A single well-composed book can become the core of a child's devotional life. Psalms of Wonder is that kind of book, drawing into its scope the array of troubles, joys, fears, and hopes children experience. While listed for readers ages 3 to 7, these pages speak to all of us.
The book offers 29 psalms in sections on Wonder, Courage, Comfort, Joy, Protection, and Love. In her introduction, author Carey Wallace reminds us that the Psalms are songs, "They aren't set to music, but they have music in them: rhymes and rhythms that make them easy to recall." You can hear that poetic quality in these lines from her Psalm 46:
"God is our shelter and our strength
whenever trouble is near.
And because God is close to us
we will not fear.
Let mountaintops drown in the sea
and let the sea roar.
The city of our God still laughs
because God lives in her."
Psalms have endured because of their universal quality, and yet Wallace also manages to draw out their contemporary relevance. The line from Psalm 23:5, for instance, which some of us grew up learning from the King James version — "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies" — becomes:
"You spread a feast before me
no matter what people say."
In an age of social-media bullying and maligning, what a comfort to remember that God's goodness meets us at every turn, even when people say mean and untrue things about us.
Khoa Le's paintings show nature scenes and children of many races and ages. One of our favorites accompanies Psalm 138 ("Lord, you searched me and know me"). It has flowers twining up the margins while in the corner an open hand composed of constellations holds a sleeping child.
Wallace acknowledges that "some of the psalms describe feelings so deep that when we feel that way, we might try to hide it, even from our friends and families. But the psalms were gathered into a book so that people could sing these songs together." How fortunate we are that she and Khoa Le have taken these psalms into their creative embrace, showing us "that it is good to tell each other the truth about our lives, and to share each other's joys and burdens."
