Customer Reviews

Words to God's Music: A New Book of Psalms

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The Psalms in the King James Version of the Bible contain some of the most familiar and beautiful passages written in the English language. Yet having read them many times over I have found myself becoming inured to their beauty and meaning-thank God for Laurance Wieder's writing the Psalms again!
From the first Psalm, where he describes the fruit of trees "Cupped by green leaves...", to the final lines of the 150th Psalm "Drumbeats, singing, humming, breathing, Close to what they praise." Wieder reveals to us a fresh, new perspective on the Psalms, the Psalmist's experience writing them, and provides a captivating way to meditate and worship.
Wieder explains his scholarly pursuit of the psalms in the "Brief Explanation" he uses instead of an introduction, and so draws us into the art and craft of poetry expressed by the Psalms. His perspective on the voice of the Psalmist, and his acknowledged dissidence of the spirit and the truth of the law of the Bible makes reading these more poignant.
Even if you do not enjoy the Psalms, these stand as beautiful poetry that anyone can enjoy-to read aloud to others, to one's self or just to savor in the quiet of your mind.
I had originally read this book because it was on the "new" shelf at the local library. I loved it so I renewed it over and over, and have now purchased not only a copy for myself, but one to give away. If you enjoy the Psalms don't miss this book.

This is one of the freshest, most beautiful works of prose/poetry I've read in some time. Excellent. Not a scholar's translation, but the modern poet has done some homework. People might quibble about accuracy in terms of the psalms' specific content, but Wieder gets the spirit of the Psalter. It's too bad that it seems to be out of print. There is definitely an audience for this--Jews and Christians with an artistic bent, for one--but I don't know how many of them know this book is out there.