Reviewed by: Carson D. Jacobs, a professional writing major at Taylor University.

Introduction

Title: Psalms of Asaph

Author: James N. Watkins

Publisher: Bold Vision Books

Publication Date:

Format: Print Book

Length: 210 pages

OVERVIEW

As an experienced author and pastor, James Watkins doesn’t disappoint with his latest book. The basic premise of this book is about coping with loss. More specifically, it’s a book about lost hope, lost dreams, and lost encouragement felt by those who are left to question why a loving God would allow difficult things to happen to them. This book is an exploration of Rev. Watkins’s findings and beliefs on that challenging topic.
The writing itself is fluid and enjoyable. Watkins doesn’t linger on any one subject for too long, and he keeps the text moving. It has a pleasing flow to it—one that promises not to bore readers. He uses examples from the lives and writings of biblical characters, personal testimonies from others, and examples from his own life when discussing hardships. He shows that trials are far from rare in life. Each chapter, which deals with its own problem or question, is broken down further into subsections that show different portions of the question or provide answers to the question. Watkins also supports the text with scriptural references and even promises in the introduction that he hasn’t just cobbled together a bunch of verses from the Bible. Rest assured, he did, in fact, synthesize his own thoughts from the external information provided in the text.
The author covers some highly sensitive topics in this book, and with that comes the understanding that not everyone will always agree with him. Nevertheless, he does a very good job of forming a spiritual basis for his arguments, insights, and facts, and not just biblically-driven analyses. Excerpts from the Bible are plentiful. The book and its author do a wonderful job of delving further into topics that are typically left undiscussed. Overall, it’s a very good resource for those asking the hard questions about a loving God and extreme hardships co-existing in the same world.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

4 out of 5

Suggested Audience

Those who have experienced loss.

Christian Impact

Watkins uses scripture as the primary backbone of his text. It is overtly Christian and has a strong impact on the topic of loss and God.

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