Southern Baptist Theology in the Late Twentieth Century
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 54, No. 2 – Spring 2012
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
Edited by Herbert W. Bateman IV and D. Brent Sandy. St. Louis: Chalice, 2010. 292 pages. Paperback, $34.99.
This work includes contributions from twenty scholars. Among these are Robert B. Chisholm Jr., David Dockery, Walter Kaiser Jr. and Eugene Merrill. Citing the need for the Christian community to correctly interpret, apply, and heed God’s Word in order to grow spiritually as it should, the editors have designed this book to promote the informed teaching and preaching of the Psalms.
The book consists of three major parts. Part one introduces the Psalms and offers a foundation for their interpretation and proclamation. Calling them the “greatest book of poetry and prayers ever assembled,” contributors D. Brent Sandy and Tiberius Rata describe the modus operandi of the Psalms as a reaching inward and then heavenward. Their human authors represent a wide range of life experiences and their audiences are equally diverse in their orientation. The reader will want to give careful attention to the emphasis of the aforementioned contributors concerning the recognition of a three-phased trajectory of meaning for the correct interpretation of the Psalms. This trajectory includes the contextual, canonical and typological elements. Robert Chisholm continues the introductory section by pointing to the Psalms as a “fertile seed-bed” for the preacher. His outlines of Psalms 30 and 12 offer excellent examples of a healthy interpretive process.Timothy J. Ralston completes part one by providing helpful and practical insights/tools with which to tackle the holy task of text-driven exposition of the Psalms.
Part two is the longest section of the book and focuses on the interpretation of selected Psalms within each of the five “books” of the Psalter. Readers will find J. Glen Taylor’s treatment of the introductory role of Psalms 1–2 both intriguing and insightful. Taylor suggests (48) that the reference to “law” in Psalm 1 could refer to the five-book structure of the Psalms as a whole if “one considers this structure an echoing of the five-book Torah.” Taylor’s guidance regarding how one may read the Psalter messianically is both balanced and helpful.
In this part the reader will discover a treasure of expository insights that are rooted in the native soil of the biblical text. David C. Deuel’s treatment of Psalm 19 takes the reader from “heaven’s transcendence” to “covenant immanence.” Herbert Bateman offers further fuel for the homeletical fire as he unpacks key aspects of authorial intent and poetic imagery in Psalm 46. Similar solid and meaty treatments of key Psalms from each “book” (Psalms 63, 73, 89, 110, 130) follow. Among these, this reviewer found especially challenging and edifying the chapters on Psalms 73 and 110.
Walter Kaiser deals with the conundrum of the prosperity of the wicked and the perspective of the believer. Emphasizing the twin themes of “restoring” and “restraining” grace in the Psalm, he offers a text-based outline which reflects the six strophes and rhetorical devices employed in Psalm 73.
In his survey of Psalm 110, Herbert Bateman views this royal Psalm as a source of assurance and confidence in the midst of life’s changes. Noting that our vision of this Psalm may be so blurred by the New Testament’s application to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus that we fail to appreciate the psalmist’s original social and historical context, he stresses the validity of viewing it as a psalm of assurance since it was written for a person about to transition from a Davidic heir to a Davidic king.
Part three of this book gives specific attention to the application of the Psalms. Julius Sing reflects on the variety of ways in which the Psalms are approached today for application. Using the imagery of a choir, he assumes that the Psalms are best heard “together as a choir.” He sees them mostly for “performing” as chorales and rightly asserts that they celebrate dialogue with Yahweh and not merely monologue or self-talk.
An interesting inclusion to this application section is Marion Ann Taylor’s focus on application of the Psalms by women of the nineteenth century. Acknowledging that men are the authors of most of the published works on Psalms, she magnifies the role of women as mothers, teachers, and leaders in proclaiming their timeless truths.
David Dockery’s chapter on the Psalms and their influence on Christian worship is cogent and practical, offering five key characteristics of the worship portrayed in them (234). A final chapter addresses the Psalms in the hands of preachers and teachers. Authors Brent Sandy and Kenneth Bickel acknowledge the challenge of preaching/teaching the Psalms and admirably assert the necessity of the text dictating the form or shape of the sermon. With illuminating insights from homileticians Jeffery Arthurs and Haddon Robinson, the authors offer concrete steps for gaining the correct understanding of a Psalm (216). This reviewer found particularly scintillating the word-picture associated with an MRI and its connection to Psalm 139.
The book includes a helpful classification of Psalms by categories and titles as well as extensive notes and a bibliography. These alone make the book a welcome addition to the pastor’s library.
In an atmosphere such as our present denominational climate (SBC) that, as it should, trumpets the authority and inerrancy of Scripture while at the same time often being deficient in delivering the “whole counsel of God,” this book is a needed and welcomed elixir for encouraging robust exposition from the Psalms.
