Learning to Love the Psalms

Learning to Love the Psalms offers an accessible introduction to reading, interpreting, and appreciating the book of Psalms, guiding readers into deeper engagement with the Psalter’s structure, poetry, and theological richness. Dr. W. Robert Godfrey writes from a lifetime of personal study and devotion to these texts.

Godfrey opens by exploring what draws readers to the Psalms—their poetic beauty, emotional range, and Christ-centered message—before addressing interpretive challenges such as identifying the speakers in the Psalms and understanding their poetic forms. He then examines the Psalter’s five-book structure, tracing a theological arc from the king’s confidence in God’s care through a crisis over God’s promises to a culminating celebration of God’s salvation.

Throughout the book, Godfrey offers reflections on selected psalms from each of the five books, attending to recurring themes such as kingship, God’s faithfulness, and the role of the temple. He consistently reads the Psalms as pointing beyond David to Christ, showing how the church inherits and deepens the praise of ancient Israel. Drawing on figures such as Calvin, Luther, and Athanasius, Godfrey situates his reading within the long tradition of Christian devotion to the Psalter. Discussion questions accompany each chapter, encouraging personal reflection and group study.

Key Themes

• The five-book structure of the Psalter and its overarching theological movement
• Christ-centered reading of the Psalms and their fulfillment in redemptive history
• The Psalms as expressions of the full range of human emotion before God
• God’s faithfulness, provision, and sovereign care for His people

Featured Quotes

“The Psalter points beyond David to Christ, the great King. In this way, the Psalter is more for the church today than it ever was for the Israel of old.”

“Utter devotion to God and His ways does not come automatically or easily.”