When asked to do a devotional book, Tim and I immediately thought of the psalms; after all, he had decades of material, so it would be a piece of cake, right? Never say that!
Between a difficult year of health issues for me, ministry commitments for Tim, and the death of our dear friend David, whom this book is meant to honor, Tim started off behind schedule. The first manuscript was, unfortunately, awful—so crammed full of information and ideas on every page that it was as dense as haiku, as I regretfully told my husband.
Well, that manuscript was scrapped and another one appeared, but our editor, Brian Tart, wisely and rightly rejected it because the format was too complex and not accessible enough.
By then we were frantic (I pitched in to help), but we finally simplified everything to the version you have in your hands. It has been the most difficult book to write, in some ways, and yet the sweetest—and in the end the most personal and intimate of all Tim’s books.
When it was done we looked at each other and said, “What are we going to do now that we’re not spending fifteen hours every day in the psalms?” The answer is, I guess, go back and spend each day with a psalm or part of a psalm, just as everyone else should be doing.
For those of you who upheld us in so many ways during the writing (and writing and writing) of this book, thank you so much. Ray and Gill Lane, for hosting us at The Fisherbeck, their bed-and-breakfast hotel in the Lake District of England; Lynn Land and Jane and Brian McGreevy in Charleston; Janice Worth in Florida; and Louise Midwood.
Tim in particular wants to acknowledge his deep debt to the late Derek Kidner, whose commentary on the psalms has been his main resource for understanding the Psalter over the last four decades. This commentary is unsurpassed for its wisdom and spiritual eloquence. Kidner’s sensitivity to the nuances of poetry is wonderful, and he has been an enormous help to us less skillful readers. Tim also wants to recommend the psalms commentaries of both Alec Motyer (in The New Bible Commentary: 21st-Century Edition) and Tremper Longman (in the Tyndale Series). Tremper’s volume gives the most help on how to read the psalms from the perspective of the New Testament and of the Gospel of Christ. Motyer’s commentary is the shortest and pithiest, and is brimming with nuggets of insight. The pastoral hearts and Christ-centered perspectives of these three authors make them essential reading for anyone who wants the most out of the psalms.
Thanks are also due to our children and grandchildren, who kept us involved in real life: love to David, Jen, and Charlotte; Michael, Sara, Lucy, and Kate; and Jonathan, Ann-Marie, and to-be-named Baby Boy Keller.
Thanks also to our agent, David McCormick, who has the gift of encouragement and, for this volume, negotiated the difficulties of permission to use the NIV translation in a plethora of countries. You are the best, David.
We also thank God who, in his wisdom, plunged the two of us into the psalms for these months in order to deepen our love for him, for each other, and to give us a glimpse of our future True Country.
“Together we will take the road that leads into the West, And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.”150