Sing a New Song: A Woman's Guide to the Psalms by Lydia Brownbeck
Genre: Christian devotional
Expected publication date: October 31st 2017
I've always had a soft spot for the Psalms. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes dark, always lined with the silver edge of hope, I don't know why I've never actually sat down to study them in any significant way.
So when I came across this gorgeous devotional on the book of Psalms on NetGallery, I knew I had to request it. And, in some fluke, NetGallery accepted my request and a digital copy magically appeared on my e-reader.
Sing a New Song has commentary for each Psalm, breaking it down in sections. It talks about the theme, then it talks about how that psalm fits into the entire book in a section called harmony. The next section, singing in tune, has a verse-by-verse breakdown on the psalm. Musical notes shows how God's grace is seen in the psalm and sing the song gives suggestions on related scripture and practical application.
Books are personal, but devotional books are even more so-- thus, I won't be writing a review per se because everyone is looking for drastically different things in books like these.
What I liked: these devotionals were easy to read, and motivated me to start working my way through the Psalms. I loved being given additional scripture to read that related to the psalm.
What I didn't like: On a small note, it was kind of annoying that the actual text of the Psalms weren't included in this devotional. It's not difficult to also have my Bible open while going through this devotional, but that was something that surprised me when I first started reading the devotional. Also, the Psalms can be difficult and dark and that's something that I felt like the devotional didn't always tackle. I mean yes, we can see God's grace and mercy through each Psalm but something we also see righteous anger which can be more difficult to understand. This devotional tended to stick to the easier things.
Overall, I am grateful for this devotional book because it has motivated me to start studying and reading each Psalm. The accompanying text for each Psalm is quick enough to read that I've actually kept up with doing a Psalm every night before I go to bed.
What about you? What's your favorite devotional book? I don't read nearly enough, so please leave your recommendations in the comments below!
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