Psalms Today

The New Jerusalem Bible: Standard Edition will satisfy the great need for an authoritative version of "the greatest story ever told" in a package so attractive, user friendly, and affordable, this edition is destined to become a classic. Using the same translation that has been hailed as "truly magnificent" (Journal of Bible Literature), the Standard Edition has a completely redesigned interior, set in a two-column format for easy reading. With all the best features of much more cumbersome and costly versions, this Bible is a must-have for home, church, and school.

The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

The metrical translation of the Psalms into the Punjabi language, set to indigenous music in the late nineteenth century in India, plays a vital role in the personal and communal worship of the global Punjabi Christian community. This book is a pioneer work that comprehensively encompasses the cultural, socio-historical, missional, and sociolinguistic aspects of the Punjabi Psalter. It investigates the unique and fascinating story of the contextualizing of Psalms in an exclusive South Asian Punjabi context and engages in an in-depth study on the life and work of Rev. Dr. Imam-ud-Din Shahbaz. This work determines to bring a deeper appreciation for the Punjabi Psalter by encouraging the Punjabi Christians to not only pass the Psalms on to the next generations but also to grow in loving and valuing their mother-tongue, the Punjabi language. The thrust of this book is to esteem the shared heritage of the global Punjabi Christian community—the Psalms in Punjabi, commonly known as the Punjabi Zabur.

In Praying the Psalms in the Voice of Christ, Frank J. Matera offers a way to pray the psalms within the Liturgy of the Hours rooted in the New Testament and the great writers of the early church. Taking his cue from Saint Augustine, Matera demonstrates how to hear the voice of Christ in the psalms so that they can be prayed in the voice of Christ and his Body, the church. In addition to this introduction to a christological reading of the psalms, Matera also provides a commentary on the psalms as they occur in the four weeks of the Divine Office.

Cantors throughout the United States and elsewhere have long known Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN, as a reliable teacher and mentor in how they understand and practice their important ministry. In Becoming the Psalms, she explores the spirituality of the psalms, a spirituality that shaped God's people in the past, forms the church today, and leads us into the future. Each chapter offers cantors who pray and sing the psalms a better understanding of the role of the psalms in shaping faith. Kathleen Harmon is known as the author of Music Notes, a popular column in the journal Liturgical Ministry. Becoming the Psalms showcases some of her finest entries as well as new material exploring the relationship between praying the psalms privately and praying them liturgically, as well as the function of the responsorial psalm as proclamation.

We hear often that “the word of God is living and effective” (Heb 4:12). But what does that really mean for our day-to-day lives? A Joyful Noise reveals how the Psalms, sung by everyone from King David to Jesus to the Early Church Fathers to your church choir, are deeply rich and meaningful for our lives today. Author Mike Aquilina shows how to “change the racket” of modern life—to turn from noise that distracts us toward the Psalms, those ancient songs that ring with eternal truths to this very day. Each of the thirty-five Psalms found within are paired with easy-to-read modern translations of meditations from the Fathers of the Church. The text includes questions to help reflect on the Psalms and apply these meditations to everyday life. Mike Aquilina invites you to participate more fully in a tradition as old as the People of God: to turn from the clamor of life to make a joyful noise to the Lord!