祈降灾祸的诗篇
争战与安慰
作者Tina Frist Smith, 作家与市场专员，目前在美国南方复临大学攻读教牧学硕士，现居美国田纳西州科里奇代尔
在我个人与愤怒、痛苦和怀疑争战时，在这些绝望时刻我的朋友和心理咨询师给我的建议或宝贵或无益，这促使我在黑暗中摸索时仍寻求上帝的声音。特别是在我失落的境遇中，童年时破碎的家庭、十年不孕、怀孕后三个月流产，以及失业导致的收入长期减少，我通过《诗篇》找到了答案、安慰和信心的坚定。
与《圣经》的其他经卷不同，《诗篇》塑造了这个世界对于上帝品格的认知，“当祂看似缺席时，其实一直都在；失去一切时，祂拯救；有需要时，祂预备。“在提供基于基督教的心理咨询时，倾诉可以积极有效地为那些面对焦虑、不睦、抑郁和精神疾病等困境的人提供心灵的释放。
==诗人们在重申上帝的能力和应许的同时，也呼喊、求问上帝，这些真实的例子使信徒们在《圣经》视野的背景下，看到说出自己软弱的想法、情绪和反应的益处。了解上帝对这些请求的回应，可以使受伤的心灵和属灵导师变得更有智慧。很多人通过健康的处理方式释放内心的争战，并再次找到平衡，与此同时，对天父的理解及与祂的关系更加亲密。
绝望
《诗篇》中记载了人们面对痛苦情绪考验的具体例子，他们的故事向今天的我们显明如何应对和克服类似的挑战。作为《诗篇》半壁江山的作者，这位牧羊人出身的大卫王在其一生中经历过痛苦的深渊与喜乐的巅峰，使他“能够在对上帝的渴慕中唱出最甜美和最悲伤的灵魂之歌。”今天的读者可以在《诗篇》的150篇诗歌中寻得他们在遭受愤怒、悲伤和怀疑时所需要的决心、安慰和确据。
耶稣在世时引用诗篇的次数比其他旧约经卷都多3。这些诗篇扎根于祂生与死的方方面面，而其中著名的经文是祂用来传讲真理、证实预言、面对试探、求问天父和寻求安慰的途径之一。
哀悼
“对苦难、受伤和痛苦”的精湛表达为处于痛苦中的人“定义痛苦的体验”，从而为恢复和痊愈提供了一个起点。
诗篇23篇的语言描述了宇宙之君上帝安慰大卫，且与经历死荫幽谷的大卫同行。值得注意的是，安慰“只有在经历了许多伤痛和失丧后才会到来”。即使有着坚定信念的人跌入了意外的痛苦深渊时，失丧的打击也可能使他一时听不到任何声音，包括上帝的声音。在初期，所有的话语都是空洞的6。
上帝的子民并不“粉饰”苦难所带来的痛苦，而是呼喊、哭泣和挣扎。就像今天一样，当时的过程是脱节的。然而，尽管作者没有掩饰他们的感受，也没有背叛上帝，向读者暗示上帝不与他们同在幽谷之中。
愤怒
诗篇清楚地表达了愤怒，“充满了咒诅的愤怒”，“血腥地祈求上帝消灭敌人，愤怒地呼求恶者遭报。”与此同时，上帝对其子民的这些愤怒表达的回应往往令人惊讶，受害者的境况出现了意想不到的转折。当某人面临愤怒的境况时，宣泄是解决问题的关键一步。对困惑与震惊的宣泄是一个积极的迹象，表明一个理解自己所受到的伤害，也正在伤害上帝。
在宣泄过后的静止中，受害者的痛苦首先会升级，因为不得不意识到证明无罪的辩护并非近在咫尺，且可能在受害者的一生中永远不会发生。这人面对的事实是，他们唯一的能做的就是依靠上帝。在“与上帝一同悲伤和挣扎”时，他们探究祂正在做什么、他们是否了解上帝，以及他们的愤怒如何显明他们自己。在这样一场心灵斗争中，“正义的心等待上帝显出祂的品格。”
过渡
咒诅的情绪往往会危险地演变成长期的愤怒和个人恩怨，让人们前功尽弃。因此，随着“从承认到释怀的治疗”过程的停止，上帝的意志将退居其个人期望之后。
一位牧师咨询师回忆说，一位患者多年来一直忍着对父母的怨气，直到未治愈的伤口和情绪开始以无法解释的愤怒发泄在其配偶和其余家人身上。在牧师的帮助下，她在《诗篇》第15篇中找到表达痛苦的词语，并揭示其根源。一旦她能够“承认自己的愤怒”，她很快就找到了解决方法并接纳了自己。
在诗篇的中间章节，咒诅诗篇第73篇中间部分所显示的智慧把所有诅咒和痛苦的问题指向“上帝的圣所”（17节），上帝在圣所中按其定时施行公义的审判。只有在祂面前，上帝的子民才能从经验中理解信心危机引起的愤怒，并且找到其解决之道。
信心
数据证明了个人心理健康和幸福感与积极的信仰之间的相关性。
在寡居和养育有发育障碍的子女时，定期的敬拜和虔诚的宗教信仰使女性的快乐加添，沮丧减少。“有信仰的人在经历离婚、失业、重病或残疾后，往往能在恢复后获得更大的幸福感。”总体而言，根据调查，属灵的委身越多，幸福感就越高。
