Re-creating the spiritual drama of the biblical psalms

Sons of Korah’s acoustic, multi-ethnic sound coming to Cooranbong

It is unique and intriguing, a contemporary flavour to a traditional idea. Sons of Korah’s acoustic, multi-ethnic-sounding re-creation of the spiritual drama of the biblical psalms has seen the Melbourne-based band produce eight albums and tour the world over 20 years.

The psalms have preoccupied composers and songwriters for millennia—they are the primary source for the worship traditions of Judaism and Christianity. “The psalms are the supreme biblical portrayal of the spiritual life in all its facets and dynamics,” says Sons of Korah co-founder and leading member Dr Matthew Jacoby. “They speak powerfully to those who are well acquainted with the sting of a cursed world and with the sweetness of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.”

The encompassing message of the psalms is “compelling,” says Jacoby, because it challenges “the often one-dimensional and romanticised spirituality we as a Christian church find it so hard to move beyond.”

It took years to understand the psalms, partly because the spirituality they portrayed is so countercultural to the spiritual environment I came into as a young Christian. Dr Matthew Jacoby

From battle cry to benediction and from lamentation to songs of jubilant praise, Sons of Korah’s take on the experience of the psalmists is popular—the band has sold more than 250,000 albums worldwide. “Our concerts draw people into an experience of what Christians call the Word,” says Jacoby. The band’s lyrics come directly from the biblical songbook. “We expect God to work in people’s hearts. It’s His Word and He promises it will achieve its purpose.”

Jacoby is immersed in the Word and in words. The author of Deeper Places: Experiencing God in the Psalms, he is teaching pastor at Barrabool Hills Baptist Church in Geelong, Victoria, and an adjunct lecturer at the Melbourne School of Theology. His commentaries on the settings of the psalms weave through most of the band’s concerts.

“It took years to understand the psalms,” says Jacoby, “partly because the spirituality they portrayed is so countercultural to the spiritual environment I came into as a young Christian. With Sons of Korah, as I’ve worked adapting the psalms to music and singing them night after night, I’ve found them doing unexpected things to me.” Like teaching Jacoby he still has much to learn. “I’m only beginning to understand the purpose of this book and how it can perform its function in my life.”