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She handed out a stack of worn, black King James Versions. There you will find the Psalms. I think it fitting that the Psalms are located in the middle of the Bible, between accounts of holy wars and conquests on the one side and the good news on the other. That is because, in the years since first being introduced to them, I have encountered the Psalms in the middle of life, giving expression both to the sorrows and the joys that mark our days.

One December morning, for instance, a half dozen of us walked through the mist and fog at Dachau, the concentration camp where thousands of Jews and political prisoners died. As we made our way to the crematorium, I remembered author Elie Wiesel telling about the gentle Hasidic Jews of Eastern Europe, old people and children, walking toward the gas chambers and singing the Hebrew Psalms as they went. I stepped into a memorial chapel and saw the words of Psalm on the wall, " aus der tiefe rufe ich, herr, zu dir, " and I could imagine hundreds, thousands, millions of prayers ascending to heaven: An aged widow, living alone in a small Midwestern town, was telling me about her children.

He always said the horses plowed best for him because he sang the Psalms to them in Dutch.

They all learned to sing a Hebrew song based on the first line of Psalm Translated, the words mean, "How very good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. We were hiking through the woods singing it when we ran into another group of hikers who heard us and joined right in! They were Jewish kids from New York City. That psalm brought us together. These prayers and hymns, found in the middle of the Bible, have a way of turning up in the middle of our lives. The book Occasional Services: Augsburg, assigns psalms to a variety of life's situations: That the Psalms should be invited to such occasions is not surprising, since they originated in similar situations.

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They come from the depths of sorrow or the heights of celebration They reflect the pain of loneliness 42 of the joy of community They allow us to hear the prayer of an old person, worried about what lies ahead 71 , or to look in on the everyday life of a young family, happily gathered around their table These Psalms in the middle of our Bibles originated in the midst of life and continue to speak to us, and for us, in the midst of our lives. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who loved the Psalms, quoted Luther: Prime Book Box for Kids.

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Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I have gained some insight into the Psalms, and some inspiration as well. I would have liked a little more development of the idea of sojourning, and how it is relevant in our lives, but all in all, I feel it is worthwhile. In the past it has been difficult to connect with the violence and call for retribution found in the Psalms.

Psalms for Sojourners

We somehow expect them to be bucolically peaceful. I appreciate learning some of the historical significance which will enlighten future Psalm reading. Limburg often offers meaty insights, and this book on the Psalms is no less the case! I would recommend it!

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Psalms for Sojourners