Writing the Psalms - by Liz Carter

Do you ever experience a dry spell with your writing?

I know I do, and I'm pretty sure that all writers out there do. Even the most prolific, creative authors must have times they sit at their computer and then... nothing. Nothing happens. No words come.

Maybe it's because you're in the wilderness in your own life, and you can't seem to connect to your creativity. Maybe it's because you've burnt out through writing too much or working too hard. Maybe it's just because you're weary. Whatever it is, it's a common experience to writers, and it's okay to go through it. I've struggled with it lately because health problems and my work schedule have left me without energy to create, and it's always a sadness to me when this happens.

So, why am I talking about the dry spells? A few months ago my husband and I were on sabbatical, and we decided to sit down and study the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134) together, then write poems based around them. In typical us style, we decided to make it more difficult for ourselves by writing them as strict sonnets (10 syllables per line, 3 stanzas of 4 lines with 1/3 and 2/4 rhyming, and 1 stanza of 2 lines with both rhyming). Why we decided to do this to ourselves I do not know, but something happened when we did. Somehow, writing to form allowed the creativity to flow in a new way.

Those of you who know my poetry probably know that I like to write free form, rambling, the odd rhyme and a rhythm all of its own. I do not write form. I've always thought that trying to squeeze my words into form would crush my vibe. But instead I found the opposite, and I think this is because I was trying something new and abandoning myself to the process. And the other reason I think it awoke something in me is that the Psalms of Ascent have a beauty and authenticity that can lead us into new places with God where we are able to look outside our own situations and upwards to who God is and what he has done. Traditionally, pilgrims would sing these songs as they ascended up the hill to Jerusalem at festival times, so they were very much a part of both celebration and lament as they left their cares behind and 'lifted their eyes to the hills'.

It's not just those particular psalms that can spark new ideas and creativity, though. Many Psalms have a form all of their own - Psalm 119 was written as an acrostic, for example, and Psalm 136 has a repeating refrain ('His love endures forever'). Many psalms are written as a framework, with an opening and a closing with a similar theme and repeating patterns throughout (for example, Psalm 42 - 'Why, my soul, are you so downcast?') Some psalms are shouts of joy (Psalm 150) and some expressions of deep sadness and repentance (Psalm 51). There is a psalm to suit all seasons of life and all dry times in writers' lives. 

But what does it mean to 'write the psalms'? Surely the psalms are already written, simply there to be read and reflected on?

I believe God gives people gifts, and that God has given us writers the joy of words and the need to express ourselves - our lives, our loves, our doubts, our despair, our worship - in words. The psalmists are examples to us because they did just that, with great honesty and rawness. Using their words as a springboard for our own can be both healing and joyful as we find ourselves joining in with ancient depths of emotion and spilling them out as our own in brand new ways. Forms can help, and so can free flow - the great thing is that there are no rules.

Here's how we did it. We sat down and read the psalm, and then we reflected on it, talking through the themes and the emotions of the writer. Sometimes we wrote down some key words from the psalm to help, sometimes we simply kept the feeling of it in our minds and souls. And then we simply wrote, in sonnet form, and that's when I found out that writing within restraints can be just as liberating as blurbing it all out on the page.

The great thing is that we are all so different, and so any time we write the psalms they will look different. As an example, here are my and my husband's sonnets based on the very short Psalm 134. When I first looked at it, I couldn't imagine how I could get a whole sonnet out of it. But the great thing about the creativity God imbues within us is that the Spirit whispers into the gaps. I know that the Spirit whispers into your writing, too, into your desert times and mountain times, and into the gaps on your pages. Today, allow the Spirit to breathe into your words and see what happens.

Psalm 134 - A song of ascents

1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

Liz's sonnet:

Lift up your eyes when night wraps murky dark,
When dusk coils its tendrils, raise up your gaze,
Kneel through your gloom-hours, and seek out joy’s spark—
Touch sacred summits in unceasing praise.

Lift up your hands when wounds wrap sore around,
When agony shivers, soar through jewelled skies
of upside-down mercy; grace that abounds—
Drenched in soul-freedom, abide in love’s prize.

Lift up your soul when life wraps luring snares,
When world-flavour dazzles, rise on praise-wings
Find holy spaces, where incense-swelled air
weaves and entwines you, and winter is spring.

Creator of colour, firer of stars,
Oh God of the broken, tend to our scars.

Tim's sonnet:

You are invited, beckoned, welcomed in,
“Bless the Lord.” Leave your fear, shame, foolishness.
Forgiven all, washed clean, set free to sing,
Chorus worship wonder with joyfulness.

You’re commanded, directed, instructed,
“Bless the Lord.” Lift your hands, though feelings fail.
In the dawnless dark, on your sleepless bed,
Choose life, remember grace, praises exhale.

A crescendo – speaking well, calling good,
Falling favour, spirals, builds up, weaves round.
Blessings flow, overspilling, as they should.
Blessed to be a blessing, God’s people found.

May the Lord, maker of heaven above
and earth beneath, bless you with God’s great love.

What about you? Do you like to write with the psalms - or other scripture - when you are dry? Do you find it sparks new creativity? What poetic forms, or lack of, do you prefer?

If you'd like to read more of our sonnets of ascent, you can find our collection here.

Liz Carter is an author, poet and editor from Shropshire. She loves to write about the difficult and painful times in life, and how we can find gold in the mess. Her new non-fiction book with The Good Book Company, Valuable, is now out. Her other books Catching Contentment and Treasure in Dark Places are available in online bookstores. Her first novel, Repression Ground, a dystopian thriller, will be published by Resolute Books in November. She works freelance to proofread, format and design books.

You can find her at www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk