Skip to content

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Grounded in Faith, Formed in Community

Menu
  • Home
  • Contact Us
Menu
Psalm 118

A Psalm for Every Occasion

Posted on July 29, 2020January 22, 2021 by ptsblog
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

Christians have turned to the Psalms over and over again throughout the history of the church. These ancient prayers have provided millions of people with just the right words to express their powerful emotions of agonizing grief, frightening confusion, or exultant joy. These are more than just beautiful words—they seem to tap into some of the most important aspects of what it means to live by faith.

This year, I was taught a framework that helps to describe how the Psalms relate to the universal spiritual journey. I learned it in a class taught by Dr. Peter Choi at the Newbigin House of Studies. If you haven’t heard of this program, it’s a nine-month online fellowship that provides theological formation by exploring the spiritual, public, and missional dimensions of the Christian life. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a partner seminary for this fellows program, so the fellowship provides credit for PTS’s master of divinity and other degree programs.

 

Orientation, Disorientation, and New Orientation

In the program’s Spiritual Theology course, we discussed some content from Walter Brueggemann’s The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. In this wonderful commentary, Brueggemann supplies a framework for better understanding both the Psalter (the entire collection of the Psalms) and the spiritual life: orientation, disorientation, and new orientation.

According to this view, psalms of orientation correspond to seasons in life or faith marked by well-being. These are psalms of creation that look upon and celebrate God’s reliably ordered universe. Psalms of disorientation correspond instead to seasons of anguish, suffering, and death; these are poems marked by painful disarray. Finally, psalms of new orientation have almost a surprised tone as they rejoice in new gifts of life from God.

But Brueggemann draws our attention even more closely to the transitions between these seasons (and their associated Psalms). He calls these the two decisive moves of faith: from orientation to disorientation, and from disorientation to new orientation. The first move in the ancient Jewish context would have been evident in the people’s initial enslavement in Egypt, their unforeseen difficulties in the wilderness, the arrival of new enemies outside their borders, and the cataclysmic move to exile. In the early Christian tradition, the clearest move from orientation to disorientation was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This type of move is captured in the Psalter with psalms of lament.

The other decisive move of faith is from disorientation to new orientation. Ancient Jews were no strangers to hope. In Egyptian bondage they had prayed for deliverance, and eventually they would enter a promised land. As exiles in Babylon, they had dreamed of a return to that land of promise; while the new orientation might not have been what they expected, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild and live in the city. For early Christians, of course, the disorientation of Christ’s death gave way to the new orientation of his resurrection. This movement of faith rings clearly in psalms of thanksgiving.

 

Psalms and Christian Spirituality

This is perhaps why the Psalms have been so useful in the spirituality of both individual Christians and communities of faith. They provide prayers calibrated to the decisive seasons and movements of faith and life: from a comfortable but naïve orientation to a bewildering and wretched disorientation; then, blessedly, from that pain and confusion to a new place of acceptance and gratitude. And, of course, over the span of a person or community’s life, these seasons and movements will occur many times.

Which season of life and faith are you currently experiencing? Does your heart need to cry out in anger or grief? Are you overcome by unexpected grace and love?

In any of these seasons, may the Psalms help you discover, name, and express to God what is in your mind and heart.

 

Jon Mathieu is a Master of Divinity student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. While his background is in mathematics, he has been engaged in ministry in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Most recently he has served as a writer and program director at an evangelical church. Sensing God was leading him into new ways of thinking, believing, and loving, he became a fellow at the Newbigin House of Studies and a student at PTS. His writing has appeared on RelevantMagazine.com.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Founded in 1794, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a graduate theological school of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), offering master's and doctor of ministry degrees as well as certificate programs. Participating in God's ongoing mission in the world, Pittsburgh Seminary is a community of Christ joining in the Spirit's work of forming and equipping people for ministries familiar and yet to unfold and communities present and yet to be gathered.

Recent Posts

  • Lives of Faith and Service: Distinguished Alums of 2025
  • How Do I Help Someone Struggling With Their Faith?
  • Who Is My Neighbor? – The Rev. Dr. MaryAnn Rennie on Place, History, and Church “for” Community
  • Am I Preaching a Genuine Word?
  • Who Is My Neighbor? The Rev. Kathryn Lester-Bacon on Neighbor, Change, and Mutual Responsibility

Categories

  • Book Recommendations
  • Church Planting
  • Counseling
  • Inside the PTS Curriculum
  • Ministry
  • People of PTS
  • Protestant Spirituality
  • Seminary and Programs
  • Sermon Writing Tips
  • Social Work
  • Theological Reflection
  • Uncategorized
  • Who Is My Neighbor?

Archives

Tags

Bible study Black History Month Call to ministry Christian spirituality church planting church planting for new communities church planting in pennsylvania Communion elements community Community worship doctor of ministry education faith and politics fasting Festivals and holy days Good Samaritan Lent master of divinity mdiv alumni mdiv program mdiv program and social work MDiv program Pittsburgh ministry Ministry conferences and events Mission reflections mission trip pastoral care pastoral counseling Pastoral vocation PCUSA Seminary community seminary experience Seminary experiences sermon writing tips Social justice Spiritual journeys St. Patrick theological education theology and social work Urban ministry Volunteering Women in ministry world mission World Mission Initiative Youth ministry

Top Posts and Pages

  • Sermon Tips: Preaching without Notes
    Sermon Tips: Preaching without Notes
  • That For Which I am Thankful
    That For Which I am Thankful
  • Why Taize?
    Why Taize?
  • Flickers of Hope
    Flickers of Hope
  • Politics and People of Faith
    Politics and People of Faith
  • The "S" Word Christians Fear
    The "S" Word Christians Fear
  • Why My MDiv/MSW Joint Degree Created Clarity
    Why My MDiv/MSW Joint Degree Created Clarity
  • Deflate-Gate and Christian Ethics
    Deflate-Gate and Christian Ethics
  • Mr. Rogers is on Netflix!
    Mr. Rogers is on Netflix!
  • Should Pastors Shovel Snow?
    Should Pastors Shovel Snow?

Subscribe to Blog via E-mail

Enter your e-mail address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by e-mail.

© 2025 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme