Psalms are essentially the worship book for the Hebrew people. They were read publicly, often as call-and-response during services; hence the way lines are broken and indented on the page. The content of the psalms is not always meant to be a theological treatise, but what it feels like to be a human being searching after the heart of God. That way, they stimulate our mind, heart, soul, and body - our whole self - to worship.
There are many genres of psalms. Here are five of the most common:
Praise: Who God is. 8:1 “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Lament: Either from external forces against us or internal wrestling with sin/doubt.
Communal: 123:3 “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt.”
Individual: 13 “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?"
Thanksgiving: For what God has done. 40:5 “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.”
Royal: How God orders the world, and how leaders should respond to Him. 2 “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.”
Wisdom: Deep observations about life that invite us to see things in a new way. 49 “Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world…”
TIPS FOR WRITING A PSALM
Write from a standpoint of faith as “participation” - whatever you think/feel, direct it to God.
Write in poetic form. Use metaphors and similes. Use comparisons and contrasts, two techniques that were common in Hebrew poetry. Consider a flow to your thoughts that leads the reader somewhere.
Write out of an honest expression of your own feelings. Let what you are feeling sit next to what you believe is true by faith.
Consider the implications of being resurrection people, followers of Jesus as the best picture of what God is really like. David, for all his intimate knowledge of God, didn’t have what you have available to you.
PRACTICE
Choose two different psalms at random. Observe their flow, their purpose. What can you see in the process of worship here? How is the writer using language to convey that process?
Take time to pray. What’s on your heart right now? What have you been thinking about a lot recently? Write out an inventory of your thoughts/feelings. Resist giving them order or explanation just yet, let it flow.
Write your own psalm. Maybe it’s praise, maybe it’s thanksgiving, maybe it’s lament, or a combination of genres. Just let it be honest to where you’re at, but directed towards God.