{Book Review} How to Read and Understand the Psalms

Crossway has published “How to Read and Understand the Psalms” (2023) This book is authored by Bruce K. Waltke and Fred G. Zaspel. 

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How to Read and Understand the Psalms

This is a fantastic manual that is sure to help the title of the book become a reality. In nearly 600 pages, the authors labor to show the reader the beauty of the Psalter and how best to approach it so that it will be rightly understood and applied in the Christian life. The summary section of their chapter on “Hermeneutics” says this: “To interpret the Psalms in an accredited way, we come as believers humbly receiving God’s Word to us and prayerfully seeking enlightenment from him. We read thoroughly, applying every intellectual and academic resource to determine the meaning of the authors within the Psalter itself and within the larger biblical canon. We remain aware of the Psalms’ orientation to the Davidic king and, in turn, their anticipation of Christ. And with that approach we trust God to give us understanding.”

How to Read and Understand the Psalms is arranged in 15 chapters: 

1. Introduction to the Psalms 
2. Hermeneutics: Interpreting the Psalms as Believers
3. The Historical Setting of the Psalms
4. The Royal Orientation of the Psalms
5. The Liturgical Setting of the Psalms
6. Hebrew Poetry
7. Form Criticism and Psalm Forms
8. Praise Psalms
9. Petition-Lament Psalms
10. Individual Songs of Grateful Praise
11. Songs of Trust
12. Messianic Psalms 
13. Didactic Psalms
14. Rhetorical Devices and Structures
15. The Final Arrangement of the Psalter 

This book is very unique! At times, it felt like a commentary. At other times, it felt like a hermeneutics book or a Bible handbook. Yet at other times, it felt like I was listening to a sermon on the Psalms. It combines all of these things and more into one book, making it a very handy tool. 

The Psalms are such a precious part of the Christian Scriptures. Why not grow in your understanding of how to read and understand them? I highly commend this to you. Tolle lege, take up and read! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Crossway for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.