Deeper Places: Experiencing God in the Psalms

by Matthew Jacoby

People typically have two ways of thinking about spirituality. Either they have accepted the false reality that they can only know about God, without knowing him personally, or they have romanticized spirituality to such an extent that it becomes far too otherworldly. In either case, expectations are lowered, and they live in spiritual bankruptcy, feeling like spiritual failures.

Pastor and musician Matthew Jacoby sets the Psalms to music as they were intended, performing them with his band, Sons of Korah, for over fifteen years. In the Psalms, he has discovered a portrait of authentic spirituality that helps us journey from deep sadness to profound joy. Jacoby gives readers an in-depth look at the Psalms as a pathway to intimate and satisfying relationship with God.

Genres: Christian, Christianity, Christian Non Fiction, Nonfiction

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Matthew Jacoby is the teaching pastor at Barrabool Hills Baptist Church in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and the leading member of the Psalms project band Sons of Korah. Matthew has a doctorate in philosophy and theology from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He teaches often on the spirituality of the Psalms.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Psalms reflect the authors relationship with God. Accordingly, they are a tremendous example in demonstrating how we can communicate with Him.

Matthew Jacoby has a deep understanding of the Psalms as he has spent a great deal of the past 15 years immersed in them. He is a founding member of the Psalms-worship band Sons of Korah and accordingly has been singing them for many years.

This is one of those books that you need to take time over and mediate on both Scripture and Jacoby's words of explanation. The book is structured around explaining the various types of psalm (eg, lamentation, praise, etc) and outlining how we can use the words to better aid our own communication with the Lord.

As one of the endorsers states: "Deeper Places is about knowing God, not knowing about God." I want to know God more intimately and this wonderful book has opened my eyes to better understand how I can do that.

If your desire is to know God, then I'd encourage you to get your hands on this marvellous book.

[Steve Bauer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Background Information

Deeper Places: Experiencing God in the Psalms, by Matthew Jacoby. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013. 183.

Matthew Jacoby is the lead musician of the band, Sons of Korah. He is also the teaching pastor at Barrabool Hills Baptist Church in Geelong, Australia. He received a doctorate in philosophical theology from the University of Melbourne.


Content of Deeper Places


Premise

In Jacoby's introduction, he writes:

...most people struggle to attain anything more than a remote and abstract idea about God...It is little wonder, then, that we have no emotional connection with these facts... I cannot love an idea. I can only love a person with whom I have some experience (7-8)

To Jacoby, the problem we face as humans is that even for us as Christians it is difficult to have an emotional connection to God. For if we have an emotional connection with others we should experience the God who adopted us with even more "experiential engagement than we know and experience with any other person." (9) His explanation as to why we do not directly experience God is that we have low expectations of God (9). And as proof of this claim he writes:

For example, If Moses could speak with God "face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" (Exod 33:11), how can we possibly justify an expectation of a lesser experience for us now? Is God's plan regressive? Are we to believe that what we have now is less than what Moses had?

Description

If we ask the question, 'what should this direct encounter with God feel like,' he gives us a very emotional answer. Our experience of God should be a "love relationship." (14). In fleshing out this idea he writes:

The Hebrew notion of being "known" carries a deep relational sense. The same word is used to describe the sexual union of a man and woman in other biblical texts. In Psalm 139, the psalmist celebrates this attribute: "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me." (154)

Throughout his book he makes it quite clear that this experience of God is not only supposed to be direct and immediate, but is also supposed to be pervasively emotional. On page 161 he writes, "Objective knowledge is not enough; we need subjective knowledge. To enjoy someone, we need to meet and connect with him or her personally."


The Method

To Jacoby the key to unlocking a direct experience with God is the psalms. But the key is not just reading the psalms or praying as one reads (10). The music in the psalms is what draws us into an encounter with God (13). When the music is being properly used it can then enable us to make use of our will and experience God. Consider Jacoby's words:

Rest comes from letting ourselves be overpowered by God... There is only one way to end the conflict: surrender... What you must do is simply walk out of the city and surrender it to him. give it all to him. Allow God to overpower you. This is worship.(134)

By using the music of the psalms to enable your will, you can directly connect with God. And when...

...the shell is finally broken, a wonderful experience of happiness ensues. It is the happiness that is known only by those who have encountered God in this way. It feels like being suspended weightlessly in the ocean of God's presence (49).

Evaluation


Context and Exegesis

The foundation of this book is the premise that one can experience God immediately/directly. There is one passage he cites to prove that this is possible: "The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend." (Ex 33:11 HCSB) He then makes the argument from the lesser to the greater that if Moses spoke with God directly then how much more should we be able to?

There are several problems with this. First, when the bible says that Moses spoke to God face to face, it is speaking about the relationship that Moses had with the Lord. It is not speaking about Moses seeing the Lord in his essence. For the phrase following those words explains to us the manner in which he saw the Lord, "just as someone would speak to his neighbor" (כַּאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ). Second, at the beginning of the Lord speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai, we are told that the Lord spoke to Moses "from the Mountain" (מִן־הָהָר (Ex 19:3)), not directly. Third, if we allow the New Testament to speak, St. Stephen tells us that the Lord spoke to Moses through angels (εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων(Acts 7:38,53)).

