Rick Lee James - Out of the Depths: A Songwriters Journey Through The Psalms

"Rick Lee James has accomplished what I have been trying to do for decades; bring together the thoughtful reader with the discerning listener. He has written an important introduction to the Psalter which opens the door to his own musical interpretations."

--MICHAEL CARD

Award Winning Singer, Songwriter, & Author

The Psalms take up more real estate in the Bible than any other book. This ancient Jewish hymnal is an anthology of lyrics for one hundred and fifty songs. These God-obsessed poems are not to be blithely read, but prayed, or better yet chanted and sung. To properly approach the Psalms we need to abandon the didactic and embrace the poetic, but this does not come naturally for everyone. What we need is the artistic sensibilities of a songwriter to guide us. This is precisely what Rick Lee James brings to the Psalms in his wonderful book Out Of The Depths. As a pastor/songwriter/musician Rick Lee James is uniquely suited to introduce us to the Psalms and help us see how these three thousand year old songs speak to the whole range of human experience in the light of brutal honesty and radical trust in God. I highly recommend Out Of The Depths!

--BRIAN ZAHND

Pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, Missouri & Author of A Farewell To Mars (2014)

My friend, Rick Lee James, reminded me that Christian art can still be thoughtful and profound in his beautiful record Basement Psalms Live. In this companion book, Rick brings the depth of his attentive songwriting to life by highlighting the intention, the community, and the reverence that the Biblical Psalms have demanded from people of faith since their inception.

Most important, Ricks writing expounds on the deep sense of hope and joy that is the palatable foundation of his music. I highly recommend this book.

--MATT LITTON

Author of Holy Nomad: The Rugged Road To Joy, Educator, & Speaker

"Part memoir, part biblical commentary, part album liner notes, Out of the Depths is a unique and refreshing exploration of the Psalms. Rick Lee James offers a compelling, insightful overview both of the theological contributions of the Psalms but also their inspiration for his own musical pursuits. The result is a soul-enriching journey through the highs, lows, joys and laments of the Christian life."

--BRETT MCCRACKEN

Author of Gray Matters: Navigating the Space Between Legalism and Liberty

Dedicated To

My wife Jenn and my son Alexander.

You mean more to me than life.

Psalm 86:6

God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Also by Rick Lee James on CDBaby.com

Basement Psalms Live

Love Drawn Near: Song For My Son

Changes

Advent Hymn: Watching, Waiting, Longing

Christmas Time Is Here

A Little Lower Than The Angels

Workin On Commission

And more...

Out of the Depths: A Songwriters Journey through the Psalms
By Rick Lee James

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please refer all pertinent questions to the publisher.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New International version of the Bible, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Copyright 2014 by Rick Lee James

All Rights Reserved

Edited by Ben DeBono and Matthew Cole, two of the best friends a guy could ever hope to have. You both have blessed me more deeply than I can express. Im thankful for the holy one that drew us together for this book and this life.

Special thanks to Dee Hale for her excellent proofreading.

This book was made possible of the generous donations from these great people on Kickstarter.com and I am deeply grateful for them.

Scott Williams -Donald E. Frey - Nick Flora - Jeremy Alan Sipes - Cynda Pierce - Phil and Dee Hale - Ronaldand Beverly Jones - Brandon Sipes - Matt Anderson - Travis Daisy Morrill - Matthew and Kara Cole - Christopher M Cox - Adam Evans - Ben DeBono - Eric Vinson - Kyle Northrop - Derek Jordan - Jon Finney - Doug and Barbara Reed Mitch and Diane Kastein Larry and Cheryl Taylor - Ryan David Hammond Randy and Kathy Reynolds - Spencer Downs - Jessica Myers - Paul Darilek - Ryan Price - John Underhill Brannon and Gloria Hancock - Jeremy Olson - The staff and customers of Beacon of Hope Store in Springfield Ohio.

ISBN: 9781483513744

Foreword: Rediscovering the Psalms

Ben De Bono

It was early 2013, shortly after Rick released Basement Psalms Live, that I decided to give the album a shot. Ill be honest and admit the embarrassing fact that I wasnt expecting much. This wasnt Ricks fault. During the year or so where Id known him, Id come to value and respect him as a thinker and a friend. Yet, for better or worse, by the time I found myself sitting at my computer downloading the MP3 version of the album, Id long since reached a point where I felt pretty jaded by contemporary worship. Years of listening to worship songs and choruses sung both in and out of church left me convinced that much of what was happening in worship was more about emotional experiences on the part of those of us in the pews and less about truly encountering God. Honestly, if it wasnt for our friendship, I wouldnt have given Basement Psalms Live a second look. As it was, I only found myself hitting play on the freshly downloaded tracks as a courtesy to Rick.

I wont discuss here the pros and cons of my opinion on contemporary worship styles, but I will say that in this case they were misplaced. Badly. What I found as I listened was far from the vapid experiences that so often left me cold. Track after track on the album was powerful and profound. Those of you whove spent some time listening to Ricks music wont be surprised by this. You know, and Ive discovered, that hes a man who truly understands what it means to draw people past a mere emotional experience and into a true encounter with God. But while thats par for the course for Rick, what I experienced while listening to Basement Psalms Live went even deeper than that. It didnt take me long to realize what was going on. Once again, this time through the words and music of my friend, God was leading me to rediscover the Psalms.

I say rediscovered instead of simply discovered because there was never a time in my life where I can remember the Psalms being unfamiliar to me, at least at a high level. I grew up in a Christian home that was part of a tradition which stressed biblical literacy. I knew the basic arrangement and facts of the Scriptures, I could have told you from a young age how many Psalms there were, and was even familiar, more or less, with the content of a few of the major ones. In the Christian school I attended during my elementary years I recall memorizing Psalm 23, 139 and perhaps one or two others.

Yet despite this plethora of basic, albeit important, knowledge, a deeper understanding of the Psalms alluded me until while into adulthood. It was in the middle of my work on my first masters degree that God first led me into a rediscovery of the Psalms. In one of my classes we read Dietrich Bonhoeffers Ethics. It took no more than a few chapters for me to fall in love with the great German theologians writing. During the next couple months I read through most of his major works, including his short masterpiece Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible.