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The Case for the Psalms: Why They Are Essential
One of the world's most trusted Bible scholars, N. T. Wright turns his attention to the central collection of prayers that Jesus and Paul knew best: the book of Psalms. Wright points out that the Psalms have served as the central prayer and hymnbook for the church since its beginning--until now. In The Case for the Psalms, Wright calls us to return to the Psalms as a steady, vital component of healthy Christian living.
Reading, studying, and praying the Psalms is God's means for teaching us what it means to be human: how to express our emotions and yearnings, how to reconcile our anger and our compassion, how to see our story in light of God's sweeping narrative of salvation. Wright provides the tools for understanding and incorporating these crucial verses into our own lives. His conclusion is simple: all Christians need to read, pray, sing, and live the Psalms.
Reading, studying, and praying the Psalms is God's means for teaching us what it means to be human: how to express our emotions and yearnings, how to reconcile our anger and our compassion, how to see our story in light of God's sweeping narrative of salvation. Wright provides the tools for understanding and incorporating these crucial verses into our own lives. His conclusion is simple: all Christians need to read, pray, sing, and live the Psalms.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2013
400 people are currently reading
1300 people want to read
About the author
N.T. Wright
417 books2,836 followersN. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England (2003-2010) and one of the world's leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline NBC, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air, and he has taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford universities. Wright is the award-winning author of Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Last Word, The Challenge of Jesus, The Meaning of Jesus (coauthored with Marcus Borg), as well as the much heralded series Christian Origins and the Question of God.
He also publishes under Tom Wright.
He also publishes under Tom Wright.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
October 20, 2013
About 10 years ago I read an article on N.T. Wright on the Christianity Today site. The article, was published when Wright was dean of Lichfield Cathedral, and I remember Wright making a comment that if you want to understand his theology, you have to see him at worship.
This is Wright at worship. In this book he commends the Psalms as a prayer book and as something that gives shape and depth to corporate worship. His context as an Anglican theologian has meant that he is part of a communion that regularly reads the Psalms. He also reads the Psalms daily as part of his devotional practice. So while the title suggests that Wright is 'making the case for the Psalms' for churches and Christians who have let them fall into disuse, I found this book to be a personal account of his devotional life.
Wright argues that inhabiting the Psalms means marking time, space, and matter differently than our post-enlightenment culture does. Of course as a NT guy, N.T. has a lot to say about how Christ fits into the story, and hopes that are sketched in the Psalms (so does the New Testament), but he opens up a way to reorient ourselves around the Psalms and hear their cumulative message.
I especially appreciated the later chapters where Wright has talked about the joy he's experienced in his life reading various Psalms and hearing God speak to him through them. Great stuff!
This is Wright at worship. In this book he commends the Psalms as a prayer book and as something that gives shape and depth to corporate worship. His context as an Anglican theologian has meant that he is part of a communion that regularly reads the Psalms. He also reads the Psalms daily as part of his devotional practice. So while the title suggests that Wright is 'making the case for the Psalms' for churches and Christians who have let them fall into disuse, I found this book to be a personal account of his devotional life.
Wright argues that inhabiting the Psalms means marking time, space, and matter differently than our post-enlightenment culture does. Of course as a NT guy, N.T. has a lot to say about how Christ fits into the story, and hopes that are sketched in the Psalms (so does the New Testament), but he opens up a way to reorient ourselves around the Psalms and hear their cumulative message.
I especially appreciated the later chapters where Wright has talked about the joy he's experienced in his life reading various Psalms and hearing God speak to him through them. Great stuff!
December 11, 2019
I love worship. I love modern worship like United and Jesus Culture, I love traditional hymns like Amazing Grace and A Mighty Fortress is Our God. But most of all, I love the Psalms. It wasn't long before I was able to talk, and probably before I was able to read, that my grandmother began pushing me to memorize them. Long before I was putting books like Hebrews, James, and 1 Corinthians to memory, I had already learned dozens of the Psalms thanks to her influence. Even when she was nearing the end of her days and was losing both speech and memory, she could still flawlessly quote along with me those Psalms that were nearest and dearest to her heart.