When we consider that a direct connection or communication with God is not possible for us, we wonder just what it was exactly Jacoby was experiencing when he had happiness "that is known only by those who have encountered God in this way" (49).


Law and Gospel

Jacoby clearly delineates that God answers prayer "through his unconditional promise of favor and blessing for his people" (78). So also, he tells us that Hesed "refers to God's love as expressed through his unconditional covenant. In appealing to God's hesed, the psalmist is upholding the covenant by which God bound himself to bless his people unconditionally" (79-80). These statements are good and biblical. However, in complete contradiction to these statements the whole rest of the book makes God's unconditional blessings conditional. For, he writes that we can experience God directly if we entrust ourselves to him (56), have high expectations of God (87), pursue God (96), desire God above all else (105), seek God (106), love God (107), do God's will (129), give ourselves to God (132), become overpowered by God (133), surrender to God (134), choose God (163), simply love God (163). This list is by no means exhaustive. By the end of the book this reviewer was beginning to wonder if Jacoby understood what the word, "unconditional" meant.


The role of music in worship

Jacoby's continued stressing of emotions and music in the worship setting all stems from his definition of worship. He writes:

Worship is therefore giving to God what is due him, not just our service and our obedience but our very selves. We can obey and serve God to a self-gratifying extent without ever trusting in him. The entrusting of oneself to God is the essence of worship. (132)

None of us would deny that an integral part of worship is offering our praises to God. But is that the "essence of worship?" As it says in the psalms, "3 Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." (Psa 24:3-4 NIV). And as Isaiah reminds us, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Is 64:6 NIV). What we have to offer our Lord is our sin. The essential part of worship is not us serving God. It is Jesus serving us. We could not convert our unbelieving hearts and surrender ourselves to God. So he sent his word to give us new birth (Rom. 10:17, 1 Pet. 1:23; James 1:17-18). And through that word he still comes to us to forgive our sins and preserve us in the faith.

Because of this sizable difference in defining worship, it is wise for us to exercise care in choosing and evaluating music for use in worship. For with our music we teach and admonish one another (Col 3:16). It is good to sing "In Christ alone" about Jesus winning this salvation for us on the cross. But we also find a way to sing "by scripture alone." For scripture is the tool that delivers this salvation to us (ὅργανον δοτικὸν). As a useful tool in evaluating music for use in worship, I recommend the resource provided by a couple of pastors, called The Praise Song Cruncher.


Conclusion

If you have ever visited an evangelical church and asked yourself the question, "why are they so emotional" and "why is music so important to these people", then this book will help answer that question. Music is the means through which they can excite their will and emotions so that they can surrender themselves to God. But the scripture is clear. Jesus is the one who chose us. And he comes to us mediately, through the tool he chose, his word. And since God's promises in that bible are objective, they are not dependent on my fickle, fleeting emotions to be valid or true. May our music always sing and teach these beautiful truths.

[Kaitlyn Schroder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly Recommend - This book unpacks parts of the psalms, where I was left feeling challenged and encouraged. It explained concepts/ideas that I have been wrestling with recently. One (of many) of my favourite quotes being ‘Faith is conceived by the injection of the divine promise into the open wound of a heart that has allowed itself to be wounded by reality.’

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of the major themes in the Psalms. Matthew Jacoby, a worship leader, wrote these reflections as he and his band were writing songs based on the Psalter.

Considering the fluffiness of most modern Christian worship, I went into this book with very low expectations. What a wonderful surprise to find the book to be insightful and profound.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitated between four and four a half stars. So let's go with 4.25 stars.
It took me a little while to get into this book. Not sure why. Perhaps it initially seemed not quite what I was expecting, but once I got past the first chapter or two I started to enjoy the way it was written, and the insights given as well as re-reading some of the psalms
The psalms have long been a favourite resource of many believers so it is good to have a closer look at them. After reading part of this book I wrote a blog about Gratitude.
I also ended up with lots of quotes that appealed. Here are just a couple. I could have gone to any page and selected others.
‘Throughout the book of Psalms, the mighty acts of God are celebrated but it is important to note that most of the psalms were written in the gaps, in the periods when God wasn’t doing anything.’
‘Verbalising a feeling is a necessary part of allowing ourselves to feel a feeling.’
‘Joy must be shared in order to be fully experienced.’
I actually started before the date I put it up. Just forgot to add it earlier. It is a book that demands to be read slowly. I read it a chapter a day. I think this book is a great resource for taking a fresh look at the Psalms. Hopefully it will also lead those who read it to a deeper relationship with God.

[Nancy A Heaps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

this book provides great insight. it is deep and meaningful and made me think. I will probably read out again as I have much to learn.

[Scott Wison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only a small book, but I enjoyed reading it, and would recommend it to anyone who wanting to understand the psalms in a deeper way..

