The Psalms require an emotional, spiritual, and thoughtful response. Each psalm challenges humans collectively and individually. Each individual is engaged in a pilgrimage to know God and Self, to understand how the Self fits in with the whole of humanity and God’s Creation. My spiritual journey has been informed for many years by reflecting on the Psalms. I am of course by no means alone in using the Psalms in this way, as countless others do and have and will use the Psalms similarly. My offering in this book is a unique way to reflect on the Psalms. I advocate reading and reflecting on the Psalms by means of a personal dialogue with the past.

The Psalms purport to be written largely by David, the Hebrew king who lived three thousand years ago. David was warrior, poet, lover, judge, sinner, man of feeling, student of God’s creation. He knew much about himself because of his search to know God. His Psalms are reflective pieces that consider the distance between the Creator and the Creation, between the all-wise and good God and the limited sinful human. God is a shepherd to His people, David wrote, a Father to His children who are repeatedly errant and wayward. These poems are wonderful psychological portraits of the human search for peace and love in a world of conflict and hate.

The Psalms have been my prayer companions for many years. The Psalms are some of the greatest literature ever written. Their depth in terms of spirituality and human reflection has few counterparts.

The Old Testament Psalms are constant reminders of how easily humans forget God’s blessings and have to be renewed by daily prayer.