I say that to show that I am probably a bit biased in claiming that this is one of the best books I've read all year. NT Wright is always a great, thought-provoking, mind and heart challenging read. This time he has done one better. He has challenged me to get back to those Psalms. He rightfully argues that the Psalms should be a capstone in the worship life of any believer and church community. I fully agree but have to admit that I haven't been giving them the attention they deserve.
The best compliment a person can give a book is to say that it has changed their life. Well, I can say that this book has changed (and greatly enhanced) my devotional life over the past couple weeks and I can only hope and pray that this is a change that will stick. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
I say that to show that I am probably a bit biased in claiming that this is one of the best books I've read all year. NT Wright is always a great, thought-provoking, mind and heart challenging read. This time he has done one better. He has challenged me to get back to those Psalms. He rightfully argues that the Psalms should be a capstone in the worship life of any believer and church community. I fully agree but have to admit that I haven't been giving them the attention they deserve.
The best compliment a person can give a book is to say that it has changed their life. Well, I can say that this book has changed (and greatly enhanced) my devotional life over the past couple weeks and I can only hope and pray that this is a change that will stick. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
November 18, 2020
This book is very informational and insightful. I've been reading many Christian books lately and this one was one of the most informative ones. If you are looking for a great study companion to the psalms, look no further.
October 16, 2020
A wonderful little book that really makes you look at the psalms in a new way. Highly recommended.
December 30, 2022
In this volume, Wright offers a bird's eye view of the Psalms and the import of their theology. His intentions here are clearly more pastoral than academic; he is simply trying to convince Christians that the Psalms are worth our time. His approach to the book is rooted more in biblical theology than in exegesis; e.g., he spends very little (if any) time discussing the poetic devices employed by the Psalmists (parallelism, figurative language, etc.). Instead, he examines the book holistically through the lens of "time, space, and matter"—a paradigm he has used many times elsewhere.
Wright's paradigm is certainly helpful. For instance, he demonstrates how the lament of the Psalmists can help us make sense of the liminal stage of time we currently find ourselves in (the "already but not yet"). More, he shows how the Psalms trace the entire history of sacred space (from the garden, to the tabernacle, to the temple, to Torah)—and how they point toward a future reality wherein God will once again dwell intimately with His people. This leads to Wright's final discussion on sacred matter. Here, he convincingly argues from the Psalms that matter is inherently good, and that God's plan is to one day renew the whole cosmos and fill it with His glory.
While I do not necessarily take issue with anything Wright says in this book (in fact, I find most of it very useful), I still find myself ultimately underwhelmed by it. I admit that this is likely due to my own false expectations. As I mentioned above, this is far from a comprehensive and/or groundbreaking study of the Psalms; it's more of a cursory theological introduction to them. But even if we grant that Wright's focus is more broad, pastoral, and theological, there are still large portions of the Psalms that he simply fails to address, despite the theological conundrums that such passages often provoke for modern Christian readers (e.g., the imprecatory Psalms). In any case, Wright succeeds in demonstrating the relevance of the Psalms for the Church today. And many who read this book will return to the Psalms with a renewed appreciation for their timeless relevance, and for the hope and comfort that they continue to bring to God's people. For that, I am thankful.
Wright's paradigm is certainly helpful. For instance, he demonstrates how the lament of the Psalmists can help us make sense of the liminal stage of time we currently find ourselves in (the "already but not yet"). More, he shows how the Psalms trace the entire history of sacred space (from the garden, to the tabernacle, to the temple, to Torah)—and how they point toward a future reality wherein God will once again dwell intimately with His people. This leads to Wright's final discussion on sacred matter. Here, he convincingly argues from the Psalms that matter is inherently good, and that God's plan is to one day renew the whole cosmos and fill it with His glory.
