Tuesday Tomes - Getting Into the Psalms

Search Me, O God: Praying Reflectively with the Psalms (based on Psalm 139) will be the theme for my 2014 Lent and Easter teaching series at Valley Christian Church. In preparation for that series, I'm reading through these three books. I'm particularly looking for ways the Psalms can help the believer pray reflectively through guilt, fear, doubt, failure, fatigue, betrayal, loss, sickness, confession, grief, disappointment, and other "dark nights" of the soul.

The Case for the Psalms
(N. T. Wright)
Wright seeks to reclaim the power of the Psalms, which were once at the core of prayer life. He argues that, by praying and living the Psalms, we enter into a worldview, a way of communing with God and knowing him more intimately, and receive a map by which we understand the contours and direction of our lives. For this reason, all Christians need to read, pray, sing, and live the Psalms. By providing the historical, literary, and spiritual contexts for reading these hymns from ancient Israel’s songbook, The Case for the Psalms provides the tools for incorporating these divine poems into our sacred practices and into our spirituality itself. (Amazon)

Learning to Pray Through the Psalms 
(James W. Sire)
Sire teaches us to take our appreciation for this rich book of Scripture a step further. Choosing ten specific psalms, Sire offers background information that helps us read each one with deeper insight and then lays out a meditative, step-by-step approach to using the psalmists' words as a guide for our own personal conversation with God. A group study is also included in each chapter, along with a guide for praying through the psalm in community. The Lord loves when his people pray. And his Word is a powerful tool for framing honest, intimate prayers. Sire's innovative approach will enrich our minds and our souls as we read more perceptively and pray with all of our emotions.  (Amazon)

Reflections on the Psalms 
(C. S. Lewis)
Internationally renowned because of his earlier books, among them tape Letters, Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis - making religion provoking, memorable and delightful is still more - latest Reflections on the Psalms. Though he protests that he writes - learned about things in which he is unlearned himself, the reader is likely- thank God for his wise ignorance. Here especially he throws a clear lightly or not, on many of the difficult psalms, such as those which abound with and cursing, and a self-centeredness which seems to assume' that God must be side of the psalmist. These things, which make some psalm singers pre- not there, have a right and proper place, as Mr. Lewis shows us. They - of Psalms more precious still. Many readers owe it to themselves to read - flections if only to learn this hard but simple lesson. Urge everyone to this book. (Kirkus Reviews)