ArticleBlog | Preaching, partnership and the psalms
Preaching, partnership and the psalms
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 24.03.23
The psalter can provide a fresh lens to contemporary challenges in both preaching and international development.
It is true that traditional approaches to aid and development have too often failed the people they purport to serve. They have not recognised the dignity and expertise of people in low-income communities, they have imposed Western presumptions, and not left communities any better equipped to deal with future challenges.
That’s why the people I work with at All We Can are committed to constantly asking the hard questions – interrogating inherited models to produce an approach which genuinely puts local communities in the driving seat.
As a preacher, I also have to ask myself similar questions about power dynamics, inherited assumptions, and offering unhelpful solutions. In both cases, I have found the psalms to be a source of encouragement and freshness, and a model of a more ‘real’, collaborative approach.
Community-led The psalms are an organic community songbook. They were not imposed upon the people of Israel, but grew out of their common experiences and reflections.
There are seven named psalmists, and at least 50 psalms with no attribution, likely spread across several authors. Even many of the 73 psalms attributed to David were probably written by others and later dedicated to David, or perhaps rubber-stamped by him. The psalms are characterised by collaboration and participation.
