The Psalms: A Sanctuary for the Soul
Discover the Psalms as you've never encountered before—alive, relational, and transformative.
For thousands of years, the Psalms have voiced humanity’s deepest longings for God—offering comfort in suffering and joy in renewal. In the second volume of a groundbreaking five-part series, relational theologian and therapist Marty Folsom continues his journey into the Garden of God, tracing seasons of transformation shaped by the Psalms and the lived faith of David. We walk with a broken heart toward restoration (Psalm 51), wrestle honestly with wisdom amid conflict (Psalm 54), and enter the stillness of silent retreat. These sacred songs teach us to live faithfully in the tension between beauty and grief, finding strength in God’s enduring loving kindness.
As the journey deepens, Folsom shows us how the Psalms give us new language for prayer and new ears to listen. They invite us to inhabit beauty, tell the truth about pain, and rest in a confidence not of our own making. Welcome to the Garden—where dwelling in the Psalms becomes an invitation into wonder, security, and a holy curiosity only God can satisfy.
Praise for The Psalms: A Sanctuary for the Soul: Book 1: 1-30
“In this remarkable book, you will find the Psalms rendered fresh, vibrant, and newly transparent to the living God…Running through every page of Folsom’s book is the conviction that the Psalms are not merely objects of study, specimens for the literary analyst, but media of encounter with a God whose very heart is alive with the rhythm of love.” —Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, and the McDonald Agape Director and founder of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts
"The book of Psalms is a gift that keeps on giving. In order to receive that continuing gift, however, careful, attentive, imaginative work of interpretation is required. In this volume (and the other yet to follow) Marty Folsom does much of this hard work for us and with us. He provides playful imagery that opens vistas of communication. He offers suggestive poetry alongside the poetry of the Psalms and is steady in his focus on the God who occupies the Psalter. The reader is invited to join in this good work, to make fresh connections between this old poetry and our own lived reality." —Walter Brueggemann, author of The Prophetic Imagination
“Wow, just wow! I love the design of this, the poetry, the invitation for people to abide in the Psalms and meditate on them. Perhaps my favorite part is the parallel of the English translation with a freer poetic version on the left. This is a beautiful way to recover the more formal translation in parallel with poetic creativity.” —Libby Backfish, associate professor and director of Bible Studies, William Jessup University