唐纳德·卡普斯（Donald Capps）回应了诗篇的有效性，认为诗篇“一方面充满怨恨、焦虑、嫉妒、愤怒和绝望，另一方面则是感激、平静、自信和喜乐。”他引用《圣经》经文，作为“‘刺激和产生必要的精神能量’，使人能够‘承担做事情的责任’的一种方法，这对于个人的‘救赎与医治’是‘必不可少的’”。
托马斯·默顿在他的日记中写道：“这是《诗篇》的奥秘。我们隐藏在其中。在这些经文中，我们找到了自己和上帝。在这些经文中，祂不仅向我们显出了祂自己，也让我们藉着祂认识自己。”
安慰
一个牧师团队将诗篇的一部分作为多感官精神工具的一部分，这些精神工具可用于辅助医院探访。他们给接受治疗的患者一个包含简短经文的纸条（经文来自诗篇23、90、118、121和126篇）。在大声朗读之后，他们让个人保留打印的纸条。许多人“常常感激地抓住诗篇经文的纸张，或把它[放在枕头下或]放在一个特殊的地方。”
患者可以将这些经文与他们自己的挣扎联系起来。诗歌的语言简单却富有感召力，跨越了文化和宗教的界限，与受伤的人们产生共鸣。除了表达“热情的感谢”，大多数人“表示他们被感动了”，“这给了他们更多的希望”或“让他们感觉不那么孤独”，还有一些人要求以后去探望他们。
嘉莉·林根（Carrie Doering）谈到了牧师们的“神学天真”，他们向会众提供了这样的解释：“上帝不会给他们超出他们所能受的，这苦难是他们要背负的十字架，或者苦难是寻求耶稣并且得救的机会。”
当我反思自己生命中的怀疑时刻时，我意识到这些陈词滥调只会加深我的绝望。我已经不知所措，我的第一反应是放弃上帝，因为我显然没有达到作为祂的代表所表述的标准。今天，我的想法与埃里克·约翰逊（Eric Johnson）和斯坦顿·琼斯（Stanton Jones）的警告一致，即我们信心和教会的储备有时可能“耗尽或不足”，需要“科学和专业心理学”加以补充。
赞美
学者们一致认为，表达悲伤和烦恼的诗篇遵循一种模式，即“从哀叹或抱怨转向赞美……赞美或赞美的承诺被认为是怨渎之歌的有效组成部分。”20他们时常利用苦难时期作为感恩的管道。诗篇第54篇表达了从“拯救我”的恐惧到“祂从一切的急难中把我救出来”的欢呼；诗篇62篇建议“当时时倚靠祂”，以及“在祂面前倾心吐意。”
有时，诗篇作者以热切的感激之情颂扬过去得救或得胜的经历，诗篇30中诗意地提醒我们，“一宿虽有哭泣，早晨便必欢呼。”（第5节）。诗篇27的开头，年幼的大卫在分享他的哀叹，写下了六节信靠和信心的诗句，作为，并以感谢结束这首诗歌。可能“赞美也许应该先于祈求”是一种看待幸福和苦难的方式吧？
救赎
尽管距离我流产已经过去了20年，我也生了两个孩子，但失去的痛苦仍然让我忍不住落泪。但诗篇139:16是我指望的根本，这诗篇肯定了上帝的道路超越我们这个世界罪恶：“我未成形的体质，你的眼早已看见了；你所定的日子，我尚未度一日，你都写在你的册上了。”
我听到上帝通过大卫对我说话，体会到那逝去的小生命，并赋予这宝贵的孩子价值和未来。在生命中最黑暗时刻，我所经历的转折点使我意识到一切都会重新来过，虽然我不知道确切的形式。尽管如此，我还是忍不住想象，当我迈入天堂的大门时，耶稣轻轻地把一个新生儿抱在我的怀里，祂低声说：“谢谢你相信我会使事情走上正轨，并且不离开我。”坚持这一盼望成为我的安慰，最终成为我的救赎。
诗篇中所阐述的经历、对话和神学观点可以有效地引导和帮助苦难中的信徒从愤怒到释怀，从悲伤到安慰，从怀疑到相信上帝，从而在基于基督教的咨询中发挥巨大的作用，即使这转变的过程仍旧无法用科学解释。
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1.Martin G.Klingbeil，“诗篇导论”，《基督复临安息日会国际圣经评论》，ed.JacquesB.Doukhan（南帕，ID:Pacific Press Pub.Assn.[即将出版]）。
2.Francis D.Nichol主编，《基督复临安息日会圣经评论》，第3卷（马里兰州哈格斯敦：评论和先驱出版社，1977年），第616页。