While I do not necessarily take issue with anything Wright says in this book (in fact, I find most of it very useful), I still find myself ultimately underwhelmed by it. I admit that this is likely due to my own false expectations. As I mentioned above, this is far from a comprehensive and/or groundbreaking study of the Psalms; it's more of a cursory theological introduction to them. But even if we grant that Wright's focus is more broad, pastoral, and theological, there are still large portions of the Psalms that he simply fails to address, despite the theological conundrums that such passages often provoke for modern Christian readers (e.g., the imprecatory Psalms). In any case, Wright succeeds in demonstrating the relevance of the Psalms for the Church today. And many who read this book will return to the Psalms with a renewed appreciation for their timeless relevance, and for the hope and comfort that they continue to bring to God's people. For that, I am thankful.
July 12, 2015
In many ways this might be Wright's best work ever. I had always suspected something like his thesis when I read the Psalms (more on that below) but I couldn't articulate it. The psalms give us a musical ontology. Wright says the Psalms transform the reader (better yet, the chanter and singer) because they place him or her at the intersection of Space, Time, and Matter--the very place where Jesus of Nazareth is.
People who pray the psalms will be learning to live in God’s time, space, and “matter” (the stuff we are made of) as well as our own (Wright 27). The psalms resonate with Jesus because he was the one who stood at the intersection of God’s time/space/matter and ours (30).
The threshold of God's Time:
The ebb and flow in the Psalms teach us an eschatological balance. The theme of time helps us with those instances where we are called to sing of the enthronement of Yahweh’s king (44). And we shouldn’t shrink back from the royalist overtones in our democratic age, for we are called to be his vice-regents.
More specifically, Yahweh also called Israel to care for the world (Genesis 12:3). But given Israel’s failure, God narrows his focus to the House of David. Therefore, the intersection of God’s time with our time--and always with the Davidic King in the foreground--comes into focus in Psalm 89.
Where God Dwells
The “Temple” is where God’s space and our space intersect. If the world’s Creator lives in Jerusalem, then it stands to reason (Ps. 2) that he will rule from Jerusalem.
“The temple turns out to be an advance foretaste of Yahweh’s claim on the whole of creation...It is a sign that the creator God is desiring...to recreate the world from within” (91).
1. The temple is a heaven-and-earth reality, a microcosm of creation.
2. Psalm 24: Yahweh takes up residence in his temple.
3. Temple and Torah are connected and both point ahead to God’s new place.
4. Temple Psalms and Pneumatology: the new Temple is indwelt by the Spirit.
5. Covenant renewal generates fresh idea of sacred space.
All the trees of the forest sing for joy
Western modernity sees matter as lifeless matter. The Psalms, however, see creation throbbing with the potential glory of God. God’s glory either already fills the whole earth or it will fill the earth (124).
This ties in with Covenant and Kingship: the true King will bring justice and peace to the earth, which will renew creation (Psalm 72).
Wisdom and Creation
Psalm 104:19-24 combines themes from Genesis 1 and Proverbs 8. Paul picks up this Wisdom-Creation tradition and places it in Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20, 2.2-3).
Summary of Theme
Time: the past of creation, the future of Judgment, and the present of celebration are drawn together.
Space: what was promised for the Temple is now promised for the whole world.
Matter: we are standing at the fault line of the original material of creation and the glory-filled material of the new creation (144).
Conclusion and Nota Bene:
The book is simply magnificent. I honestly can’t think of a single flaw.
Nota Bene
Wright says at one time in his life when he was witnessing to Gaia-worshiping pantheists, he felt an oppressive darkness and Yahweh gave him deliverance by bringing Psalm 97 (which happened to be the next Psalm in the prayerbook reading) to mind, “Yahweh is King. Let the Earth rejoice!” p. 175
People who pray the psalms will be learning to live in God’s time, space, and “matter” (the stuff we are made of) as well as our own (Wright 27). The psalms resonate with Jesus because he was the one who stood at the intersection of God’s time/space/matter and ours (30).
The threshold of God's Time:
The ebb and flow in the Psalms teach us an eschatological balance. The theme of time helps us with those instances where we are called to sing of the enthronement of Yahweh’s king (44). And we shouldn’t shrink back from the royalist overtones in our democratic age, for we are called to be his vice-regents.
