In | Individuality in the Psalms, Part 1

While many Psalms offer a distinctly personal perspective, we have to be careful not to confuse the “individuality” of the psalmist with more modern conceptions of this term. Walter Brueggemann has noted a number of ways in which individuality is qualified. Some of these are listed below:

1) The practice of praise rejects the idea of self-sufficiency and self-congratulation.

2) The practice of covenantal obedience rejects the idea of moral independence.

3) The readiness to confess sin rejects every romantic notion of innocence or blamelessness.

4) The commitment to thanksgiving protests against the notion of being self-made.

5) The habit of remembering and hoping rejects the idea of a self that is without context or outside of particular history.

Adapted from: Walter Brueggemann, “On ‘Being Human’ in the Psalms,” The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, edited by William P. Brown, 2014, p. 527.