Poetry: The Language of the Heart

Today's Reading

Read Psalm 23: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."

Then read Song of Solomon 2:10-13: "My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.'"

Reflection

About one-third of the Old Testament is poetry. The Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, large portions of the prophets, and sections of Job are all written in Hebrew verse. If you do not know how to read poetry, you are missing a third of God's revelation.

Biblical poetry works differently from English poetry. It does not rely on rhyme or meter. Its primary device is parallelism — saying something, then saying it again in a different way. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." The second line restates and deepens the first. This layering effect slows you down, inviting you to meditate rather than merely process information.

The other great tool of biblical poetry is metaphor. God is a shepherd, a rock, a fortress, a shield. We are sheep, grass, dust, clay. These are not decorative embellishments. As N.T. Wright insists:

"Poetry of this sort is not merely decorative; it carries cognitive content every bit as well as prose does, only differently."

When the psalmist says "He makes me lie down in green pastures," he is not giving a literal report. He is evoking an entire experience — safety, provision, rest, care — in a single image. This is what poetry does: it reaches past the mind to the imagination and the emotions, engaging the whole person.

Psalm 23 has comforted millions through death, grief, illness, and fear — not because it provides theological arguments but because its images settle into the soul in a way that arguments cannot.

The Song of Solomon takes poetic language in another direction entirely — the language of romantic love. "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away." The Bible includes this kind of poetry because human love, in all its passion and beauty, is part of God's creation and a reflection of His own love for His people.

J.I. Packer reminds us that the Psalms have always been central to Christian prayer:

"The Psalms are the prayer book of Jesus Christ as well as of the whole church... They are the treasury of prayer in which Jesus himself prayed."

Going Deeper

When reading biblical poetry, slow down. Do not rush through a psalm looking for the "point." Let the images work on you. Read Psalm 23 aloud — three times if you can. Each time, notice a different word or image. Poetry is meant to be savored, not consumed. The God who inspired it chose this form for a reason.