Description:
"In this remarkable book, you will find the Psalms rendered fresh, vibrant, and newly transparent to the living God..." --Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School
The first in an exciting new series on the Psalms and their transformative power in living a life full of emotions, dialogue, and reflection.
The Psalms, a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers, provide one of the richest accounts of humanity's relationship to God. They are dear to the hearts of many generations, particularly when people are navigating life's challenges and seeking joyful restoration.
In the first of a five-part series, Marty Folsom, a leading relational theologian, invites the reader to contemplate each psalm, to hear its heartbeat, to discern its relational themes, to listen deeply into its intentions, and to reflect on the voices that speak when the psalms are unleashed. The reader will find a sanctuary to soak in the Psalms and allow their authentic selves to dwell with the God of grace and mercy.
Ultimately, this is a spiritual guide that lets you know you are not alone. It takes ancient wisdom and crafts melodies and pathways that lead us to intimacy with our Companion Creator as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an invitation to the art of bringing the Psalms to life.
Brief description: Marty Folsom is a relational theologian and author of Face to Face and the forthcoming five-volume series, Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics for Everyone. He has been the Executive Director for the Pacific Association for Theological Studies which creates a theological community in the Pacific Northwest and was a pastoral therapist for 25 years. A professor of Theology and Biblical Studies in Seattle area schools since 1988, he has worked at Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Trinity Lutheran, Northwest University, The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and more. He lives in Camano Island, Washington.
Review Quotes: "Into the concrete jungle of 'critical and technical' Psalms commentaries, Marty Folsom brings something of an oasis-garden: for each psalm there is an accompanying interpretive paraphrase that helps draw the reader into that world through reaching out to her imagination. This and the linking comments between the treatments of the individual psalms are arresting and inviting to people seeking God's face today. It is very much in the spirit of Eugene Peterson, and by association the affective spirituality of U2's Bono, but also that of the meditative tradition of the undivided Church."-- "Mark Elliot, St. Andrews University"