While the previous descriptions weren’t the only influences during the writing of this volume of Psalms poetry, they are some of the more prominent ones. I trust they may give you an adequate glimpse into some of the many ways that poetic responses to the Psalms might be formed. Even more, I hope they may be of help as you consider responding to Scripture with your own creative voice. And while this volume is a poetic response to the Psalms, I would encourage you to consider how to worshipfully respond to other portions of Scripture. Most likely you are aware of songs, poems, and other works of art that have been produced as a result of interaction with the narratives of the Old Testament, the Gospels, the book of Acts, the book Revelation, the Prophets, and even the Epistles. In like manner we must realize that our worshipful responses should not be limited to the Psalms but can—and should—come from our prayerful interaction with the whole of Scripture.
This leads me to my final topic—why I titled this book A New Song. This was not a title that came to me quickly, and even now I’m uncertain if it’s the best choice. After all, this is not a work where I have attempted to write new songs in my own words while retaining the original flow of each psalm, though that has happened in a number of instances. Rather, as you may know, if you have read through any of the poems, the psalms were a springboard or a starting point from which I engaged with God in the context of my own life. Admittedly, mine is a life spent in melancholy moods as I rarely sing, rarely shout for joy, and rarely act as an optimist. Yet even so, as I read through the book of Psalms, I find a glimmer of hope that I might never see. In fact, it may be that my melancholy disposition is what drew me to the Psalms in the first place. In the Psalms I found authors laying out their hearts to God, fully wanting and expecting to be heard but frequently asking why it seemed that they weren’t. And while there are many psalms ringing with obvious praise, there are also many that dive into the muck and grime of a disappointing life.
And so as I sat back after editing the poems to consider titles for this collection, I was struck with the graciousness of God that he would be willing to listen to our cries for help. He doesn’t seem to be annoyed at all by the pain we express in the face of life. In fact, the contrary seems to be true. He seems to encourage it. He is our Father, and we are like newborn babes who stretch and cry inconsolably, not fully knowing what it is that we want or need. We feel empty inside, and yet we know that he is the only one able to satisfy us, even though we know not how and we know not when. And so we cry. We wail. We groan in ways that betray our wants but not in a way that understands our needs. We are quite literally crying in the dark.
But in these times of despair and in this life of blindness, he speaks to us. A small shaft of light pokes through the darkness, and we are drawn toward it, for we were made with eyes that desire light. This distant glimmering shaft of light often reveals to us—if sometimes only for a moment—the beauty and the danger of the world around us. It guides us and comforts us. And when, for whatever reason, we no longer see that light, we are left with its memory lingering in the dark and often permeating our soul. Its memory produces a new way of seeing the world and a new way of encountering the darkness. We know there’s a way out, and we know there’s more than what our darkened lives have encountered. And just as we know that the eye is made for light and for seeing, we also know that the heart is made for experiencing and singing. And so, there in the darkness, our heart sings. It sings of the memory of the light. It sings of the beauty we encountered in that brief moment when the light pierced the darkness. It sings of our longing. And yet its songs are never perfect, for they come forth from a heart that is broken.
I think God understood this when he inspired the psalmist’s heart and pen. I think the psalmists understood this when they composed. And I think the editors and compilers of the Psalms understood this when they put the book together into its final form. They all knew that we sing in the darkness about the glimmer of light that God has enabled us to see. They know we sing in the hope that one day the darkness will break away, revealing the full glory of God. And they know we sing because our heart’s language is song, and it is through song that we were designed to approach our Savior.
And so just as God waited to see what Adam would name the animals, I think he also waits to hear our new songs. He waits to hear these new songs formed through our experiences—both good and bad—that will be unique to each of us. He knows that they will come as a result of God’s faithfulness and love in our lives (Psalm 33). They will come as a result of his deliverance from the pits in our lives (Psalm 40). They will come as a result of the salvation he gives and the work he has done (Psalm 96). They will come as a result of his glorious work in nature (Psalm 98). They will come as a result of his promise to rescue us from those who seek our harm (Psalm 144). And they will come as a result of being part of the throng of God’s servants he has empowered to fight for justice (Psalm 149).
And so I chose to call this collection of poems A New Song, as they are some of my new songs to God. I’m certain that they aren’t the poems others would have written, but they’re mine. I’m also certain that they’re not the poems I’d write now if I were to repeat this process. For just as life’s path and patterns change, so also would the poem’s meter, rhyme, and content. We win some old battles, and we engage new ones. We fail where we once succeeded, and we succeed where we once failed. We mature in some areas, and in others, we find that we have regressed. Our lives are dynamic and changing. But through it all, the various glimpses of light we are allowed to see do not change. And so we sing songs that are about both the unchanging light as well as the ever-tumultuous darkness of our lives into which the light shines.
I trust that you will find these poems to be an encouragement to you in your daily walk with Christ. I trust that you will find them to be catalysts for you as you consider how you can respond worshipfully to God’s Word with your own unique set of creative abilities given to you by God. I trust you will embrace the task of creating a new song of worship to the Lord.