Advertise on podcast: Psalms for the Spirit

Testifying to God’s power to redeem us in times of trouble, this Psalm is set to ‘The Meeting of the Waters.’ It tells story after story of God redeeming people from various situations ~ wandering in deserts, imprisoned by misery and grief, stormy waters ~ and it continues to return to the encouraging message passed on from those who have experienced redemption: “From trouble, God will redeem us still.” Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for O Give Thanks Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

Recounting the story of the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, this song is set to the English tune ‘The Snow it Melts the Soonest’ proclaims God’s compassion despite the people’s continued rebellion and doubt. Telling the tale plainly and with a slightly ominous tone, this Psalm invites us to confess our own propensity to turn away, even when God has done great things for us. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Banks of the Nile Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

This Psalm praises the God of creation and is based on an old version of the air ‘Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn,’ rediscovered by singer Pádraigin Ní Uallacháin, which marks the arrival of summer. It moves through various aspects of the natural world, considering how God is behind it all, and as the Psalm concludes, we are led into thankfulness for all of life’s “good things,” for life and breath, for which we might sing our undying praise. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Praise the Lord All the Earth Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

This Psalm is sung to the air ‘I Wish My Love was a Red, Red Rose,’ and praises God’s compassion and mercy. A song that is sweet and simple in some ways also explores the theme of forgiveness (“far as the east is from the west, so far God removes our sins”) and the finitude of our lives (“though all our days are like the grass that flourishes, then blows”), it remains grounded in the steadfast love of God that will remain far beyond our earthly existence. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Bless the Lord, O My Soul Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

This Psalm tells the story of one who is ill in mid-life and of the particular struggles of that experience. It is joined here with Irish words of the original song ‘Taim cortha o bheith im’Aonar mo lui,’ and the refrain “I am weary from being alone.” Both the Psalm and the Irish song contend with grief, loneliness, and the depth of life’s sorrows, yet they take some consolation from simply being able to express that experience in the context of prayer to a God whose “years are forever.” Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for I am Weary Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

‘Willy Taylor’ is the inspiration for this song of praise to a steadfast God. The Psalm tells the story of the Exodus, of the Hebrew people’s liberation from slavery, and of the joyful thanksgiving through which we can sing a new song, with the accompaniment of musical instruments and along with the rest of creation. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Sing to the Lord Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

A prayer of protection for a loved one, this Psalm makes the hopeful claim that God will provide ultimate redemption from the evils that threaten us. Set to the Irish tune ‘Dearthairin Ó Mo Chroí,’ it is a fervent prayer for safety, despite the perils of this world, and it expresses a faith that in the end, God will protect us in a way that this life cannot. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for All Who Dwell in the Shelter Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

A Psalm of recognition of the fragility of life as well as God’s eternal nature. Combined here with the Irish traditional song ‘Casadh an t’Súgain,’ it broaches the subject of how we might live with “wise hearts,” recognizing that from dust we came and to dust we return. Importantly, this paraphrase emphasizes that we return to God ~ our maker, to whom we belong in life and in death and who will redeem all of our brokenness. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for From Dust We Came Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

A Psalm of abandonment, full of questions without any attempt at resolution, this Psalm presents a heart-rending, honest portrayal of someone in the midst of deep difficulty. Combined with the lamenting tones of the Irish tune ‘Bean Dubh a Ghleanna,’ this song holds a space for the most forsaken experiences of humanity, while continuing to retain a relationship with the God to whom it asks these questions. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for God of My Salvation Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

The haunting melody ‘My Lagan Love’ accompanies this Psalm’s plea for the listening ear of the loving God who is “Lord of All,” words kept from the original lyrics by Joseph Campbell. This Psalm expresses lament from a place of weariness deepest longing to be saved from the grave, and turns to God for guidance on the way forward, recalling also God’s deep love and goodness. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Love is Lord of All Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

Depicting a vision for what this world could be, this Psalm, set to the Scottish tune ‘Lovely Molly,’ imagines love and mercy (or truth or faithfulness, in other translations), justice and peace coming together to greet and kiss. This rendition of the Psalm continues to unfold that vision of the future as one in which God’s goodness and kindness are evident, healing takes place, and the people will sing. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Love and Mercy Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

Set to the beautiful air ‘Carrickfergus,’ this Psalm depicts the pilgrimage of faith. It recounts the ways we can enter into God’s courts of dwelling, such as through the birds who sing their praise, or through the desert valley that becomes a place of flowing streams, and gain strength for our journey towards our heavenly home. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for How Lovely Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

This moving Psalm speaks of someone overwhelmed by the circumstances of life, who cries out for salvation and receives deliverance. Set to the tune ‘The Streets of Derry,’ it tells of the distress the psalmist is facing, the weariness from calling out, and the request for God’s face not to be hidden. The Psalm ultimately turns towards the hope that God will rebuild the broken people and that all will dwell in peace. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for Save Me, O God Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

Watch this episode on YouTube here. Paid Subscribers can view the video directly in Substack. In this episode of Psalms for the Spirit, we are joined by Karen Campbell for a rich conversation about lament, healing, and the enduring relevance of the Psalms ~ particularly in the context of post-conflict Northern Ireland. Karen is a musician, a Presbyterian pastor, and a peacebuilder currently serving with the Irish Council of Churches. Having lived and ministered in Northern Ireland, Kenya, and the United States, she brings a rich understanding of how faith, music, and storytelling can help communities move through pain toward reconciliation and hope. The conversation centers around Considering Lament, a powerful project developed in response to the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Over several years, Karen and her collaborators gathered with communities across the country to explore the Psalms of lament alongside personal stories of grief, silence, violence, and healing. Together, they created new psalm settings, liturgies, and musical resources that give people permission to bring their pain honestly before God. Throughout the episode, we reflect on the difficult beauty of the lament Psalms, the role of worship in healing trauma, and the ways music can create safe spaces for truth-telling and reconciliation. Karen also shares deeply moving stories from the project, including reflections on silence, justice, forgiveness, and what she describes as “the sound of reconciliation.” “The opposite of lament is not praise ~ it’s dishonesty,” says Karen Campbell. This episode is an invitation to rediscover the honesty of the Psalms and to remember that God welcomes not only praise, but also grief, anger, confusion, and longing for healing. Rev. Karen Campbell is the General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches, from County Armagh, ordained within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and ministered in County Antrim and Grand Rapids. Karen is also a musician, songwriter, and peacebuilder. Learn more about Rev. Karen Campbell here:https://substack.com/@illuminatebykcampbell The Presbyterian Church in Ireland: https://presbyterianireland.org/worship/considering-lament Watch the video of the Considering Lament event: Featured Celtic Psalms Songs: Psalm 30: You Have Turned My Sorrow Psalm 82: Omagh Psalms for the Spirit is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe

The tune for this song is the Scottish air ‘Ae Fonde Kiss,’ and the Psalm acts as a benediction prayer. Asking God’s gracious blessing on all people and all nations, it also recalls God’s kindness and sustaining presence and asks for God’s face to shine on us all. Continue your reflections with the accompanying journal, which includes further questions for reflection and some invitations to prayer and practice. Paid subscribers receive a free journal PDF, or you can purchase a paperback version Visit the Celtic Psalms website for scores/books, mp3s, CDs, and videos for May God Be Gracious Find out more about the Habits for the Spirit course: an 8-week online course exploring habits and daily spiritual practices to promote wellbeing in body, mind, and spirit Follow Kiran’s monthly reflections on Bless My Feet Psalms for the Spirit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psalmsforthespirit.substack.com/subscribe