[Chin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the beginning of this book to be really complex to the point where I couldn't really make sense to what the author was trying to describe in the Psalms. As the book progressed, I found more relatable topics that really resonated with me like the power of desire and how we need to really ask God to replace our earthly, fleshly desires with the desires of his Holy Spirit and to not think of our relationship with him as means of achieving an objective bc once we reach that objective we grow tired of that relationship.
It is an interesting approach at describing how pain and sorrow create this opportunity for us to grow closer to God, just like many of the Psalms talk about. When I revisit the Psalms, I'll definitely be using this book as a guide

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! This is an amazing book on the Psalms and developing a deep transparent personal relationship with our amazing Lord! If you are studying the Psalms, I highly recommend that you read this prior to your study of them. May God grant all of us Christians this deep, joyous,surrendered relationship with Him!!!

[Anne Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a ‘meaty’ book to read - I couldn’t read more than a chapter at a time, but it has changed the way I think about the Psalms and, frankly, the whole Bible. If you want to learn to connect with your creator on a deeper level, this book is for you. I think I need to reread it every year!

[Paul Hypki]

Excellent read. I was a little hesitant at first, since Matthew plays in a band, but he has great content, fueled by years of reading the psalms and putting them to music.

[Andrew Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sets up (in my opinion) a proper stance in which we relate to and read the psalms. Created a new sense of excitement for the psalms in me. Time reading well spent.

[David Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recall Pastor Jacoby speaking at the Sons of Korah concert at Sydney’s Wesley Theatre. The quote that stood out for me, and one which I now feel could well have been chosen as the book’s title, is “God’s best building material is rubble”.

Jacoby presents a reasoned argument for use of the Psalms as a means of relating to God. Jacoby argues that many human states are depicted in the Psalms and that collectively the Psalms hold appeal to anyone who is suffering. I was particularly interested in how the sadness of God is most fulfilled in the turning of the individual. That turning often requires a process of suffering (in which there is rubble), lament, appeal, happiness and joy (by which there is an arising from the rubble; see also Romans 5:3-4). The turning often requires a willingness to argue with God – an argument that strengthens faith. Arguments allow an individual to settle the tension between a current imperfect state and an anticipated covenantal state.

In this regard the highlight for me was on page 74 in respect Matthew 15:21-28 where Jacoby considers the Gentile women’s “argument” with Jesus. Jacoby explains the women’s push past the initial resistance of Jesus to achieve an outcome worthy of the Messiah’s full standing. The woman was not willing to accept her plight (or more particularly her daughter’s plight). She stood firm through a tussle with Jesus to achieve God’s grace. The tussle arose in that Jesus was protective of his immediate missional priority, yet not so protective as to overlook a pure expression of faith.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started slow for me, perhaps because I thought it was going to be an explication of the psalms. It is not. Instead it is a challenge to a deeper relationship with God, following the model of the psalms and their honesty and directness without perscribing particular methods or practices. What Jacoby does well here is to open some words and examine them in the psalms and in our current culture (both church and the larger world). So suffering, patience and waiting, happiness and joy, desire, debt, and praise all get examination and open up a broader understanding of how we (individually and as the people of God together) are connected to God. Jacoby rests heavily on ideas and on Scripture, not on personal stories or light examples. It is thus a more challenging read, but his prose is good and the book is a pleasure. I did have minor quibbles over his disparaging of habit, his occasional dualism, and other things but I am willing to ascribe them generally to his being a Baptist.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there are many books which delve into the historical setting of the Psalms and their theological content, Jacoby focuses on their value for experiencing God. We all wish to go to 'deeper places' in our walk with God; however there is a disconnect between what we know of God and how much we really know Him. Jacoby says that the gift of the Psalms is that it meets us where we are at, deals with areas of pain, dissonance and disassociation in our relationship with God and others, but holds out hope. Jacoby claims that what other books of the Bible describe, the Psalms demonstrates.

Jacoby is part of a Australian music group called Sons of Korah which puts Psalms to music (if you haven't heard them, they are worth a listen). Having soaked in Psalms for the past 15 years, he speaks of the Psalms as a book that he has lived with and has shaped him.

[Meggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book upon the recommendation of a friend, only to realize the author was the front man for a band called The Sons of Korah. In college, I heard The Sons of Korah sing the Biblical psalms set to their own style of music. Their music has had a lot of impact on me, and has been a wonderful way to memorize scripture.

Deeper Places was as impactful on me as Jacoby’s music has been. He expresses a passion for the Psalms that struck me deep in my heart. He takes time in each short chapter to demonstrate God’s heart for his people, and how he reaches out to us through the Psalms. The book is honest, and seeks for readers to see how honest the psalms are. Praise God that he provides a book that helps us come to Him honestly.

There’s so much to share about the depth of this book, but rather than summarize here, I encourage you pick it up.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a good book to read for understanding the Psalms from a different perspective. The author had my attention when he talked about the sadness of God. The whole book is insightful, especially the chapters on waiting and on joy.

[Preston Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. Gave me a refreshed look at Psalms!

[Brian Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psalm 73:26

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will hugely benefit anyone who wishes to go to deeper places with God. It is also an excellent introduction to the Psalms, I wish there were more "commentaries" like this.

[Michael]

Great book on Psalms. Wonderful complimenting music from group Sons of Korah.