“The world of Psalm 1 is symmetrical and congruent, reliable and well ordered. It is, however, not universally true (as against Psalm 1) that obedient people prosper and wicked people perish. Only the very sheltered, innocent, and unperceptive could embrace such a naive affirmation as that made in Psalm 1 (see also Ps. 37:25–26). The actual data about the connection between obedience and prosperity are much less convincing and reliable. There comes into the life of Israel abrasive, experienced reality in which obedience seems futile. God is seen to be fickle, and the confident faith of Psalm 1 is inadequate. Psalm 1 does not invite candid protest or hard, probing questions about moral coherence. Psalm 1 does not entertain or even permit the demanding question of theodicy. For that reason, the simple affirmation of Psalm 1 is not adequate to lived experience.
One step on the way from duty to delight is by way of candid lament that gives full expression to suffering and rage, to hurt, anger, doubt and alienation that accompany suffering. In order to move from Psalm 1 at the beginning to Psalm 150 at the end, one must depart from the safe world of Psalm 1 and plunge into the middle of the Psalter where one will find a world of enraged suffering. In its laments, Israel protests against the simplistic theological affirmations of Psalm 1.“1
1 Brueggemane, Walter. (1995). Introduction. In P. D. Miller (Ed.), The Psalms and the Life of Faith (pp. 196–197). Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Living Faith 