The Psalms: Reading for a Sane Man

Curt Jester has a video clip of Penn -- of Penn and Teller -- recounting a puzzling, moving experience of receiving the book of Psalms from a Christian man. Penn is amazed at how sane the man is.



I hope Penn cracks the Book. The First Psalm starts with a ringing choice: good or evil.

The traditional Psalm for Advent is the 25th, and the traditional Psalm for Christmas is the 98th.

Since September is the Month of the Sorrowful Mother, our family sang Psalm 10: Why Doth the Lord Stand Off So Far, and Why Conceal His Face?

Well, we had some reason to recall these words a couple of months later. If you need words to express your grief, frustration and defeat -- look to the Psalms, like Jesus did on the Cross in uttering the first words of Psalm 22: My God, My God I cry to Thee.

The end of 22 is a segue into Psalm 23, the most famous Psalm. This song was sung at Princess Diana's funeral.

In the Psalms you'll find Praise. All People That on Earth Do Dwell is such a famous hymn that the tune is actually named "The Old Hundredth" because it is the 100 th Psalm.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David, but Psalm 136 -- set here to a Disco beat -- is attributed to the community who was sent into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.



Penn's life will be enriched if he cracks the Book.