Joy, despair, and hope
Subtitle: reading Psalms
By: Edward Feld
Publisher: Cascade Books
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Eugene, Oregon
Language: eng
Number of pages: 153
ISBN-13: 9781620321744
Copyright date: 2013
Subjects: Reading; Commentaries; Bible
Other titles: Bible. Psalms. English. Selections. 2013.
Description: Joy, Despair, and Hope recaptures the power and immediacy of psalms for modern readers, showing how these biblical poems can speak to us yet again. Accompanying the author on his personal spiritual search through psalms, readers find their own inner lives given voice within these texts. Edward Feld analyzes fifteen personal psalms from the book of Psalms, showing how each provides a different perspective on the life of faith. Feld's insights reveal how individual psalmists struggle with their faith, how they are wracked by doubt and self-questioning, and how they come finally to a greater understanding of faith. This book's clearly articulated analysis is both moving and sophisticated, helping us to enter the spiritual world of these writers, to recognize our own struggles in their ancient words, and to feel these poets alive and walking beside us. Along the way, Feld teaches us how to read psalms as poems and unlocks both their theological message and their literary splendor. Readers emerge with a new appreciation of and connection to the profound religious life and artistry of the biblical psalmists.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (page 153).
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: pt. 1. Joy. Psalm 1: beginning; title: Psalm 19: prayer; title: Psalm 8: between Heaven and Earth; title: Psalm 91: who speaks?; title: Psalm 82: justice; title: Psalm 23: God's care; title: pt. 2. Despair. Psalm 27: disintegration; title: Psalm 42: the torn soul; title: Psalm 77: memory; title: Psalm 73: the Psalmic Job; title: Psalm 39: despair and response; title: Psalm 90: time and eternity; title: pt. 3. Hope. Psalm 92: a song for the Sabbath day; title: Psalm 150: celebration.