mess.

One important pattern I see in the Psalms that women in the modern Church need to hear is that the Psalmists lift their voices.  In many ways the Church has taught us not to speak up or speak out.  In 2014 Elder Ballard infamously warned women “don’t talk too much.”   It isn’t hard to find quotes where women are encouraged to speak.  But the overall culture of our Church is one that devalues female voices.  There are few female speakers in General Conference.  Women are rarely the keynote speaker of any major conference directed at women, and are never the keynote speaker addressing men.  As a result the material for lessons tends to also be male-authored. The model for women is often one of sweetness, compliance and submissiveness. The Psalmists are not submissive and quiet.  They openly complain, ask hard questions, and demand things, just as they are vocal in praise, gratitude and assurance that the Lord is with them. Although the Psalms likely were not written by or for women, and are certainly not attributed to women, we can still use them as a lens to understand both the women of the Bible, and our modern experience as being women of God.

Authenticity Before God

The Psalms are examples of how we can and should be authentic in our communication with God.

Often God can feel very far away

“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? For ever? How long wilt thou hidden thy face from me?

Psalm 13:1

Have you ever felt like this? Forgotten by God? Or that God does not want to connect with you? Have you ever blamed God for something, or felt like God should have changed an outcome?

The Psalmists often demanded, rather than petitioning – they used the imperative. For instance, look at the verbs in Psalm 17. The author commanded God using the following words: hold, incline, hear, shew, keep, arise, disappoint, cast down, deliver.

When you pray, do you ever use the imperative? Why or why not? How do you think it changes patterns of prayer when you use commands rather than supplication?

Many Psalms refer to enemies, and a desire that God bring them down and lift up the speaker.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

Psalms 23:5

While this seems fairly benign (I get to eat while my enemies, presumably hungry, watch me) others are much more aggressive, asking that God break the enemy’s teeth, or thrust the enemy to hell. The Psalmists are honest about anger, disappointment, and hatred.  They bring all the ugliness of humanity before God, not trying to pretend to be better than they are, or hide the darkness within from someone who sees it all any way. (e.g. Psalm 58:6,  Psalm 69:28, Psalm 137:8-9). There is no purpose in posturing and pretending not to have feelings of anger, jealousy, impatience, dislike or any other unflattering emotion. God knows we feel that way. The Psalmists did not hide their humanity behind a veneer of pious devotion, and we can follow their example in our prayers.

Have you ever talked to God in moments of anger at other people? If the Psalms are patterns for us to follow, does this mean God condones seeking vengeance? If not, what do you think we are supposed to get from vengeful psalms?

Using Psalms to Hear Biblical Women

For the most part the Psalms were probably written by men and used in male-centered worship.  This does not mean, however, that we cannot see women within the Psalms.  We can use the Psalms to illuminate the stories of women in the Old Testament, and come to a fuller understanding of what they felt in moments of great trauma or rejoicing. One example is the story of the rape of Tamar, found in (2 Sam 13:1-22).

Prior to her half-brother’s assault she pled for mercy.

I, wither shall I cause my shame to go? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel.  Now Therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

2 Sam 13:13

After the assault, she the text says she went away weeping in distress, but the actions her brothers as one seeks retribution against the other for the violation. Where is Tamar in this? We can read Psalm 6 and Psalm 55 as if they were Tamar’s own words describing her pain.

O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed . . . Oh save me for thy mercie’s sake. . .I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief. . . Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.

Psalm 6

My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfelness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest. . .For it was not an enemy that repraoched me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. . .He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

Psalms 55

Another traumatic event of the Old Testament can be further illuminated through the Psalms. The unnamed concubine of the Levite in Judges 19 is silent in the story of her own destruction. To save himself her husband puts her outside the door to be raped by the men of the town in which they’re staying. All night long they assaulted her and in the morning the Levite found her on the doorstep, reaching toward the door, but she was dead. So he dismembered her and sent pieces all over Israel, and the story shifts to war. As with the story of Tamar, the rape is described mostly to give context to subsequent warfare between men. The woman herself and her experience is largely erased. However, we can read the text of Psalm 88 as if it were her cry to God:

I am overwhelmed with troubles.

My life draws near to death

I am like one without strength

You have put me in the lowest pit

I am confined and cannot escape

My eyes are dim with grief

I call to you, 

I spread out my hands to you

Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me

From my youth I have suffered

I have born your terrors

Darkness is my closest friend

Psalm 88

Thinking of these psalms as being the words of women in specific Biblical contexts: How does a feminized context change your reading of this psalm, or of the companion verses in Judges and Samuel? What do these psalms say about the position of women in Israel? How can these verses apply to specific modern circumstances that affect women?

These examples are of course exceedingly grim. However Biblical women are also known for uttering psalms of gratitude and praise. Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and Mary all speak or sing psalm-like poetry. For each of them this moment of beauty happens in the wake of a divine reversal. Miriam and Deborah both rejoice on behalf of a reversal for their people – they are brought out of captivity. Hannah and Mary both rejoice in personal reversals. Hannah was barren, and becomes a mother. Mary was born of humble circumstances but was chosen by God for an exalted role.

This pattern of movement from complaint to assurance, prompting psalms of reversal is present throughout the book of Psalms

You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30 (incidentally this verse always makes me think of Anne Shirley’s joy in finding out Gilbert didn’t die).

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the much and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Psalms 40

Have you seen this kind of reversal in your own life – a sorrow or hardship turned to joy or healing? Have you seen it in a more communal sense (your community, however you define it, going from suffering, to wellbeing)? Do you see the hand of God in this reversal, and if so, how?