The Case for the Psalms: Why They Are Essential
Prolific New Testament scholar Wright fears that the contemporary praise-song is crowding out the ancient Hebrew prayer-songs that have traditionally informed Christian liturgy and personal devotion. The Psalms constituted Jesus’ and his followers’ hymnal, he reminds us, and then proceeds in three chapters to argue their merits for those who read, recite, and sing them regularly. Such use of the Psalms allows the worshipper to appreciate and dwell in God’s time—where past and future meet in the present; in God’s space, here called Jerusalem and the Temple, both of which Christianity came to see as the whole world and the human heart; and in the midst of God’s good matter, the physical Creation. Wright advances his explanation of the Psalms’ special efficacies through generous quotations, and he uses a final chapter to tell some stories of particular psalms’ effects on his spiritual development. He also writes a context for what he quotes that is almost as graceful, if not as stunningly beautiful, as the Psalms themselves. --Ray Olson