help and thanks

In many of the psalms, there is some combination of several different types. A psalm will start out with a cry for help from God, fitting the "supplication" type, but then halfway through the language changes to that of thanksgiving. The first section will go on and on, detailing the ways in which God has forsaken or disregarded the people, leaving them on their own to fight off whatever enemies may arise. These passages are filled with metaphors for abandonment, with talk of being flung from God's presence and similarly desolate images. The first part of each of these psalms berates God for forsaking the people while simultaneously asking for help and rescue from dire straits.

It is not unusual, however, for these psalms to turn later to poems of thanksgiving. There is often a rather abrupt change from the pleas for help to delineation of God's goodness and beneficence. The second half of the psalm often waxes eloquent on the things God has already done for the people, from previous rescues to the creation in the first place and several places in between. From the desolation of the first part, the psalm has turned into a litany of praise for what seems to be an ever-loving God. These two main ideas seem to be at odds with one another.

Perhaps they are not so far off, though. In many of the psalms the speaker expresses a vote of confidence in either God's ability to overcome adversity, his willingness to do so for the help of his people, or both. This confidence seems to arise out of the need for supplication-- as the speaker remembers past dangers, God's help in such dangers is also brought to mind. It is an easy step from the mere remembrance of this help to the praise of God for such actions. The plea for help itself leads directly into the affirmation of thanksgiving by way of memories of past kindnesses. Although supplication and thanksgiving may seem like two emotions that lie on opposite ends of some spectrum, the two seem to be in fact fairly closely related, one giving rise to the other.