Peter C.W.Ho，“大卫诗篇作为弥赛亚的预表”，《福音神学学会杂志》62，第3期（2019）：516^
3.DanijelBerkovic，“耶稣与诗篇”，《凯罗斯福音神学杂志》第10期，第1（2016年）：第41、54-56页。
4.Donald Capps，《教牧辅导的圣经方法》（宾夕法尼亚州费城：威斯敏斯特出版社，1981年），第74页。
5.J.大卫·普林斯，《诗篇：悲剧、希望和正义之歌》（纽约州玛利诺尔：奥比斯图书出版社，1993年），第19页。
6.唐纳德·A·卡森，主啊，还要多久？痛苦与邪恶的反思，第二版（密苏里州大急流城：贝克学术出版社，2006年），第73、74页^
7.Dan B.Allender和Tremper Longman III，《灵魂的呐喊》（科罗拉多州斯普林
斯，CO:NavPress，1994），49。
8.Dominick D.Hankle，“基督教咨询环境中感叹诗篇的治疗意义”，《心理学与神学杂志》第3期，第4期（2010）：278
9.Edward P.Wimberly，《在牧师咨询中使用圣经》（田纳西州纳什维尔：阿宾顿出版社，1944年），110，111。
11.马丁·G·克林贝尔，“诗篇73”和“诗篇75”，在《基督复临安息日会国际圣经评论》中，雅克·B·杜汗编辑（南巴，ID:Pacific Press Pub.Assn.[即将出版]）
12.E.Johnson和S.Jones编辑，《心理学与基督教：四种观点》（伊利诺伊州唐纳斯格罗夫：校际出版社，2000年），第65页和第66页。
14.托马斯·默顿，《约拿的标志》（纽约：图像书，1963年），247。
15.Myerstein和G.Ruskin，“增强住院患者牧师探访的精神工具”，《宗教与健康杂志》46，第1期（2007）：109-118。
16.Carrie Doering，“神学责任：牧师咨询的标志”，《美国牧师咨询协会电子期刊》第1期，第1期（2009）：14。
18.汉斯·K·拉伦代尔，《诗篇中的解脱：今天的希望信息》（伯里安·斯普林斯，密苏里州：第一印象，1983年），99。
19.Martin G.Klingbeil，“诗篇27”，在《基督复临安息日会国际圣经评论》中，ed.JacquesB.Doukhan（Nampa，ID:Pacific Press Pub.Assn.[即将出版]）
Confrontation and Comfort
By Tina Frist Smith, a writer and marketing specialist, pursuing a Master of Ministry in biblical counseling at Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee, United States
My personal battles with anger, grief, and doubt, along with both valuable and even not-so-helpful advice from friends and counselors during desperate times, motivated me to find a way to hear God speak even while navigating the shadows. Particularly in my own situations of loss—including a crumbling family in childhood, miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy after a decade of infertility, and long-term income decline through job loss—I have found resolution, comfort, and an affirmation of my faith through the Psalter.
