Psalms of Orientation

Psalms of orientation capture what it means to experience God as good, life as ordered, and the spiritual life as a predictable and progressive movement towards greater and greater clarity and peace. As the famous Old Testament scholar  Walter Brueggemann put it, they remind us of the original goodness and simplicity of the creation story in Genesis 1:

“These psalms in various ways are expressions of creation faith… [They are] an affirmation that God’s faithfulness and goodness are experienced as generosity, continuity, and regularity. Life is experienced as protected space. Chaos is not present to us and is not permitted a hearing in this well-ordered world.” -  Walter Brueggemann

Yes, in coming weeks we will find healthy and hopefully helpful ways to complicate this vision. But for now, let’s try to embrace deeply what it means to pray out of this sense of clarity.

As we read the first part of Psalm 1 today, listen for the echoes of creation.

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers. - Psalm 1:1-3

It’s almost like the author is dreaming of the Garden of Eden in this passage with stunning trees and never ending fruit and everything being right and good.

Take some time today to think about an area of your life where things feel ordered, healthy, and good (for some of us it might take some real discipline to come up with something!). Can you thank God for that aspect of your life? Can you name in your prayer that God is good because you’ve experienced goodness in that area of life?