More specifically, Yahweh also called Israel to care for the world (Genesis 12:3). But given Israel’s failure, God narrows his focus to the House of David. Therefore, the intersection of God’s time with our time--and always with the Davidic King in the foreground--comes into focus in Psalm 89.
Where God Dwells
The “Temple” is where God’s space and our space intersect. If the world’s Creator lives in Jerusalem, then it stands to reason (Ps. 2) that he will rule from Jerusalem.
“The temple turns out to be an advance foretaste of Yahweh’s claim on the whole of creation...It is a sign that the creator God is desiring...to recreate the world from within” (91).
1. The temple is a heaven-and-earth reality, a microcosm of creation.
2. Psalm 24: Yahweh takes up residence in his temple.
3. Temple and Torah are connected and both point ahead to God’s new place.
4. Temple Psalms and Pneumatology: the new Temple is indwelt by the Spirit.
5. Covenant renewal generates fresh idea of sacred space.
All the trees of the forest sing for joy
Western modernity sees matter as lifeless matter. The Psalms, however, see creation throbbing with the potential glory of God. God’s glory either already fills the whole earth or it will fill the earth (124).
This ties in with Covenant and Kingship: the true King will bring justice and peace to the earth, which will renew creation (Psalm 72).
Wisdom and Creation
Psalm 104:19-24 combines themes from Genesis 1 and Proverbs 8. Paul picks up this Wisdom-Creation tradition and places it in Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20, 2.2-3).
Summary of Theme
Time: the past of creation, the future of Judgment, and the present of celebration are drawn together.
Space: what was promised for the Temple is now promised for the whole world.
Matter: we are standing at the fault line of the original material of creation and the glory-filled material of the new creation (144).
Conclusion and Nota Bene:
The book is simply magnificent. I honestly can’t think of a single flaw.
Nota Bene
Wright says at one time in his life when he was witnessing to Gaia-worshiping pantheists, he felt an oppressive darkness and Yahweh gave him deliverance by bringing Psalm 97 (which happened to be the next Psalm in the prayerbook reading) to mind, “Yahweh is King. Let the Earth rejoice!” p. 175
November 6, 2013
This little book is an outstanding read in a couple of ways. Wright, for those who don't already know, is one of the world's most compelling and surely that most recognized New Testament scholar. In this he has written a book on the Psalms that draws upon the biblical worldview that he has articulated so well for his readers in his various volumes on Jesus, Paul and NT origins. In its own understated way the book makes clear how the ongoing life of the Church in worship is enriched and best understood by recognizing and rejoicing in its place in God's story even now still being worked out as we move hopefully into the future. Wright shares personal stories in a few spots and gives an entire chapter to such stories which provide great illustration of how various Psalms can speak into our lives at various points in time. This makes a book the most personal of the many that Wright has written and perhaps a good one to read before plunging into his upcoming multi-volume work on Paul.
December 29, 2017
A delightful little book, considering the Psalms through the lenses of time, space, and matter. I like Wright's attention to the continuity of Torah, Temple, and New Testament theology, and his ability to read each in the Psalter. I know something of the intellectual firepower he wields, and am thus more impressed with his ability to write clearly and simply, to hold back and dive in as needed. His personal account of living with the Psalms was endearing, and an encouragement to engage more deeply and habitually with the church's great hymnbook. I'm particularly eager to find great musical setting of the Psalms, and would welcome recommendations.
September 12, 2025
Continuing from C. S. Lewis’s study of the Psalms Wright encourages us to sing and recite them all. The hard ones too.
June 16, 2019
3.75 stars. I have a love/hate relationship with Wright. I don’t know any other writer than I can be so thrilled and frustrated by simultaneously. This book, however, was mostly thrilling. Wright is a big-picture thinker (his strength and weakness) and brings this to bear on this little book on the Pslams. He invites us to see how the Pslams reshape how we relate to time, space, and matter, then concludes with a plea for Christians and churches to make the Psalms central in worship and devotion again.