As with no other portion of Scripture, the book of Psalms has shaped the world’s understanding of the character of a God who “is present even when He seems absent, who saves when all is lost, and who provides when necessity arises.”1 Within the context of Christian counseling, open expression can be a positive and effective method for providing psychological relief to those dealing with anxiety, broken relationships, depression, and mental illnesses among other difficult situations.
Through authentic and honest examples of the psalmists crying out to and questioning God while also reiterating His power and promises, believers see the benefits of giving a “voice” to their debilitating thoughts, emotions, and reactions within the context of scriptural insights. Bringing to light God’s responses to such pleas steers both hurting souls and spiritual counselors onto a wise path. With a healthy alternative for processing and then releasing inner conflicts, many can again find balance along with a deeper understanding of a heavenly Father and a strengthened relationship with Him.
DESPAIR
The Psalter offers tangible examples of people who faced dark emotional trials, and their stories shed light on how to weather and overcome similar challenges in our modern age. The author of at least half of the psalms, the shepherd-turned-king David faced a breadth and depth of events during his lifetime that ranged from the pit of agony to the pinnacle of joy, equipping him “to sing the sweetest and saddest songs of the human soul in its thirst for God.”2 Within the book’s 150 lyrics, readers today can find scriptural tools to help them find resolution, comfort, and assurance when they suffer anger, grief, and doubt.
During His time on earth, Jesus Himself quoted from the psalms more than any other book of the Old Testament.3 The poems were ingrained in all aspects of His life and death, and the well-known verses were one avenue through which He spoke truth, confirmed prophecy, faced temptation, voiced questions to His Father, and found comfort.4
MOURNING
Masterful expressions of “misery, hurt, and agony” provide a starting place for rehabilitation and restoration by “defining the experience of suffering” for the one in pain.5
The language of Psalm 23 depicts the God of the universe not only comforting but also accompanying David in the valley of the shadow of death. It is imperative to note that consolation comes “only after much grief and loss.” Even when a strong faith follows someone down into the unexpected pit of pain, the shock of loss may, at first, render that person unable to hear any voice—including God’s. There are no words that do not ring superficial in those early moments.6
Rather than “whitewashing” the anguish of suffering, God’s people cry out, weep, and wrestle. Just as today, the process back then was disjointed. Yet, while not masking their feelings, the authors also did not betray God in suggesting that He does not exist in the valleys.7
ANGER
The Psalter clearly expresses anger, being “full of imprecatory fury,” “a bloody plea for God to destroy an enemy, a howl of indignation demanding that evil suffer.”8 At the same time, God’s reactions to these heated expressions from His people are often surprising, and the victims’ paths take unexpected turns. A cathartic outlet is a necessary first step in the process of resolution when someone faces angering circumstances. Venting shock and confusion is a positive sign that a person understands the wrong done not only to themselves but also to God.
