The Psalms as Christian: An Historical Commentary

Bruce Waltke and James Houston’s three-volume series—The Psalms as Christian Worship, The Psalms as Christian Lament, and The Psalms as Christian Praise—is one of the most ambitious attempts to integrate historical exegesis of the Psalms with their interpretation and use throughout the Christian tradition. Waltke brings substantial expertise in Hebrew, poetry, literary structure and ancient context, while Houston traces how the selected psalms have been read, prayed and preached from the early church through later Christian history. The combination is particularly fruitful because historical meaning and Christian appropriation are neither simply collapsed into one another nor kept artificially separate. The volumes are especially strong on the theological significance of worship, lament, praise, kingship and messianic interpretation, and often contain insights unavailable in conventional commentaries. At times the Christian and messianic trajectories are pursued with more confidence than every reader will find exegetically demonstrable, and the selective coverage means these books cannot replace a complete commentary on the Psalter. As a complement to such a commentary, however, the trilogy is exceptionally rich, bringing together exegesis, reception history, theology and spirituality in a way few works on the Psalms attempt.

Waltke, Houston, and Moore examine selected psalms through the lens of their history of interpretation. The Worship focuses on thirteen psalms that represent various genres and perspectives or hold special significance for Christian faith and the life of the church, including Psalms 1, 23, 51, and 139.The Lament volume covers ten lament/penitential psalms (5, 6, 7, 32, 38, 39, 44, 102, 130, and 143). And the Praise volume covers book IV of the psalter (psalms 90–106). The authors’ exegesis is erudite, original, canonical and Christ exalting. [Full Review]