In high school English, I learned that poetry is often classified by device. A sonnet, for example, has 14 lines and is written in iambic pentameter. A Haiku has five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.

As far as genres of poetry go, Psalms are unique in that they employ a poetic device that can be easily maintained through direct translation from one language to another. This is because the Psalms are not reliant on alliteration, rhythm, or rhyme, but rather on ideas.

Psalms are defined by parallelism, the pairing of lines that reinforce or deepen one another in meaning. In most Psalms, lines come in couplets. The first line introduces an idea, and the second line echoes the idea with new words.

In some cases, the second line simple restates the first line with alternative phrasing. For instance:

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.

Psalm 103:10
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

In other cases, the second expands on the first, adding depth to the meaning:

Psalm 19:7
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.

Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

Occasionally, the second line will contrast with the first, often revealing moral or spiritual consequences:

Psalm 1:6
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 37:9
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

There is a purpose to this poetic device. The Psalms are not just meant to be sung or memorized, but also prayed. They are designed to be meditated upon as they are read or heard.

Parallelism not only introduces ideas but also forces the reader or listener to dwell on them. You are prevented from moving on too quickly from one idea to the next, and instead must circle the ideas in their depth, twists, and turns.

RECOMMENDED PSUMMER READING:

One of the great benefits of preaching a sermon series on the Psalms is that it seems like nearly every major Christian thinker has written a book about the Psalms. Three classics I’d recommend:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible

Bonhoeffer read the Psalms as prayers that Jesus himself would have prayed—and invites us to do the same. This little volume offers a profound theology of shared prayer and spiritual formation, forged in the crucible of Nazi Germany and Bonhoeffer’s own suffering.

C.S. Lewis – Reflections on the Psalms

Lewis approaches the Psalms not as a trained biblical scholar, but as a deeply honest reader. He wrestles openly with the difficult parts of the Psalms—violence, judgment, cultural distance—and finds beauty, humor, and holiness in them nonetheless.

Thomas Merton – Praying the Psalms

Merton, the great Trappist monk and writer, brings a contemplative lens to the Psalms. For him, they are less texts to analyze than prayers to inhabit. His reflections are brief, poetic, and focused on how the Psalms form the inner life of a person of faith.

There are also a number of great Psalters for devotion and educational reading:

The Psalter in the 1993 Book of Common Worship

The Book of Common Worship is the ‘endorsed’ liturgical resource for the Presbyterian Church (USA). What we now call the ‘old’ BCW includes not only a responsive Psalter, but a collect (that is, a short prayer) that distills the meaning of the Psalm. Each week, we’re using these responsive readings and collects as our Call to Worship and Opening Prayer in our worship service.

The Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer

For my own personal devotional reading, I love the Book of Common Prayer. This version, beloved by many for its cadences and clarity, has shaped Anglican and Episcopal prayer for centuries. It was designed to be spoken aloud, and it retains a rhythm and reverence that makes it deeply devotional.

Robert Alter – The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary

Jewish Scholar Robert Alter’s translation seeks to recapture the poetic intensity and wordplay of the original Hebrew. His notes are learned but readable, often revealing surprising insights about tone, structure, and imagery. It’s a wonderful blend of art and scholarship.

Finally, I’d like to share a project from one of our own:

Stacey Anfinson – The Psalms: A Laconian Provocation

Kirk member Stacey Anfinson published these meditations on the Psalms back in 2017. For each Psalm, he presents a photograph, a key verse, and a journal entry, not as an attempt to produce a modern version of the Psalms, but to bridge the gap between the world of ancient Israelites and 21st-century American culture. I’m about a third of the way through Stacey’s reflections, and if you are interested in having your spiritual thoughts provoked, I recommend them to you as well.