The psalms cause us to rethink these three areas by: (1) introducing the tension between the past works of salvation, the future promises of new creation, and our present sufferings; God’s concept of time sees all three coinciding as right now and not contradictory. (2) God’s space is localized in the temple, but is then expanded to being found in his Torah and the hearts of those who keep His Law, anticipating a day when God’s presence will cover the whole earth. (3) Matter is made for the grandeur of God and one day the trees really will clap their hands and the mountains really will sing for joy; they do this now, but only imperceptibly.
The psalms cause us to rethink these three areas by: (1) introducing the tension between the past works of salvation, the future promises of new creation, and our present sufferings; God’s concept of time sees all three coinciding as right now and not contradictory. (2) God’s space is localized in the temple, but is then expanded to being found in his Torah and the hearts of those who keep His Law, anticipating a day when God’s presence will cover the whole earth. (3) Matter is made for the grandeur of God and one day the trees really will clap their hands and the mountains really will sing for joy; they do this now, but only imperceptibly.
October 2, 2025
Liked it, wanted to love it. Thought provoking as to how we approach the Psalms today in light of the new covenant and how we have strayed from them being the centrality of our worship over recent years. There is no book like the Psalms, religious or secular, that displays the authenticity of human emotions more beautifully, and puts on full display how all prayer pursued far enough eventually leads to praise.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Psalm 104:33-34
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Psalm 104:33-34
March 21, 2020
This is a deeply personal statement of the value that recitation and study of the Psalms have for a Christian...a good spiritual guide.
July 14, 2021
Amazing Little Book
This book is a beautiful companion to the Psalms. While it is not too thorough, it still provides in depth analysis about why the Psalms are important and how we are invited to allow the Psalms to speak into our lives. Wright has a high value for this book of the Bible and it really shines through in every page.
This book is a beautiful companion to the Psalms. While it is not too thorough, it still provides in depth analysis about why the Psalms are important and how we are invited to allow the Psalms to speak into our lives. Wright has a high value for this book of the Bible and it really shines through in every page.
March 21, 2024
A book that made me really think and then yearn for the power of the Psalms in my life
October 31, 2014
While there are a few nuggets to be found in this book, most of the book attempts to cram the Psalms into three categories: time, space, and matter. This seems to be forced and muddles the beauty of the Psalms. It is also a bit confusing and at times I wondered exactly what the author was trying to communicate.
One thing that annoyed me about this book is the regular references to the author's other books--it was like having a stream of advertisements in-line while reading. Footnoting them would have been much better.
The last chapter regarding the author's experiences with the Psalms was the best part of the book.
One thing that annoyed me about this book is the regular references to the author's other books--it was like having a stream of advertisements in-line while reading. Footnoting them would have been much better.
The last chapter regarding the author's experiences with the Psalms was the best part of the book.
November 8, 2019
N.T. Wright has a healthy appreciation of the Psalms and believes they need to have a bigger part in the life of the church than they have for the last few decades. The Psalms have largely been ignored in the worship of the church, much to the detriment of the church and its people.
In this book, Wright argues that the Psalms are essential for the spiritual formation of Christians and should be central to the worship of the church.
In this book, Wright argues that the Psalms are essential for the spiritual formation of Christians and should be central to the worship of the church.
April 27, 2020
What the book does, really, is revive the narrative of the Psalms. Wright provides just a bit of historical backdrop for the Psalms in the beginning--they were first arranged during the Babylonian exile, a fact that will turn out to be quite significant--and then he goes on to outline the major themes of the Psalms. (I assure you they are very compelling themes, along the lines of how past, present, and future intersect, and also how God is at work in, and how he views, the Creation--that kind of delightful stuff!) Then, in the main body of the book, all kinds of marvelous connections are made between the Psalms and Genesis, the Psalms and the prophets, and the Psalms and the New Testament. Finally, in the last chapter, Wright gifts the reader with some personal vignettes of his own life with the Psalms. These are immensely readable if you are at all an NT Wright disciple, which, as you may have gathered, I am.
One of my main takeaways is--and I leave this for your consideration whether you end up reading the book or not--that we should shape our lives around God's narrative and not try to shape God's narrative around our lives. The Psalms provide us with one of the best ways to do so. They allow us to voice every imaginable emotion and human experience--doubt, despair, jealousy, malaise, triumph, joy--and yet steer us firmly in the path of the Great Tradition, putting us in touch with past pilgrims rather than putting us out in no-man's-land with our own solutions or solutions from Post-enlightenment Western ideology.
