Book review: Deeper Places by Dr Matthew Jacoby
Book review: Deeper Places by Dr Matthew Jacoby
30 July 2019
Matthew Jacoby examines the book of Psalms as the ‘expressions of people who had real interactions with a real God’.
Subtitled ‘The spirituality of the Psalms’, Deeper Places is Matthew Jacoby’s attempt to push the reader beyond a superficial intellectual reaction to the Psalms and cause us to connect with them emotionally and intimately. 
Best known as the lead singer of Psalmist band Sons of Korah, Jacoby is also the Teaching Pastor at OneHope Baptist Church in Geelong and a lecturer at Melbourne School of Theology. His expertise in this area is undeniable, and in this expanded edition we are given practical insight to deepen our spiritual life.
In his introduction, Jacoby writes that his intention is not to examine the book of Psalms as “ancient literature” but as the “expressions of people who had real interactions with a real God”. As such, Jacoby believes the psalms give us a unique insight into what a healthy relationship with God looks like.
Maybe the core of the book is in Jacoby’s statement that “God wants to love and be loved” and his conviction is that Psalms demonstrates how this looks.
This book is not a psalm-by-psalm commentary or devotional but, rather, an exploration of how our faith and emotional life interact, using examples of this from the book of Psalms.
If you’ve only ever ‘dipped your toe’ into the book of Psalms then this is the book to help you go deeper and unlock their worth to 21st century Christians. I found its insights helpful and its writing style easy to read.
A video series based on the book is also available, making it a fine small group resource.
Deeper Places is available now at Koorong.com.
The Deeper Places video resources can be accessed here.
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