Soundings in the Theology of Psalms


Book Description

The many introductions to the psalms available to readers tend to focus on various types and forms of psalms but overlook different theological approaches to the Psalter. This volume brings together leading psalms scholars from Catholic and Protestant traditions and takes into account recent scholarship on the shape and shaping of the Psalter and on the rhetorical interpretation of the Psalms.




The Struggle of Prayer


Book Description

Bloesch asserts that true prayer is not humanity rising to God in order to become one with him (the mystical ideal), but God reaching out to humanity and calling for a response of obedience.




The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms


Book Description

An indispensable resource for students and scholars, The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms features a diverse array of essays that treat the Psalms from a variety of perspectives. Classical scholarship and approaches as well as contextual interpretations and practices are well represented. The coverage is uniquely wide ranging.




Psalms


Book Description

The book of Psalms powerfully resonates with the whole spectrum of human emotions and experiences, resounding with heartfelt praise, humble confession, and honest lament. Plumbing the theological depths, this guide explains the biblical text with clarity and passion—exploring the Bible's ability to transform our emotions and incline our hearts toward worship. Over the course of 12 weeks, each study in this series explores a book of the Bible and: Asks thoughtful questions to spur discussion Shows how each passage unveils the gospel Ties the text in with the whole story of Scripture Illuminates the doctrines taught in each passage Invites you to discover practical implications Helps you better understand and apply God's Word




Imprecations in the Psalms


Book Description

The gap between the New Testament and the Imprecatory Psalms is less than we think. When faced with prayers against enemies in the Psalms, we are too quick to assume that these Old Testament authors were ignorant of some basic New Testament ethics. They are self-righteous, thinking they have earned God’s favor. They don’t know that the wicked can repent and be forgiven. They believe in vengeance and hating their enemies. We assume wrongly. These prayers are far more aware than many modern churchgoers of how deeply our own sin runs, so that even when persecuted, we are not automatically entitled to divine help. Even when we are truly entitled to justice against unrighteous attackers, if God rescues us, that is unmerited grace. Further, the psalms are fully aware that their enemies can repent, and they show mercy to them. The Book of Psalms teaches its readers—individuals and the whole people of God—to desire the repentance, forgiveness, and divine blessing of all nations, even the people’s most vicious enemies.




The Bible and Epistemology


Book Description

Many theologians and Christian philosophers have given considerable attention to the theory of knowledge in recent years. However, the rich resources of the biblical literature on questions of knowledge, especially the knowledge of God, have hardly begun to be mined because biblical scholars have rarely posed such questions to the texts. In this volume, Protestant and Catholic biblical scholars reflect on what different parts of the Bible may have to contribute to our understanding of knowledge in general, and the knowledge of God in particular. Chapters on Deuteronomy, the Psalms, the Prophets, Wisdom literature, Luke-Acts, Johannine literature, and Paul's letters reveal something of the Bible's diverse and nuanced approach to the issues. The book ends with some reflections on the material from a theologian and from a Christian philosopher.




The Psalms and the Life of Faith


Book Description

Walter Brueggemann's unique gift of joining historical-exegetical insights to penetrating observations about the traumas and joys of contemporary life?both personal and social?is here forcefully displayed. Everyone who is familiar with his work knows the power of his speech about "doxological, polemical, political, subversive, evangelical faith: and about the ways such faith is enacted in the praise of ancient Israel and in the church.Readers of this book will find fresh insight into:the Psalms as prayer and praisethe categories of the Psalmsthe social context in which psalms were prayed and sungthe theology of the Psalmsthe dialogical character of the Psalmsjustice and injustice in the Psalmsthe study and "use" of the Psalms by the churchpraise as an act of basic trust and abandonmentthe impossible wonders of God's activity that overturn conventional ways of




The Shape and Shaping of the Book of Psalms


Book Description

A new and innovative way to approach the Psalter that moves beyond form and cult-functional criticism Drawing inspiration from Gerald H. Wilson’s The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, this volume explores questions of the formation of the Psalter from the perspective of canonical criticism. Though called “canonical criticism,” the study actually employs a number of historically traditional and nontraditional approaches to reading the text including form criticism, historical criticism of individual psalms as well as of the whole Psalter, and redaction criticism. Features: Exploration of collections of psalms, theological viewpoints, sovereignty, and the shape and shaping of Psalms Examination of the impact of canonical criticism on the study of the Psalter Sixteen essays from the Book of Psalms Consultation group and invited scholars




Reading the Psalms Theologically


Book Description

The Psalms as Christian Scripture. Reading the Psalms Theologically presents rich biblical-theological studies on the Psalter. Reading the Psalter as a Unified Book: Recent Trends (David M. Howard and Michael K. Snearly) The Macrostructural Design and Logic of the Psalter: An Unfurling of the Davidic Covenant (Peter C. W. Ho) David's Biblical Theology and Typology in the Psalms: Authorial Intent and Patterns of the Seed of Promise (James M. Hamilton) A Story in the Psalms? Narrative Structure at the "Seams" of the Psalter's Five Books (David "Gunner" Gunderson) Does the Book of Psalms Present a Divine Messiah? (Seth D. Postell) The Suffering Servant in Book V of the Psalter (Jill Firth) Excavating the "Fossil Record" of a Metaphor: The Use of the Verb nasa' as "to forgive" in the Psalter (C. Hassell Bullock) The Art of Lament in Lamentations (May Young) The Psalms of Lament and the Theology of the Cross (Rolf A. Jacobson) "In Sheol, who can give you praise?" Death in the Psalms (Philip S. Johnston) Psalm 32: More Accurately a Declarative Praise than Penitential Psalm (Daniel J. Estes) Theology of the Nations in the Book of Psalms (Ryan J. Cook) Psalm 87 and the Promise of Inclusion (Jamie A. Grant) YHWH Among the Gods: The Trial for Justice in Psalm 82 (Andrew J. Schmutzer) Reclaiming Divine Sovereignty in the Anthropocene: Psalms 93–100 and the Convergence of Theology and Ecology (J. Clinton McCann) A Theology of Glory: Divine Sanctum and Service in the Psalter (Jerome Skinner) Perceptions of Divine Presence in the Levitical Psalms of Book 2: The Paradox of Distance and Proximity (J. Nathan Clayton) Psalm 110, Jesus, and Melchizedek (David C. Mitchell) The essays interpret the Psalms as a carefully-composed book. Each study focuses on a biblical or theological topic, drawing insights from past interpreters and current scholarship.




Psalms 42-72 (ITC)


Book Description

Psalms 42-72, many of which are closely identified with King David as person as well as figure, include some of the most intimate and forceful expressions of Israelite/Judean spirituality. The Psalms reveal many theological points along the way; some of these developed, others inchoate. The security in Zion's God which replies to the longing of 'the soul' gives way to Psalms which keenly feel the absence of God, interspersed with assertions of the Lord's ability to save, and a widening sense of the scope of salvation as being in some sense 'communal'. Mark W. Elliott examines these and other themes in Psalms 42-72. He considers historical exegesis and makes use of literary approaches to get at the sense of the text. The riches of Christian praying and preaching of the psalms provide a guide into deeper theological assertion, with Elliott keeping one eye on the covenant relationship of faith and the other on Christ as author and finisher thereof.