Field.
Notes
Field notes from a movement in motion.
Essays · Psalm reflections · DiscoveriesExplore the Psalter →
The anchor essay
The Psalms Teach Us How to Pray
God has not simply told us to pray. He has given us words to pray.
Psalm ReflectionPsalm 1
Whose Side Are You On?
Psalm 1 demands a response from every reader to the driving question of the Book of Psalms.
A second voice in the publicationJary Reed
A recurring featureVoices from the
Voices from the
Early Church
What Christians in the first centuries actually said about singing, praying, and living inside the Psalms — with the sources published in full.
First and second centuries · Bithynia, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, Carthage, Smyrna
The Earliest Christian Songs and Prayers
Pliny the Younger, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, the Odes of Solomon, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, 1 Clement, and the Martyrdom of Polycarp
Fourth century · Jerusalem / Palestine
Egeria in Jerusalem: The Psalms in Fourth-Century Worship
The Pilgrimage of Egeria
Fourth century · Caesarea, Cappadocia
Basil the Great on the Psalms
Homily on Psalm 1 and Letter 207
Fourth century · Alexandria, Egypt
Athanasius to Marcellinus: On the Psalms
Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms
Browse
Field Notes
The complete collection — 12 published pieces, newest first.
- 01READListenNewHistoryThe Earliest Christian Songs and PrayersThe surviving evidence is scattered, but together it gives us a surprisingly vivid picture of a sung and Scripture-shaped Christian way of life.8 min readAugust 31, 2026
- 02READListenNewHistoryA Fourth-Century Woman Takes Us to ChurchOne of our most fascinating witnesses to early Christian worship is not a bishop or a council. It is a woman named Egeria, who traveled to Jerusalem in the 380s and wrote home to tell her sisters what she saw.5 min readAugust 30, 2026
- 03READListenHistoryChanging the Music in ChurchChanging the way we sing in church was already causing controversy 1,650 years ago. Basil the Great's answer draws a distinction worth keeping: the Psalms are given to us; the way we sing them can develop.4 min readAugust 28, 2026
- 04READListenChurch RenewalWhat I Learned from Andrew Root About Evangelism—and the PsalmsAfter hearing Andrew Root speak on evangelism, despair, consolation, and prayer, I kept thinking about the Psalms—and how they teach hurting people to bring their sorrow into the presence of God.9 min readAugust 15, 2026
- 05READListenHistoryThe Psalms Are a Mirror for the SoulAthanasius believed the Psalms reveal Christ, expose the movements of our own souls, and train those souls to become more like him.6 min readAugust 15, 2026
- 06WATCHResourcesLearning to Pray the Psalms with Christopher AshA three-part lecture series that will forever change the way you read and pray the Psalms — the Psalms as the prayers and songs of Jesus Christ.3 hr watchAugust 15, 2026
- 07READListenBiblical TheologyDon’t Hit Shuffle: Discovering the Hidden Architecture of the PsalmsReading a psalm at random is like walking into a cathedral with a flashlight. Step back and the Psalter reveals a deliberate five-book architecture that moves from blessing, through suffering, to Hallelujah.9 min readAugust 15, 2026
- 08READListenStart HereThe Psalms Teach Us How to PrayGod has not simply told us to pray. He has given us words to pray.7 min readAugust 12, 2026
- 09READListenPsalm ReflectionsWhose Side Are You On?Psalm 1 demands a response from every reader to the driving question of the Book of Psalms.8 min readAugust 12, 2026
- 10READListenStart HereWhen Someone Else’s Words Don’t Feel Like PrayerAt first, the Psalms may feel like someone else’s words. As we pray them, they become our words.6 min readAugust 12, 2026
- 11READListenMusicSing to the Lord a New SongThe words of the Psalms are inspired. The melodies are not. Every generation has the opportunity to sing these ancient words in its own musical language.10 min readAugust 11, 2026
- 12READListenMusicMusic Is the Native Habitat of PrayerGod could have given us 150 essays about prayer. Instead he gave us a book of songs. Music is not decoration added to the Psalms — it is their native habitat.11 min readAugust 10, 2026