Wright makes a convincing case for having the Psalms as the very backbone of worship, both personally and collectively, and he recommends reading privately the entire book of Psalms every month or perhaps two months, and, in public, singing, reading, and praying the Psalms instead of using some cheap modern-day worship pastiche. Examples of the cheap parody worship are
1) Fundamentalist/Calvinist hobbyhorses and sentiments (Rubbish like: it's all gonna burn; the world is going to hell in a handbasket; God created the world knowing that most people and certainly all matter will not be redeemed; for all intents and purposes God is cantankerous and distant when it comes to his dealing with the world).
2) contemporary church music, a phenomenon that, while it has seen a prolific output in new compositions in the last few decades, is often sadly lacking in themes from Psalms.
Instead, we should return to the Psalms! I leave you with two snippets from two legends of the faith. CS Lewis said Psalm 19 is the greatest piece of poetry ever composed. Billy Graham read 5 Psalms every day and 1 chapter of Proverbs every day, thus getting through both books every month. He said the Proverbs helped him get along with people and the Psalms helped him get along with God.
One of my main takeaways is--and I leave this for your consideration whether you end up reading the book or not--that we should shape our lives around God's narrative and not try to shape God's narrative around our lives. The Psalms provide us with one of the best ways to do so. They allow us to voice every imaginable emotion and human experience--doubt, despair, jealousy, malaise, triumph, joy--and yet steer us firmly in the path of the Great Tradition, putting us in touch with past pilgrims rather than putting us out in no-man's-land with our own solutions or solutions from Post-enlightenment Western ideology.
Wright makes a convincing case for having the Psalms as the very backbone of worship, both personally and collectively, and he recommends reading privately the entire book of Psalms every month or perhaps two months, and, in public, singing, reading, and praying the Psalms instead of using some cheap modern-day worship pastiche. Examples of the cheap parody worship are
1) Fundamentalist/Calvinist hobbyhorses and sentiments (Rubbish like: it's all gonna burn; the world is going to hell in a handbasket; God created the world knowing that most people and certainly all matter will not be redeemed; for all intents and purposes God is cantankerous and distant when it comes to his dealing with the world).
2) contemporary church music, a phenomenon that, while it has seen a prolific output in new compositions in the last few decades, is often sadly lacking in themes from Psalms.
Instead, we should return to the Psalms! I leave you with two snippets from two legends of the faith. CS Lewis said Psalm 19 is the greatest piece of poetry ever composed. Billy Graham read 5 Psalms every day and 1 chapter of Proverbs every day, thus getting through both books every month. He said the Proverbs helped him get along with people and the Psalms helped him get along with God.
February 19, 2018
Despite a few minor areas (in this volume at least) where I disagree with Wright's thoughts, I found this book to be very helpful and beneficial in showing how vital the Psalms are to a Christian's life. They aren't merely a collection of ancient poetry, but capture the entirety of Man---emotions, body, and soul---his relation to God, and the complex interactions we have with the world. Wright outlines it as relating to Time, Space, and Matter and one of the sections I found particularly engaging spoke about how Christians shouldn't be afraid of matter or think of this world as a bad thing. We should glory in creation and the Creator, and be amazed at the splendor of it all. After all, it will be not simply done away with but renewed one day.
This was given to me with the recommendation of my pastor, otherwise I probably would haven't read anything by Wright :)
This was given to me with the recommendation of my pastor, otherwise I probably would haven't read anything by Wright :)
February 10, 2021
I actually found this to be one of N.T Wright's more exhilarating books. His themes of "Time, Space and Matter" work perfectly as a launching pad for exploring how interwoven the Psalms are with God's entire creative purposes. Perhaps of them all, my favorite was "Space" (Part 2) with his perennial theme of the earthly/heavenly temple being the place where God and Man meet together. It's a beautiful and engaging subject to say the least.
