This afternoon, while perusing articles and reviews I’ve written over the last few years, I stumbled upon this short review I did for Logos/Faithlife, the Bible software people. I reviewed the book at their request, but never knew when, where, or if they published it. Though written 8 years ago, I am posting my review because the book is a great resource for Christian pastors, teachers and worship leaders particularly, and for any Christian longing for a deeper sense of worship.

The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary

Bruce K. Waltke and James M. Houston with Erika Moore

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010

ISBN: 978-0-8028-6374-4

Weary of Sunday worship-lite, but not sure what to do about it? Through careful exegesis and awareness of the Church’s historical understanding and use of the Psalms, the authors counter the current “confessional reductionism” that obscures two thousand years of Christian devotion and worship in its use of the Book of Psalms.

Waltke and Houston believe:

Modern psychology and praise songs have replaced the holistic study and singing of the Psalms for nurturing the spiritual life and for enriching the church’s worship.

A respected scholar of church history and spirituality, Houston says Christians today need reminding that God’s voice, heard in the Psalms, formed the life and practice of believers through the centuries. Too many contemporary Christians have lost touch with this rich heritage.

Waltke, a venerable professor of Old Testament, with more than fifty years of teaching and preaching the Psalms, believes the church must return to an “accredited exegesis” of the Psalms to properly understand and apply its ancient message today. He calls for a “grammatico-historical” hermeneutic informed by judicious use of “form-critical, rhetorical-critical, and cult-functional approaches.” Simply put, Waltke returns to Calvin’s “plain sense of the text approach, appropriately enriched by these new disciplines.”

Section 1: Survey of History of Interpretation of the Book of Psalms

Chapter one surveys how various strands of Judaism understood and used the Psalms during the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). Significant attention is given to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran community.

Chapters two and three explore Psalter interpretation and use from the Church Fathers, through the major movements of church history, culminating with current approaches to the Psalms. All the major personalities and movements are outlined.

Section 2: Commentary on Selected Psalms

Through extended commentary on thirteen selected Psalms, readers are invited to hear God’s voice – “infallibly in Scripture and edifyingly in the church’s response.”

Waltke follows a four-step process with each Psalm examined:

Voice of the Church : a historical survey of interpretation.

: a historical survey of interpretation. Voice of the Psalmist : a fresh translation of the Psalm.

: a fresh translation of the Psalm. Commentary : an extended exegetical study.

: an extended exegetical study. Conclusion: how the Psalm informs our lives today.

This book is accessible to any serious Bible student and provides a roadmap for restoring the Psalms to their rightful place in the worship life of the church.

There is an excellent glossary for technical terms and concepts, along with author, subject and scripture indices.