Reupholstered Psalms PDF Download

Author: Greg Kennedy
Publisher: Twenty-Third Publications
ISBN: 9781627855297
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 95

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Book Description
"The psalms were products of torment, passion, exultation, faith, fear, confidence and incomprehension. Together they form an existential testament of the human condition reflecting on itself in the light of God. Their supposed author, David-- king, poet, and keen observer of the heart--plumbs the depths of his humanity, pinned inextricably as it was to the divine, through the images, understandings and realities of his day. The sheep, city walls, swords, chariots, vineyards, valleys, political alliances and technologies that constituted his world also populate the psalms. Made timeless by their insight and honesty, the psalms also stand, perhaps demand, to be reupholstered by each succeeding generation, using the everyday stuff of the contemporary world to allow the deepest possible reach into the soul and psyche of each person in her unique historical juncture. Reupholstered Psalms is Greg Kennedy's effort to pray these classic and perennial prayers in a context far removed from ancient Israel. Although the emotions and aspirations remain the same, the actors have changed. Now climate change, forced migration, extinction of species, urban anxiety, consumerism, terrorism and intolerance are the enemies from whom the modern psalmist must plead deliverance. Now God is encountered more often on the city street or the forest trail than in the Temple sanctuary. The book attempts to restore to today's faithful reader, who, like David, has lived victory and defeat in her relation with the divine, the authenticity and rawness inherent to the psalms. It does so in order to make as real and resonant as possible this relation that began millennia ago and continues evolving within every person concretized in a certain time and place. Ultimately, these reupholstered psalms seek to touch God's presence in the joys and jabs of the life of a believer buffeted by the early 21st century."--