By Mike Peek

Today I would like to talk about the subject of human suffering and how we as followers of Jesus Christ can seek the best for the other person who is facing suffering to the glory of God. You have likely heard someone say, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I know that the Scriptures teach us that no one is good, but I do not think that this is what is in mind when this question is asked. There are those who are following the Lord and seeking the best for their neighbor who undergo tremendous tragedy, seemingly without explanation. The thinking in most people’s minds when asking this question is that if you do good you get good and if you do bad you get bad. By profession I am a Critical Care Registered Nurse; which means that I help people, who, because of illness or injury are unable to sustain life without help. Everyone who is in the intensive care unit is there, because either they want to get well or someone else wants them to get well. I see a great deal of human suf...

Hermann Gunkel in his form-critical approach to the Psalms identified seven types or genres of psalms. 1  The seven types or genres that Gunkel identified are: the individual lament, the communal lament, the hymn, the psalms of thanksgiving, the royal psalms, the wisdom and Torah psalms, and the entrance liturgies. 2  Others have recognized only three general categories of psalms: praise, wisdom, and lament with subcategories within each category. 3  For example, the individual lament and the communal lament that Gunkel identified could be generally categorized as lament psalms, then further subcategorized. For the purpose of this article I will be identifying three general classifications of psalms: lament psalms, hymns, and wisdom psalms. I will give one psalm for each general classification of psalms describing how that psalm illustrates the classification. I will be presenting them in the order that they appear in the book of the psalms. Psalm 1 is a good exampl...