Psalter Shape

Bonhoeffer is here!

2007-09-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

Bonhoeffer's Psalms the Prayerbook of the Bible is full of great insights like this:

Jesus Christ has brought every need, every joy, every gratitude, every hope of men before God. In his mouth the word of man becomes the Word of God, and if we pray his prayer with him, the Word of God becomes once again the word of man. All prayers of the Bible are such prayers which we pray together with Jesus Christ, in which he accompanies us, and through which he brings us into the presence of God. Othewise there are no true prayers, for only in and with Jesus Christ can we truly pray.

You can get yours on Sunday.

Reardon on the Psalms

2007-09-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

From Patrick Henry Reardon's book Christ in the Psalms:

The psalms become our basic internal text, as it were, the underlying preoccupation of our minds, the thematic source to which we spontaneously return when no other thoughts are forced upon us by the various duties that otherwise occupy our days.

Reardon's book contains one page Christ-centered reflections on each psalm:

Bonhoeffer Due in St. Louis Soon

2007-09-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I ordered 24 of these. They should be here shortly, hopefully before Sunday:

If you'd like one it will set you back $6.39. I promise you that Bonhoeffer is worth every penny.

Ango-Genevan Psalter Revision

2007-09-23T05:07:00.001-07:00

The Canadian Reformed Church is in the process of revising it's Book of Praise. From the website...

The Standing Committee for the Publication of the Book of Praise of the Canadian Reformed Churches is very pleased to present the first draft of the proposed revised text of the Psalms of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter.

There are revisions of about 50 of the Psalms posted so far. Here's how Psalm 1 has been revised:

1. How blest is he who shuns the path of sin,
Who spurns the counsel of unrighteous men
And will not seek the company of scoffers;
Their way of life to him no pleasure offers.
But in the law of God is his delight;
On it he meditates both day and night.

2. Those who the precepts of the LORD obey
And from His good commandments do not stray
Are like a tree which, planted by a river,
Is lush and green: its leaves will never wither,
And it in season yields abundant fruit.
So they will thrive, whatever their pursuit.

3. Not so the wicked! For like chaff are they –
Like worthless chaff. The wind blows it away.
When judgment comes, they’ll stand condemned and humbled,
Cast out from where the righteous are assembled.
The LORD will guard the pathway of the just;
The way of sinners leads to death and dust.

© 1980/2007, William Helder

Some Help from Marty

2007-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Though I haven't picked one up yet, this looks to be a helpful resource from Concordia Publishing House. It's Reading the Psalms with Luther: The Psalter for Individual & Family Devotions with Introductions by Martin Luther. They run about $14.99 at Amazon & here in St. Louis at the Concordia Bookstore.

What you get is the entire Psalter (ESV) with short introduction/commentary from Luther at the head of each psalm. In all of Luther's many writings on the psalms, the only work that he produced which commented on all 150 Psalms was entitled The Summaries of the Psalms (pub. 1532). Those summaries appear here in this new volume. As well Luther "assigns each psalm to one of the Ten Commandments and to one of the petitions from the Lord's prayer, he says that the psalms 'belong to,' 'flow from,' even are in' these petitions and commandments" (from the Preface, p. 4). There is also a schedule for praying through the Psalter regularly, and I believe the entire Psalter is pointed for chanting and includes the chants from the new Lutheran Service Book.

Psalter Shape is Open!

2007-09-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Psalter Shape. Psalter Shape is for the Letting the Psalms Shape our Lives Adult Sunday School Class at Providence Church. I'm planning to post relevant material from the class, and provide links to books & articles, and other helpful resources dealing with the Psalms. I'll leave comments on and we'll see if that's fruitful.

Depending on how much technological proficiency I can attain, I may post mp3's of classes, etc. We'll see ;-)