21 Psalms for the 21st Century

This book is the result of a spiritual practice of reading the Psalms, adopted by the author in the early days of the pandemic-a practice that went from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150 and then started all over again, and again, and again. Psalm reading deepened into psalm study, enriched by the author’s process-relational meditations and the addition of contemporary prayers. The resulting work is a book of warning as well as an ongoing source of hope. These 21 psalms, chosen for their relevance to 21st-century concerns, bridge the gap between ancient and modern, devotion and study, uncertainty and assurance, anguish and joy. They demonstrate that, through the centuries, God’s call for justice has not dimmed, nor God’s steadfast love faltered.'21 Psalms for the 21st Century is the abundantly fruitful harvest of Marjorie Hewitt Suchockiʼs decision to deal with the pandemic by reading a psalm every night. Her faithful and insightful reflections reveal the sorrows, joys, and challenges faced by the ancient Israelite and Judean poets. But as Suchocki says, the Psalms also ʻhave much to teach us in our twenty-first century world,ʼ including how faithfully and lovingly and courageously to confront and engage pressing issues such as immigration, climate change, environmental degradation, poverty, racism, gun violence, political division, the crisis of leadership, war, and more. According to Suchocki, the Psalms ultimately challenge us to entrust life and future to God in the midst of so many reasons to despair, as well as to praise the God of love and compassion by way of our own deeds of love and compassion on behalf of the most vulnerable. Each of Suchockiʼs reflections is accompanied by an eloquent and lovely ʻContemporary Psalm/Prayerʼ composed by poet, Blair Gilmer Meeks.' ~J. Clinton McCann, Jr., Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden Theological Seminary' This book invites us to spend time with Psalms in the company of a theologically thoughtful, spiritually sensitive reader with lots of life experience. Suchockiʼs graceful, poetically tinged prose highlights the relationality and subjectivity of the prayers, songs, and meditations she discusses. While she clearly delights in tones of hope and praise, she does not shy away from more troubling psalms, embracing their honest testimony to the gap between what is and what could be in the world and ourselves. Readers wondering what these varied and sometimes unsettling ancient poems have to do with their own faith will find her an accessible guide.' ~Marti J. Steussy, MacAllister-Petticrew Professor of Biblical Interpretation emerita at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis