Devotional
-
Stephen I. Wright Preaches Psalm 32
The Penitential Psalms: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Seven Psalms has just been published. It is available directly from the publisher, Wipf and Stock, and is a project in which eleven authors contributed chapters—producing a book aimed at reigniting interest in Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143. The final four Continue reading
-
I wish it could be Christmas every day
Based on a short address delivered on 22nd December 2024 at QE Park Baptist Church, Guildford, UK. As such it is most appropriate to the UK-based reader. It was a sunny day in late August, during my summer holiday in North Wales, that I first saw items in a shop specially promoted as Christmas presents. Continue reading
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Julian of Norwich and Leonard Cohen’s Window
For various reasons I have been reading Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love over the past month, or so. By chance a month ago I heard Leonard Cohen’s song The Window, and since then I have been left pondering whether he had Julian in mind when he wrote this song. For two reasons I 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.
PsalterMark 