Also, stay tuned after the "conclusion" of the book for Wright's personal expositions of how he has applied to Psalms to his everyday life, including the personal and poignant story of his father's passing in 2011.
Hardly as controversial as some of his other works (I.e "The Day the Revolution Began"), but thoroughly thought-proviking.
Worth reading.
4 Stars.
Also, stay tuned after the "conclusion" of the book for Wright's personal expositions of how he has applied to Psalms to his everyday life, including the personal and poignant story of his father's passing in 2011.
Hardly as controversial as some of his other works (I.e "The Day the Revolution Began"), but thoroughly thought-proviking.
Worth reading.
4 Stars.
December 16, 2019
This is a short and in many ways helpful review of why the Psalms are so important in the normal devotional life of the believer. Wright does a good job of showing what they mean in redemptive history. He also makes a good case for how they inform the framework of the Christian life. My only criticism would be that I hope he could make a more incisive case for what they mean for the individual, which I realize pushes against much of his entire pastoral ethos but nonetheless I think that’s important.
March 8, 2024
Just great. Wright gives a stirring survey of the Psalms, showing their theological unity and progression, followed by an excellent apology for a New Covenant dimensional reading of them. His incredible reflections are surely made possible by his lifelong Anglicanism, which has resulted in (in my estimation) his regular reading of the entirety of the Psalms aprx 1000 times, and certainly many more for other individual Psalms. My love for the Psalms grows with my trips around the sun, and this book certainly helped stoke that flame ever larger.
October 7, 2020
Try interpreting the Psalms Christologically. Thinking of Jesus as their ultimate fulfillment. See how they sound, where they take you. Sing them also pneumatalogically. That is, reflect as you sing on the NT vision of the church as the new temple, indwelt by the spirit of the living God. It’s a fresh idea of sacred space.
CS Lewis thought Psalm 19 was the finest poem ever written.
We don’t just sing the psalms but ultimately live them.
CS Lewis thought Psalm 19 was the finest poem ever written.
We don’t just sing the psalms but ultimately live them.
May 16, 2020
At its heart, this is ode to the Psalms. Wright lifts back the lid of that marvelous chest we’ve seen among the furnishings of Scripture enough for us to see the vast, inexhaustible treasure inside. It’s one we’ve been invited to plunder. We’d be fools not to pack our pockets full and return with pails and wheelbarrows.
April 5, 2020
Wright's plea for the importance of the Psalms in prayer life, both personal and corporate, in the face of modern trends towards praise music and other such innovations. Written for a popular audience, Wright nevertheless crams in a lot of his thinking on the "new heaven and new earth."
April 22, 2024
A warm “case” is made in this book, full of personal reflections. I was surprised and deeply encouraged by the last chapter, where the authors shares ways the psalms have been very personal. I found it more encouraging than a typical how-to chapter.
August 11, 2025
A strong little book on the Psalms by a world-leading expert on the New Testament. Makes you want to soak yourself in the Psalms and find somebody who knows how to sing them and then go ahead and do that, you know, religiously. Thought-provoking and touching and helpful.
December 12, 2017
I really wanted to love it, but I only liked it. I loved, however, the Introduction, and chapters 1-2
October 5, 2023
Although I didn't fully understand all of this one, I was encouraged and inspired by it.
September 28, 2022
Encouraged me to read more often and more importantly start praying the Psalms.
February 7, 2019
Although Wright’s writing style is slightly too academic for me, I am grateful for this apologetic on why the psalms are indeed “essential.” Much of our worship and prayer practices today are simply not robust enough for the vicissitudes of the full faith journey. Praying the psalms shapes a faith that endures. They teach us to come to God always, to express all our joys and agonies honestly while ever entrusting ourselves to him. They are a guide for how to pray through the natural rhythms of the life of faith—joy and sorrow, flourishing and suffering, rescue and (seeming) abandonment. They show us, and do not just tell us, how faith works and how it grows. In so doing, the psalms reveal the soul journeys of the great cloud of witnesses across the centuries—including Jesus. And they invite us to continue praying and trusting now with all the saints in the confident assurance that we are never, ever alone.
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