Psalm Basics for Catholics: Seeing Salvation History in a New Way (Bible Basics)

This book was fantastic! I wanted to read it because, I'm embarrassed to admit, I have a difficult time connecting with the Psalms and I was hoping this would help.It definitely delivered.He teaches a good, basic history from the various covenants to why Kind David is the most important Old Testament figure (not Moses!) . He also shows how many of the Psalms point to the New Testament happenings and to Jesus, the Son of David.He gives five 'must read' psalms from each book, points out that no matter what our mood, there's a Psalm for it (with a handy dandy chart at the end) and he has suggestions for how to read them.The book is complemented with stick figure drawings that do a great job bringing the point home for us visual learners.I could not put this book down. It was a page turner. I read it over the weekend.It's great! Read it. It's like getting a mini-course at Steubenville on the cheap (he teaches there and I can see why he's such a popular teacher!).Totally going to read the other two in the series now.

We often hear that the Psalms are matched to every human situation and emotion. This short book helps to bring thoseout with, as other reviewers have said, "stick figures" and a chart of emoji at the end of the book. The emoji chart canbe a resource for matching one's mood or situation to the psalm that fits best.To those who have prayed the Psalms for years, such as the Liturgy of the Hours or breviary several times a day,the Psalms become a key part of praying with Jesus and the Church as well as all Israel past and present. This bookexplains very well the five main books within the collection of Psalms, so that when you pray, say Psalm 72 aboutthe majesty of the king, you can put it in context of the ups and downs of the trajectory of the overall Psalter. Thereis also a lot of helpful biographical information about David, the protagonist of the Psalms. Bergsma gives theimportant reminder that David is even more important than Moses, because after all Jesus is the Son of Davidnot the Son of Moses, although he is also a new Moses as well.John Bergsma is obviously an amazing teacher, because almost everybody I've ever met from Steubenville eitherraves about him explicitly or shares his ideas about the many covenants in the history of salvation, with Adam,Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus and the new covenant and ourselves. I'll be honest, I guess you haveto be there, because he's good but for me his books and lectures don't really capture him.One difficulty I had was how he says "these were by David" or "Moses wrote this one". Maybe the purpose andlength of the book didn't allow more detail or exposition of the scholarly consensus or positions. I actually do believethat David was behind many of the Psalms, and the fact that Psalm 90, one of my favorites, is attributed to Moses isan enormously helpful reminder. I always gave the critical scholars a lot of challenges, but when we're used tothe world of historical criticism it's a bit jarring to make such a jump with little explanation.

I used to be of the opinion that the psalms were a bunch of random hymns used in the Jewish liturgy whereas reading the entire book would be like reading the entire hymnal in the pews at church. In the past when reading them, I classified them in buckets such as joyful, angry, and sad.However, after reading this book, I now understand that there is an overarching narrative going on. Depending on where the psalm is in the narrative of the Davidic kingdom, I now know why the psalmist was joyful, angry, or sad and how that relates to Christ and us as Christians. This book has really changed the way I see the psalms and I highly recommend it.

I have studied scripture and theology, facilitated Bible studies on the Psalms, and I still found this little book enlightening!Dr. Bergsma even gives a simple synopsis of the salvation story that is very useful for beginners. Loved it so much I bought Bible Basics for Catholics which I think we may use in RCIA with those unfamiliar with Scripture.Just terrific how he opens up the Psalms in a manner that appeals to the novice and keeps the interest of one very familiar with scripture. Great little book.

This introduction to the Psalms is so very enlightening. I enjoyed his compacted way of going through salvation history. This gave a great background so that when he covered the Psalms it put it in the context that could be understood better. I found Illuminating the five different 'books' of the Psalms. I also loved his illustrations and drawings which, while kind of corny, I found actually helpful. I highly recommend this book. I think it would be perfect as part of a diaconate program.

I have prayed, or read, the Psalms for about 8 years on almost a daily basis. I knew they were good for me, but I never read a good introduction or summary of what I was praying and reading. This is an excellent introduction and summary: its not long, its not too academic, it shows you the threads running through the whole Book of Psalms, it presents a plot arc through the book, and gives general groupings of psalms.I liked it so much I will reread it many times, and now want to try Bergsma's other books: if he writes this well on this topic, his other writings will be worth the money.

My kids really enjoyed this as part of learning their faith. Somewhat de-mystified the Psalms for them. Great resource for Catholics of all ages (says the dad who was reading his kids' "school" book).

I love reading John Bergsma’s Basics series. The Psalm Basics for Catholics is no exception. I know in advance that he’s going to break down a subject so that I can understand it in a way that I haven’t before. He is a wonderful writer and teacher.

El autor sabe ser profundo y ameno con sus ilustraciones. Le conocí por otro libro sobre introducción a la biblia. Vale la pena.

Bella fattura del libro, autore straordinario. Contenuti eccellenti. Molto bravo per capacità di sintesi, chiarezza espositiva e qualità dei contenuti.

Muy claro y sesncillo pero a la ves espiritualmente profundoNos enesña la historia del pueblo judio del Rey David hasta el regreso del exilio