Upfront December 12, 2011 Issue

Lyrical leading

Jenny Nelles, Staff Writer

What’s your favorite psalm? It’s a question that could spark a lively conversation across faiths. 

The popular appeal of these 150 songs, poems, and prayers, show that there’s something very real about them. They speak of the human struggle in great detail, but the message of triumph through reliance on God wins. Both challenging and comforting, they carve paths in our lives and, as Channing Walker puts it, emphasize “what it means to have the most High far above me, and at the same moment have Him down in the trenches with me” (p. 6).

The cover stories show how the psalms have been lifelines for many—a place to turn during an ocean rescue on a dark sea (see p. 10), and while seeking healing for a hearing problem (p. 8). From Psalm 139 to familiar verses in Psalm 91, each offered refuge in moments of distress and fear, riffing on the theme that “with God is the only place we can be.”

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