Reading Resilience in the Psalms

In Reading Resilience in the Psalms, Rebecca W. Poe Hays offers a trauma-informed reading of the book of Psalms. She argues that the poetry of these ancient song-prayers reflects the experience of potentially traumatic events in the worlds of the psalms' composers and collectors, and it also provides resources for healing and resilience across successive generations of communities who use these texts. Combining modern trauma theory, literary and form-critical methods, and insights from reception history and alternating between methodological and case study chapters, this study identifies textual indicators of traumatic influences and maps how the Psalter's poetry reflects—and might facilitate—the general movements of trauma healing. While we catch glimpses of trauma and its effects within its poetry, the book of Psalms is really more about resilience. These texts, both individually and as a collection, gave worshippers language and rhythms, cultivated identity and community, and inspired purpose and resistance that helped them survive in the face of life's challenges. The book of Psalms was not created for the purpose of trauma healing. Nevertheless, the trauma- and resilience-related dimensions of the Psalter's poetry are significant not only for understanding the formation and survival of ancient worshipping communities but also for the book's enduring relevance in a world in which resilience in the face of hardship and trauma is, unfortunately, still needed.