Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 31st of January 2024, here’s Psalm 75: We give thanks to you, O God;     we g ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 30th of January 2024, here’s Psalm 74: O God, why do you cast us off forever?   &n ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 17th of January 2024, here’s Psalm 73: 1 Surely God is good to Israel,    &nb ..read more

One of my ongoing projects, as a form of spiritual discipline, is to try and cover every Psalm in an ‘A Psalm a Day’ format. I recently finished ‘Book 2’ of the Psalter, Psalms 42 through 72. I’ve collected links to them all here. I’ve tried to summarise them here in a sentence – click on the link to dig deeper – which echoes the theological nature of my reflections, by and large, I’ve been trying to see what they say about God. Psalm 42 – the refreshing God. Psalm 43 – the sure and certain God. Psalm 44 – remembering God. Psalm 45 – the God of blessing. Psalm 46 – the God of refuge. Psa ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 11th of December 2023 (one month since I did Psalm 71!), here’s Psalm 72: 1 Endow the king w ..read more

There is some debate about the hashtag here – I privilege #AARSBL23 over #SBLAAR23 as I’m an AAR Member – it is also worth noting that ETS is a distinct conference, and some of the books were gained there… Historical Note – I did a similar blog post after my first experience at ETS/SBL in 2017, as well as a blog post last year. Attending ETS/IBR/SBL/AAR in my current role is an interesting thing – this year I didn’t give a paper, but had a tranche of meetings, and even made it to some sessions. As with last year, I was in a book-aqquiring mode, with two broad things in mind. Firstly, com ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 7th of November, here’s Psalm 69: 1 Save me, O God,     for the waters&n ..read more

As I’ve worked – gradually – through the Psalms, in an on-off attempt to do ‘A Psalm a Day’, one bumps up against some of the Psalms that pop up in other contexts, like Psalm 22 throughout the New Testament, Psalm 110 in Hebrews, and Psalm 139 when thinking about what it means to be human. Psalm 23 is one of those Psalms – probably the only Psalm that a reasonable number outside the church would have a resonant echo. The opening line – in the KJV translation – is something that appears in a myriad of ways, and yet it speaks to some incredible depths and truth: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shal ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 31st of October 2023, here’s Psalm 67: 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us    ..read more

Throughout September 2022, I managed to read and reflect – briefly – on a Psalm each day. For December 2022, I attempted to pick up the discipline. I got part-way through that month, and so after a long hiatus, am determined to get going. I’ll read the Psalm, pray, and then ponder a few questions: What is this Psalm about? What does this Psalm teach about God? How does this Psalm connect to God’s people today? I’ll close the post with a simple prayer, trying to draw the themes together. On the 29th of October 2023, here’s Psalm 66: 1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth! 2   ..read more