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Bread in the Desert
Luke 4:3–8 and Deuteronomy 8:1–6 Trusting in the Desert The desert has long been associated with Christian spirituality. As a harsh environment it necessitates trust in God and his provision. Other than the struggle for survival there are few distractions. The desert, or wilderness, speaks of testing too. Even in modern Western culture it has… Continue reading
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A Review of Tim Judson’s ‘Awake In Gethsemane’
Tim Judson, Awake in Gethsemane: Bonhoeffer and the Witness of Christian Lament, Waco, Texas: Baylor Press, 2023. 220 pages. ISBN 978-1-4813-1830-3 I have never singled out the cover designer in a theological book review before, but Kasey McBeath deserves a mention here. The dark olive tree cover motif conjures Gethsemane before the book is even… Continue reading
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Blessed are they that Mourn
1. As Blossoms Smitten by the Rain When did you last shed a tear? Was it a tear of joy, sadness, or some other emotion. I am prone to well-up when something gets to me in terms of humour. Tim Vine—a contemporary English comedian—in particular gets to me. When I listen to him, the first… Continue reading
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Psalm 126: Dancing with Tears in Our Eyes
This Vale of Tears This psalm speaks of a tension in this life between joy and tears. As human beings we tend to learn of both joy and tears before we even have any serious understanding of the world in which we live. Who hasn’t seen (or heard!) a baby’s tears? Who hasn’t been delighted… Continue reading
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Psalmtweets: A spriritual project
I have been ‘Psalmtweeting’ for around a decade. I work through the Psalms, one-by-one and day-by-day, starting with Psalm 1 and working through them in canonical order. The main reason I decided to do this was to give me a focus each day for engaging with Scripture as a spiritual discipline. Having done the whole… Continue reading
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The Origin Story of the Penitential Psalms: The Seven Assemble
This post is as much a call for comment and expert feedback as it is informative. It explores the question of when was it that the Seven Psalms – Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143 – were fixed as a group and designated the Penitential Psalms. It might sound like an odd… Continue reading
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Walking the Line with Proverbs 4
Wising Up One of my favourite films, Magnolia, has the weirdest of trailers where every member of the cast is in the middle of their dysfunctional life and the singer Aimee Mann pops by singing the song Wise Up. They even join in, whether dying in bed, being a confused policeman or in the midst… Continue reading
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John 15:18–25 and Psalm 69:4: They hated me without reason
In 2006 a fairly awful film starring Will Ferrell called Talladega Nights was released. It’s about a racing driver, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, even fans of NASCAR racing. Yet despite its lack of any cinematic value, it does have a rather memorable scene in which a family gathers to say grace. They… Continue reading
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Psalm 51: Psalm of Psalms
Readers of the Psalms have their favourites. There are, however, a small number of psalms that have had much greater popularity and significance over the centuries. Today, Psalm 23 is arguably the Psalm of Psalms, at least in Western Christianity. This has not always been the case. For much of Church history it was eclipsed… Continue reading
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The Best of Regulated Families? 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12
1. Behaving Like Young Children When I was growing up my Nan was infamous for stating proverbs. One of these was: Accidents happen even in the best of regulated families. Perhaps this is familiar to you? It’s a saying that has been around for at least 200 years. You can find it, for example, in… Continue reading
About Me
This blog’s central aim is to explore all aspects of how the Psalter (the biblical psalms) functions as Scripture today.
To this end it will also include book reviews on the Book of Psalms and related topics.
Some posts will reflect more broadly on biblical interpretation or hermeneutics.
If you like what you see here and want to arrange for me to give a lecture, run a teaching event or a short retreat based around The Psalms then contact me so we can discuss how this might work.