God Is Our Refuge and Strength: A Review

God Is Our Refuge and Strength: 150 Devotionals Through the Psalms, by Bill Boekestein and Rob Ventura, published by The Banner of Truth, October 2026.

Take a crash course tour of the most beloved book of the Bible with William Boekestein and Rob Ventura’s God Is Our Refuge and Strength: 150 Devotionals Through the Psalms (forthcoming from the Banner of Truth). It is a one-stop shop devotional on the Psalms. Not a commentary but a summary, it reads like the learned quips of an Ezra, giving the sense of the Scriptures to its readers. All 150 Psalms are given an overview which is as helpful as it is easy to read.

The introduction is full of information about the Psalms, giving readers a dialed perspective before jumping in the psalmy pool of glory. We found the section devoted to those pesky imprecatory Psalms to be especially helpful. Ever wondered why holy David says, “I hate them with complete hatred” (and other things beside)? B and V got you covered.

Their treatment of the Psalms themselves is concise; it is so by design: “We have often found ourselves longing for a devotional that considers the entirety of each of the 150 Psalms in a single, manageable entry” (xv-xvi). Their desire has conceived and given birth to something other than sin and death, for they have achieved their good goal. By chapter count, the Psalms is the largest book of Scripture by far. As such it contains a wide variety of subjects, situations, and celebrations for God’s people. It is also rich in theology (as the many citations of Reformed resources in this work testify). B and V square these overflowing riches into neat portions which any Christian can stash in their heart pockets and purses. The main point and curious parts of each Psalm are set forth in words any Christian can understand and feel.

It is comforting as well. B and V are pastors and their pastoral hearts are woven into their work. The Psalms are by nature pastoral; David shepherds God’s flock and his Son is the true Shepherd of Israel. There is something for everyone and every hour in the Psalms. That which does not apply to us today may tomorrow. The authors bring out the comforting truths of God which animate the Psalms so that we know where to find them later. We even find comfort in unlooked for places, such as the edgy imprecatory Psalms.

The book is also Christ-centered. It displays the wisdom of the Spirit in recognizing that the Psalms are ultimately from and through and to the supreme Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is their Subject as well as their Singer. He teaches us how to worship God in all circumstances. God Is Our Refuge is right to focus on him, the true Psalmist of Israel.

Limitations of the work include its lack of detailed treatment and lack of linguistic flourish. Yet these are limitations set by the authors themselves as the book is streamlined to achieve its purpose. For a more detailed treatment of the Psalms, we can reach for calculating Calvin. For a more poetic commentary, we have the smoking Spurgeon. But we will also be glad to possess a sort of Psalms in Prose. “At times,” write the authors, “poetry is the only way to capture the weight of an idea. It is one thing to say, ‘God observes your sorrow.’ But isn’t it far more stirring to say, ‘You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in a bottle’? (xx). Their book is the “God observes your sorrow” to the “You have kept count of my tossings.”

The work does, however, furnish examples of what a Long Island poet has called,

The pen game of Mark Twain.

You can almost hear the battle rap crowd roar at, “David isn’t teaching us to avoid all sinners; we are all sinners” (196). And who couldn’t feel this? “All creation should worship; none of it should be worshipped. Don’t worship worshippers. Join them in worshipping the glorious Creator” (210). These are words of delight which illumine the Words of Delight.

Believers who pair one Psalm a day with its treatment in God Is Our Refuge will have completed a sweeping study of the Psalms in five months’ time. When seasons of persecution, loneliness, sin, and victory come their way, they will know exactly where to turn to express themselves to their God. The Psalms are organs for our prayer and praise; this book teaches us where to fetch the right instrument for every hour. It will be a welcomed addition to any Christian library. May the Lord use it to bless his church with a greater understanding of God and a keener devotional intelligence in all her prayers, petitions, groanings, and gladnesses.