In Theopoetry of the Psalms Cas J.A. Vos explores the beauty of the Psalms and examines their meaning within the context of exegesis, homiletics and poetry. By investigating the structure, literary genre, history and theology of the Psalms he traces the ways in which they continue to be relevant to contemporary readers and to modern worship. Vos scrutinizes the Psalms as a volume of poetry and a work of art; considers hermeneutical approaches and difficulties, providing not only a verse-by-verse analysis but also a contextual history; outlines a comprehensive homiletic theory for preaching the Psalms; and concludes with a study of the Psalms in liturgy. Theopoetry of the Psalms is valuable to those Biblical scholars who wish to explore the theological and exegetical interpretation of the Psalms as well as to those readers who are interested in liturgics and practical theology for preaching and worship.
In "Theopoetry of the Psalms" Cas J.A. Vos explores the beauty of the Psalms and examines their meaning within the context of exegesis, homiletics and poetry. By investigating the structure, literary genre, history and theology of the Psalms he traces the ways in which they continue to be relevant to contemporary readers and to modern worship. Vos scrutinizes the Psalms as a volume of poetry and a work of art; considers hermeneutical approaches and difficulties, providing not only a verse-by-verse analysis but also a contextual history; outlines a comprehensive homiletic theory for preaching the Psalms; and concludes with a study of the Psalms in liturgy. "Theopoetry of the Psalms" is valuable to those Biblical scholars who wish to explore the theological and exegetical interpretation of the Psalms as well as to those readers who are interested in liturgics and practical theology for preaching and worship.
William Brown introduces a new method of exegesis, particularly for biblical poetry, that attends to the metaphorical contours of the Psalms. His method as proposed and demonstrated in this book supplements traditional ways of interpreting the Psalms and results in a fresh understanding of their original context and contemporary significance.
In this final volume of his series on preaching Christ from the Old Testament, Sidney Greidanus offers expert guidance for busy pastors on preaching Christ from Psalms. Beginning with a general introduction on how pastors can interpret and preach from the biblical psalms -- and why they should -- Greidanus proceeds by discussing twenty-two psalms in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, supplying the building blocks necessary to preach from Psalms at Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and other major days and seasons of the church year. In addition to laying out basic homiletical-theological approaches suitable for each selected psalm, these chapters also provide verse-by-verse exposition, bridges to Christ in the New Testament, and ideas for placing the psalmist's words into contemporary context.
The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul brings together essays from eighteen Old Testament scholars discussing the latest in Psalms scholarship and applying exegetical insights to the life of faith. These essays explore the full range of emotion expressed in the Psalms—from elation to distress—while weaving together observations from biblical scholarship and theology. The reader will gain valuable insights into how the Psalms speak to his or her soul. The book is divided into five sections that: Give an overview of Psalms studies in the 21st century Discuss psalms of praise Explore psalms of lament Look at the big picture of the Psalter as a book Present sermons on the Psalms that are models of evangelical engagement with the text. A Select Bibliography for Psalms Study is included at the end of the book.
Professor Sylva has written a major book in what Clifford Geertz terms "blurred genres." By that Geertz means a study that refuses to stay slotted in a specified scholarly discipline, but reaches across such distinctions, in order to face real and complex human issues. As biblical scholarship moves out of its more positivistic modes, it is able to make contact with human dimensions of the text that "objectivist" criticism had long precluded. In this book, Sylva with painstaking research and urbane articulation reflects upon how the Psalms touch fractured human conditions in healing ways. This is no surface interpreation of scripture for the sake of "an easy religious fix", and it is no "pop psychology", because the author has thought with great steadfastness and is informed on both sides of the interface. The power of his argument is in the detail of human stress and in the effective nuance of the poetry. For his interface he employs the intriguing term "theotherapy". I have no doubt that this book will become a major resource for bringing back together text and human reality that our recent interpretative past has rent asunder. Sylva invites us to a new conversation as we "blur" our safer points of reference. Walter Brueggemann Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary This book seeks to uncover the serious and deep ways in which the Psalms speak to the human situation. Few works that I know of have sought to bring the Psalms to bear on the stresses and strains, the functions and dysfunctions of the family as has been done here. Professor Sylva endeavors to show how the Psalms create a fundamental trust in God, a trust that moves out into all other relationships starting with the family. This is something that happened to me as a child and that I came to realize only much later. In this work, The Pslams are clearly not simply a springboard to say some things about family therapy. They are the heart of this book, and it is only as they are heard in detail that one then moves or is carried by them into a more secure family relationship. I hope very much that this work will enhance the reading and appropriation of the Psalms within the family as a source of family health and strength. Patrick D. Miller Professor of Old Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary Dana Sylva is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Saint Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the editor of "Reimaging the Death of the Lukan Jesus" (1990), and he has published articles on Old testament and New Testament exegesis.
