Description
Author: Mark Vincent, paper back 432 pages. Published in 2001 by The Christadelphian (CMPA).
This is not a commentary in the orthodox sense but was written to help understand the book of Psalms in an overall way. The reader is encouraged to look at the timelessness of its poetic language, to see the ways in which Israel sang the Psalms as part of its national worship and to consider the patterns of the book.
The seven sections of the book have the following headings:
- Getting to grips with Bible Poetry
- Grouping the Psalms into categories
- The organisation of the Psalter: Random collection or Divine Design?
- A look at the Imprecatory Psalms
- The Psalter in Israel's Religious Life
- The Titles of the Psalms: Mastering the Technical Terms
- Looking for Jesus Christ: Prophecies of the Messiah
In addition to the seven sections there are 10 very valuable appendices and a Scripture Index with topics.
A hard copy version is available from The Christadelphian office.
Review of the book by Geoff Henstock
It is unusual that the Psalms have not received more attention from Christadelphian writers. The Christadelphian Scripture Study Service is working on a set of books that will comprehensively cover all the Psalms. To date they have published two volumes, covering Psalms 1 to 72. Bro Cyril Tennant has published a book that covers selected Psalms. Brethren Harry Whittaker and George Booker have written a book on Hezekiah and the Songs of Degrees and Bro George has also published brief verse by verse notes on all the Psalms. In addition there are study notes on a few selected Psalms, as well as articles in many of our magazines. But considering that this is the longest book in the Bible, and that it is the Old Testament book most frequently quoted in the New Testament, it might have been expected to have attracted more attention.
Perhaps the very emotional and often highly personal nature of many of the Psalms has intimidated Christadelphian expositors. Whatever the reason, the brotherhood has been the poorer for its lack of attention to this book. A remarkable new book by Bro Mark Vincent goes a long way to addressing this deficiency.
Exploring the Psalms is written in a relaxed, conversational style. Although detailed and at times controversial expositional issues are addressed Bro Mark does so in a manner that is accessible to the average reader. The book runs to 432 pages, and some of the most technical information is consigned to appendices. Even these are presented in a relatively straightforward manner.
Exploring the Psalms does not set out to expound all 150 Psalms: it is an introduction to the book of Psalms. Perhaps its greatest strength is the way in which it demonstrates that the Psalms is not just an anthology of ancient Hebrew poetry. Bro Mark shows there is a clear and deliberate structure to the Psalms and he explains how our recognition of this adds in a synergistic way to our appreciation of each Psalm. We come to appreciate more clearly how a Psalm relates to the Psalms around it and the overall structure of the book.
One section of the book is devoted to Messianic Psalms. Bro Mark encourages us to be more bold than we might have been in the past in looking for Messianic messages in the Psalms. In support of this he demonstrates how often the New Testament quotes a Psalm and refers it to the work of Jesus where, if read in isolation, the connection to the Messiah might otherwise have been missed.
Bro Mark discusses many of the literary techniques and technical terms associated with Psalms and Hebrew poetry in general. Understanding these enhances our appreciation of the Psalms and of other poetic parts of Scripture. Some of these terms are ambiguous or subject to interpretation. Bro Mark acknowledges difficulties where they exist, often suggesting a way forward and explaining how he reached his preferred approach.
A feature of Bro Mark’s approach to these techniques and technical terms is his use of examples from the Psalms to illustrate the point. This is a great assistance to readers who are not familiar with literary criticism. In the process he brings out many profound expositional points for consideration. Reference to these is included in the Scriptural index to the book. Valuable insights are provided into well over half the Psalter through these illustrations. Bro Mark also offers a valuable section on the imprecatory Psalms. Many find the strong imprecatory language of these Psalms confronting, even alienating, and Bro Mark offers a very helpful approach that resolves the difficulties felt by some.