What Should I Be Reading?

For this issue of The Cord, we asked Rebecca Poe Hays, Assistant Professor of Christian Scriptures, to provide a Top 10 reading list.

February 1, 2023

Out of all the books that I teach in my Scriptures 2 class, I think the book of Psalms may be the one with which students come into the class feeling most familiar (apart, perhaps, from Ruth, Esther, and Jonah). But Psalms is also the book that forces us to confront some of the most uncomfortable questions of our faith in deeply challenging ways, while at the same time offering some of the most glorious opportunities to grow closer to the God we worship and the community in which we worship—a community that spans the globe and reaches back through time. The ten books I’ve recommended here range from works that help us understand the biblical book of Psalms more clearly to those that reflect various ways the Psalms can shape our own theology, devotion, and ministry. My challenge to you is to read these books, yes—but also to make reading the Psalms themselves a regular part of your walk with God. Five a day gets you through the whole book every month!

Introduction to the Psalms: A Song from Ancient Israel

Introduction to the Psalms: A Song from Ancient Israel Nancy deClaissé-Walford The Spirituality of the Psalms 
Walter Brueggemann

 

Listening In: A Multicultural Reading of the Psalms

Listening In: A Multicultural Reading of the Psalms
Stephen B. Reid

Introducing Old Testament Theology: Creation, Covenant, and Prophecy in the Divine-Human Relationship 
W. H. Bellinger Jr.
 

David’s Crown

David’s Crown 
Malcolm Guite

The Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Reflections on the Psalms

Reflections on the Psalms 
C. S. Lewis

 

 

Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer

Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer
Eugene Peterson

 

 

Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the

Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament 
Ellen Davis

 

 

Listening for God: A Minister’s Journey through Silence and Doubt 

Listening for God: A Minister’s Journey through Silence and Doubt 
Renita J. Weems