After catharsis, the moment of being still first escalates pain by forcing the realization that vindication is not imminent and may never happen in the victim’s lifetime. The person comes face-to-face with the fact that their only action is to depend on God. As an individual now “grieves and struggles with God,” they probe what He is doing, if they understand Him, and what their fury reveals about themselves. During such a mental battle, “the righteous heart waits for God to reveal His character.”9
TRANSITION
Imprecatory emotions often dangerously morph into chronic rage and personal vendettas that leave people exactly where they began. Thus, God’s will takes a back seat to personal expectations as the progression of “therapeutically moving from acknowledgment to release” comes to a halt.10
One pastoral counselor recalls a client who held on to anger at her parents for years until the unresolved wounds and emotions began to manifest as unexplained rage at her spouse and other family members. Along with the minister’s help, Psalm 15 was instrumental in finding the words to voice her pain and uncover the source. Once she was able to “own her anger,” resolution and acceptance soon followed.11
At the center of the Psalter, the wisdom in the middle of imprecatory Psalm 73 points all cursing and painful questions to “the sanctuary of God” (v. 17),12 offering upright judgment at the perfect time. Only in His presence can God’s people find experiential understanding and resolution that overcomes the anger of a crisis of faith.13
FAITH
Data confirms the correlation between personal health and well-being and active faith.
In cases of widowhood and parenting developmentally challenged children, regular worship and deep religious faith resulted in more joy and less depression for women. “People of faith tend to retain or recover greater happiness after suffering divorce, unemployment, serious illness or a disability.” Overall, higher survey responses about spiritual commitment equated to higher levels of reported happiness.14
Donald Capps echoes the effectiveness of the psalms as engaging with “deep conflicting feelings of resentment, anxiety, envy, anger, and despair, on the one hand, and gratitude, serenity, confidence, and joy on the other.” He cites the Bible as a “ ‘means of stimulating and generating the necessary psychic energy’ to enable one to ‘accept responsibility for doing the thing’ that is ‘necessary and inevitable’ for one’s own ‘salvation and healing.’ ”15
Thomas Merton penned in his diary, “This is the secret of the Psalms. Our identity is hidden in them. In them we find ourselves, and God. In these fragments He has revealed not only Himself to us but ourselves in Him.”16
COMFORT
One pastoral team included portions of the Psalter among the multisensory spiritual tools used to enhance hospital visits. They offered receptive patients a paper containing a brief quotation (examples came from Psalms 23; 90; 118; 121; and 126). After reading it aloud, they invited the individual to keep the printed slip. Many “often gratefully hold on to the page of psalm verse or tuck it [under their pillows or] away in a special place.”
Patients could relate the passage to their own struggles. The simple but evocative language of the songs of lament spans cultural and religious boundaries to resonate with hurting people. In addition to expressing “enthusiastic gratitude,” most “stated that they were touched,” and “it gave them more hope” or made them feel “less alone,” and some requested future visits.17
Carrie Doering touches on the “theological naïveté” of ministers who offer such explanations to their congregations as “God does not give them more than they can bear, this suffering is their cross to bear, or that suffering is an opportunity to find Jesus and be saved.”18
When I reflect on times of doubt in my own life, I realize that such platitudes only deepened my desperation. Already overwhelmed, my first instinct was to give up on God as I clearly was not meeting His standard as presented by His representatives. Today my thoughts are in line with Eric Johnson and Stanton Jones’s caution that reservoirs of faith and church can be “exhausted or insufficient” at times, requiring supplemental resources “from scientific and professional psychology.”19
PRAISE
Scholars agree that psalms expressing sorrow and troubles follow a pattern that “switch[es] from lament or complaint to praise. . . . Praise, or the promise of praise, is considered to be a valid part of the complaint song.”20 Repeatedly, they demonstrate the practice of using times of tribulation as a platform for thanksgiving. Psalm 54 vocalizes this transition from the fear surrounding the expression “save me” to the acclaim that “He has delivered me out of all trouble;” Psalm 62 advises “trust in Him at all times” alongside “pour out your heart before Him” (v. 8).
