The Gift of Psalms: My Review

The Gift of Psalms is a combination of a book and three CD's. The book has an attractive maroon vinyl cover with gold lettering. The pages of the book are heavy shiny paper with a yellowish tint and subtle pattern on the paper. Each two page spread has a psalm on the left and a reflection/teaching about the psalm on the right. The text of the psalms is the New King James Version. The meditations are insightful and end with a prayer. For example, the meditation on Psalm 51 "Have mercy upon me O God...." begins with "Do you believe there is any sin too big for God's forgiveness?" It then talks about the sins of David and ends by saying "When your sin is so overwhelming that you can't imaging a way out, when you feel you've gone beyond God's reach, know that He is never so far away that you cannot call to Him and receive His forgiveness." The book is definitely a keeper.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the CD's. First of all, I'll admit I'm not a books on tape person. I've gotten some from the library for my kids, but have never been tempted to get one for myself. I am also not one of those people who turns the radio on as soon as she gets in the car; as a matter of fact, I usually reach to turn it OFF. In short, I'm not an auditory person--so that can be considered in what I am about to write. I hated the CD's. Basically they have someone reading the book--first the psalm, then the refection. I found the psalm readings to be overly dramatic and the reflections to be...hmm....can't think of the right word, but they annoyed me rather than caused me to reflect.

In short, I suggest buying the book and leaving the CD's in the package, but people who like something auditory to help them pray may find it helpful to do the opposite.