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Artwork: "PSALM 85" by John August Swanson
Want to help your community spend more time with the psalms? With so many resources to choose from, how do you find the right ones for your context? The team at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) is here to help. We keep this page updated with our top recommendations.
One of Kristen Verhulst’s favorite psalm resources is En la escuela de los Salmos / At Psalms School, published by CICW. “It’s a bilingual book with beautiful pictures, and it’s made for people of all ages to read together,” she says. “The book uses a question-and-answer style to help us learn how the psalms teach us to listen to God and talk with God—both at church and at home. The psalms help children and all ages grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Psalms for Young Children has been a staple in Joanna Wigboldy’s house since her now-preteen children were toddlers. “It pairs easily understood paraphrases of select psalms with beautiful images,” she says. “This helps children (and adults!) learn from the psalms all the different ways God invites us to express ourselves.”
“I've always appreciated the Vertical Habits as a way to understand worship,” Kathy Smith says. “These simple phrases help all ages describe both our relationship with God and the two-way conversation that we have with God during public worship. And I love how the psalms give voice to the Vertical Habits and all the emotions they express.”
Smith also likes a new litany based on Psalm 139 written by Joyce Borger. “It reminds us that God knows everything about us and will never leave us,” Smith says. “I memorized and recited this psalm many times in the wee hours of the night as I rocked my babies to sleep: ‘For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.’”
Noel Snyder recommends EveryPsalm, a collection of psalm-based songs by Poor Bishop Hooper. “These songs use a modern folk-rock style to help people remember Bible verses,” Snyder says. “The music is made to match the words of the psalms so the meaning becomes clearer. The interesting sonic textures and repeated phrases can help you understand the psalms in a deeper way.”
Alexis Van Zalen appreciates Psalms for All Seasons, especially for its many beautiful poetic paraphrases. “The modern language, often sung to familiar tunes, helps me hear the psalms and their themes in new ways,” she says.