At times, the psalmists’ lyrical gratitude salutes past experiences of healing or triumph over foes, and the poetic equality of Psalm 30 reminds us that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (v. 5). As a young boy, David penned six verses of trust and affirmation as an opening for Psalm 27 before sharing his lament and coming full circle to conclude the song with thanks. Could it be that “praise can and maybe should precede pleas,”21 a way of keeping blessings and troubles in perspective?
SALVATION
Despite 20 years and two birthed children since my miscarriage, the pain of that loss still brings tears to my eyes. But my hope is anchored in Psalm 139:16, which affirms the pervasiveness of God’s ways that transcend the sin of our world: “Your eyes saw my substance, / being yet unformed. / And in Your book they all were written, / the days fashioned for me, / when as yet there were none of them.”
I hear God speak to me through David, recognizing the tiny lost life and giving that precious child value and a future. The turning point in my darkest hour was a realization that restoration would come, even though I did not know the exact form. Still, I cannot help but imagine Jesus gently placing a newborn in my arms as I enter the gates of heaven while He whispers, “Thank you for believing that I would make this right and not letting go of Me.” Holding on to that hope became my comfort and, ultimately, my salvation.
The experiences, conversations, and divine perspectives found within the book of Psalms can play a powerful role in Christian counseling by effectively guiding and supporting the transition of suffering believers from anger to resolution, from grief to comfort, and from doubt to trust in God, even if the exact science of the transformative process remains unexplained.
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1. Martin G. Klingbeil, “Introduction to the Psalms,” in Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary, ed. Jacques B. Doukhan (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., [forthcoming]). ^
2. Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3 (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1977), 616. ^
3. Peter C. W. Ho, “The Shape of the Davidic Psalms as Messianic,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 62, no. 3 (2019): 516. ^
4. DanijelBerkovic, “Jesus and the Psalms,” KAIROS—Evangelical Journal of Theology 10, no. 1 (2016): 41, 54–56. ^
5. Donald Capps, Biblical Approaches to Pastoral Counseling (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1981), 74. ^
6. J. David Pleins, The Psalms: Songs of Tragedy, Hope, and Justice (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), 19. ^
7. Donald A. Carson, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 73, 74. ^
8. Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III, The Cry of the Soul (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994), 49. ^
9. Allender and Longman, 46–49. ^
10. Dominick D. Hankle, “The Therapeutic Implications of the Imprecatory Psalms in the Christian Counseling Setting,” Journal of Psychology and Theology 3, no. 4 (2010): 278. ^
11. Edward P. Wimberly, Using Scripture in Pastoral Counseling (Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1944), 110, 111. ^
12. Scripture is from the New King James Version. ^
13. Martin G. Klingbeil, “Psalm 73” and “Psalm 75,” in Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary, ed. Jacques B. Doukhan (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., [forthcoming]). ^
14. E. Johnson and S. Jones, eds., Psychology & Christianity: Four Views (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 65, 66. ^
15. Capps, Biblical Approaches to Pastoral Counseling, 48. ^
16. Thomas Merton, The Sign of Jonah (New York, NY: Image Books, 1963), 247. ^
17. I. Myerstein and G. Ruskin, “Spiritual Tools for Enhancing the Pastoral Visit to Hospitalized Patients,” Journal of Religion and Health 46, no. 1 (2007): 109–118. ^
18. Carrie Doering, “Theological Accountability: The Hallmark of Pastoral Counseling,” The e-Journal of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors 1, no. 1 (2009): 14. ^
19. Johnson and Jones, Psychology and Christianity, 280. ^
20. Hans K. LaRondelle, Deliverance in the Psalms: Messages of Hope for Today (Berrien Springs, MI: First Impressions, 1983), 99. ^
21. Martin G. Klingbeil, “Psalm 27,” in Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary, ed. Jacques B. Doukhan (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., [forthcoming]). ^
原文链接：https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2021/10/Imprecatory-Psalms-Confrontation-and-comfort
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