Review: How to Read the Psalms

How to Read the Psalms by Tremper Longman III
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While this book may have gotten a 4 or 5 star review score in the stone age era of 1988 (the book was published the same year I was born), today's digital age takes away much of its shine. A new edition would be welcome for several reasons.

Firstly, Longman III could update the quotes/interactions with and bibliography/recommendations with more recent commentaries/scholarship (not too difficult with reference to his 2013 Commentary Survey). It would be immensely useful to update the 30-year-old illustrations/explanations/analogies.

Secondly, although I found Longman III's how to read Genesis (also published by IVP) exceptional, Genesis' genre being a narrative allowed it to be taught through the medium of a book. But because the Psalms is poetry, it is arguably an art more than a science. A video or audio lesson about understanding, interpreting and preaching the Psalms is likely to result in better comprehension for the student. Longman III's text-based approach (without any graphics or diagrams) to explain synonymous or antithetical parallelism was a great challenge for me to understand, even though I have attended a two-week undergrad class in seminary on Wisdom Literature. I'd imagine other lay readers would struggle even more.

Thirdly, although in the preface Longman III indicated his intention to "make the book readable for the college student while still providing enough substance to make it appropriate for a seminary course on Psalms," the brevity of this title severely affects its depth and comprehensibility. I would argue that he misses the mark on the latter.

As one of the premier OT scholars, I hope that IVP work with Longman III on releasing an updated version to serve today's readers.

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Review: Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer

Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This title provides for a refreshing, enriching and encouraging read. Sanders writes brilliantly - with clarity, insight and wisdom from being an elder statesman of theology. My guess is that it is a condensation of a lifetime of work - given the broad scope of topics and range of aptly chosen quotations from notable theologians sprinkled generously across the title (adding a welcome dose of added comprehension and intelligibility to oft theoretical propositions).

This is a masterpiece and wonderful labour of love - meticulously arranged and concise enough for readers to devour chapters at a time. Be careful not to rush though, as the material provides plenty of reflective opportunities. I especially appreciated the fine balance between brevity and depth - no extra ink was split in establishing the substantives of each chapter. Only in very rare segments of the book did I feel that more elaboration or illustrations would be rehired.

While I did not read the earlier editions of this title (and therefore cannot comment on the utility of editorial changes made), I found that the content highly comprehensible. I also note the effort (and added cost) to add a whiff of blue colour to the book. The contrast provided by the blue headings broke the monotony of otherwise black walls of text - I hope that more publishers would invest in such (seemingly) minor yet effective formatting decision. The unique texture of the book’s cover is another nice touch - adding an element of durability and quality to a book that would invariably be lent to others.

I heartily recommend this title to all Christians (not just leaders) and give it the 6 stars it utterly deserves.

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Review: Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion?

Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? by Bruce K. Waltke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As much as I hate to admit it, I am unable to shake off my charismatic roots and inclinations in relating to God. I, however, am rock solid in my conviction that Scripture has to be studied, taught and preached in context; exegesis is the only responsible method of conveying the Word of God - I can accept no compromises in this area. I am therefore caught in the middle of two seemingly contrasting traditions that advocate contradictory methods in seeking God's will.

Waltke's theological positioning is watertight and bases his substantives on a deep reverence and faithfulness to Holy Scripture. He starts off by explaining and cautioning against many wrong methods of ascertaining God's will that Christians, modern and ancient alike, are guilty of. He then lays out an easy to follow and convincing argument on the primacy of the studying/Scripture in understanding God's will.

I was anxious, confused and unable to discern about a major life decision (choice of career), having read this book again in 2019 (last time I leafed through it in 2015), I experience God's peace and a more informed seeking and decision-making process. I heartily recommend this book and hope that you too would be thoroughly encouraged, blessed and get pointed in the right direction!

Another good book on the topic (though not as good as this) would be Kevin's Deyoung's Just do something.

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