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| Favorite Psalm Books, November 2025 |
It's the first Sunday of Advent.
The last few days words from an old worship song have been floating up in my mind, "Something beautiful, something good." I am challenging myself to think of one good and beautiful thing each day leading up to Christmas.
The subject of Psalm reading has been on my mind for a few weeks; specifically reading and praying the Psalms with others.
My earliest experiences reading the Psalms responsively were in worship with my parents or my grandmother. We picked up the United Methodist Hymnal and there was a moment when the only sound was the turning of pages all the way to the back where the Psalms were. Once the pages stilled, the pastor knew almost everyone had found their place and we began the back and forth reading between "leader" and "people." As a young reader, I can remember being proud that I was learning the words and could read along with the grown-ups. I admit the words of the Psalms didn't hold a lot of meaning to me as a young child, but there was something about reading them together.
Many years later, I learned that many monastic communities read the Psalms chorally - in a back and forth style. Even now, I am comforted to know that there are communities who read the Psalms in prayer several times a day. I have heard it said that the world is held together by the prayers of the faithful who are devoted to keeping the hours of prayer. Alone or with others, when I pray the Psalms, I am joining them - and we are holding the world together.
When we read Psalms with others, it takes a few rounds to find our rhythm. The leader may begin the pace, but as we go along, the words of the Psalms find their own pace. As I pray the Psalms, the words come to life as they are spoken aloud. It seems to me that the words want to be released into the air and into the world. Some Psalms are difficult to pray - I aspire to pray them honestly. Some Psalms are familiar, joyful and comforting. Some give me permission to give voice to illusive sorrow and suffering. Others help me make the journey from my heart, into the world, and back again. There are times when the phrasing lands in surprising places and I get to speak a phrase that feels like it was addressed to me.
These days, retreats are where I most often get to pray the Psalms with others. Hearing them read by a pastor or leader can be a gift to sit quietly and simple receive the words. But more often I find that joining our voices and filling the room with the sound of all of us together is uniquely powerful. It's something beautiful, something good.
