Passages for Inner Peace. Tom McKinley

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       INTRODUCTION

      The richness of the Psalms is beyond estimation. In their depth of language and emotion, in their ability to capture the human heart, mind, and soul, they surpass the most impassioned speaker, the most accomplished poet.

      There is nothing that the spectrum of the Psalms does not comprise, from abject sorrow to ecstatic joy – psalms of praise, of thanksgiving, of agony, of anxiety, and of victory, all addressing God as the Savior to our troubles, all serving as affirmations of our faith in him as our source of inner peace and joy.

      The Psalms are a cornucopia, an overflowing treasure-chest, of God’s abundance and benevolence, all presented to us humbly in black marks on white paper.

      While I had known of the Book of Psalms since my youth, until adulthood I had only directly come across Psalm 23, the most famous psalm, mainly as a result of my literary studies. A search, generated by the unceasing vicissitudes of life, for inner peace, brought me to explore the Psalms as a whole, to read them with attention and appreciation. The result was sheer awe. It was as if I had once heard a beautiful song by a band and been told that they were a “one-hit wonder,” and upon listening to their entire canon, had discovered that every song was a masterpiece.

      To read through the Book of Psalms on a regular basis, as I have done since and shall continue to do, is to experience an overcoming feeling of reverence, humility, optimism, and serenity. Such feelings contrast sharply with the world in which we live – a world that glorifies fame and fortune, a world where speed and impatience compete in a vicious cycle, and a world where mankind has more and more comforts yet is less and less happy.

      As an author in the self-help genre, I thought it helpful to the person who is searching for inner peace, reassurance of a better life ahead, or happiness, or likely all three, to walk him or her through Psalm verses that contribute to making our lives more peaceful and joyful.

      It is my firm belief that inner peace is our highest station. We can never let that peace depend on our external circumstances. Inner peace is when the instability and suffering of life do not affect your outlook or your spirit; when you greet the positive with joy, and adversity with acceptance; and when you simply retain the willingness to keep going, inspired and reassured by faith.

      For the Psalms are not just poems or songs or speeches, but are testaments of faith; they are prayers to an Almighty Being and also serve as empathic phrasings of what we want to say in our inner selves. When we are not sure what to say to God, and even when we are, the Psalms are there to say it for us. Expressed with candor, the Psalms never cease to find that sweet medium between the formality due to God and the raw thinking language of the mind of Man.

      Hence, I offer the book that is in your hands. I pray that you will find it welcoming and helpful on your journey towards peace and faith. Please feel free to open the book to any page and start reading. With the exception of the last, the chapters are not in a particular order. As with the Psalms, there is a central message that far transcends any need for a sequence.

      And that central message from the Psalms is hope: hope that this suffering will end, hope that one can have the strength to go on, hope that God will hear our prayers and our praise. It is a hope for inner peace, the hope that God will come into our lives more deeply, that we will build a relationship with him that will give us the strength to make it through a life that defies all attempts at understanding. We are blessed to have our God, and blessed that he has given us the words through which to ask for his mercy and his peace.