Psalms for Preaching and Worship a key addition to the critically acclaimed three-volume Lectionary Commentary / Despite the rich resources available for studying the Psalms, few are as focused on their place in worship and preaching as is this volume. The responsorial Psalms of the Revised Common Lectionary are here taken up in careful and often illuminating interpretation with attention also to their interaction with other lectionary texts. The many ways that psalms can function meaningfully in the liturgical life of congregations are explored especially in John Witvliet s concluding section. I know of no work that combines practice and substance better than this lectionary commentary. Patrick D. Miller / Princeton Theological Seminary / A fascinating book well organized, well written and edited, thorough, and informative. . . . An excellent resource not only for preachers using the Revised Common Lectionary but also for those wishing to preach a series of sermons on the Psalms. In addition, worship leaders and worship committees will appreciate the many excellent ideas for using the Psalms in worship. Highly recommended. Sidney Greidanus / author of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament and Preaching Christ from Genesis / Here is something even better than a simple completion of The Lectionary Commentary, which would be cause enough for gratitude. . . . Serious attention paid to this one book could go a long way toward remedying the scandalous neglect of the treasure of the Psalms in too much contemporary worship. Marguerite Shuster / Fuller Theological Seminary / Contributors: Nancy R. Bowen, William P. Brown, Walter Brueggemann, Richard J. Clifford, Nancy L. deClaiss-Walford, Jennifer S. Green, Karl N. Jacobson, Rolf A. Jacobson, Melody D. Knowles, Eunny P. Lee, Joel M. LeMon, James Limburg, J. Clinton McCann, James K. Mead, Carol A. Miles, Luke A. Powery, Stephen Breck Reid, Sandra L. Richter, Cynthia L. Rigby, Kathryn L. Roberts, Brent A. Strawn, Beth LaNeel Tanner, Roger E. Van Harn, Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, J. Ross Wagner, Gerald H. Wilson, John Witvliet, Christine Roy Yoder.
The pastor who seeks to preach expositionally through Psalms faces a daunting task, for the sermon series would take several years to complete and many of the sermons would seem repetitious because of similar psalms. To respond to this challenge the author has used the book theology method to analyze the Book of Psalms into twenty-eight theological themes, providing the preacher with material for approximately a one-year series on the book. Each chapter includes a list of applicable theological propositions that can be preached or taught to contemporary audiences. Then the chapter concludes by linking the topic to New Testament passages. This monograph contains over seventy tables, mainly charting the Hebrew terms used for a particular theme. Careful textual and exegetical notes provide guidance for translation and interpretation of many verses. Furthermore, relevant Hebrew word studies inform theological understanding. Backing up the analysis are numerous references to Psalm commentaries, both classical and contemporary.
Biblical texts create worlds of meaning and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds, which are often strange and complex, they are confronted with theological claims. With this in mind, the purpose of the Interpreting Biblical Texts series is to help serious readers in their experience of reading and interpreting, by providing guides for their journeys into textual worlds. The controlling perspective is expressed in the operative word of the title—interpreting. The primary focus of the series is not so much on the world behind the texts or out of which the texts have arisen as on the worlds created by the texts in their engagement with readers. The focus of the volume moves from the smallest to the largest of scales, from an examination of poetic segments to considerations of God and the world through the psalmists’ eyes. The author will present new slants and questions that equip the reader with various tools of interpretation while leaving issues open for the reader’s further exploration. Included are discussions of Psalms as Hebrew poetry, species, performance, corpus, anthropology, and theology.
