How to Read the Psalms

by Tremper Longman III

Publisher:

IVP

, 1988

Overview

The Psalms possess an enduring fascination for us. For frankness, directness, intensity, and intimacy, they are unrivaled in all of Scripture. Somehow the psalmists seem to have anticipated all our awe, desires, and frustrations. No wonder Christians have used the Psalms in worship since the earliest times. Yet the Psalms cause us difficulties when we look at them closely. Their poetry is unfamiliar in form. Many images they use are foreign to us today. And the psalmists sometimes express thoughts that seem unworthy of Scripture.

Tremper Longman helps us overcome the distance between the psalmists’ world and ours. He explains the various kinds of psalms, the way they were used in Hebrew worship, and their relationship to the rest of the Old Testament. He looks at how Christians can appropriate their messages and insights today. He explains the use of parallelism and imagery.

Step-by-step suggestions for interpreting the psalms are followed by exercises for further study and reflection. Also included is a helpful guide to commentaries on the Psalms. How to Read the Psalms is a book for all those who long to better understand these mirrors of the soul.

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Key Features

• Explains how the psalms were used in Hebrew worship
• Looks at how Christians can appropriate the psalms messages and insights today
• Helps readers overcome the distance between the psalmists’ world and ours

Contents

• The Genres of the Psalms
• The Origin, Development and Use of the Psalms
• The Psalms: The Heart of the Old Testament
• A Christian Reading of the Psalms
• The Psalms: Mirror of the Soul
• Old Testament Poetry
• Understanding Parallelism
• Imagery in the Psalms
• Psalm 98: Let All the Earth Praise God, Our Warrior
• Psalm 69: Lord, I Suffer for Your Sake
• Psalm 30: Thank You, Lord, for Healing Me!

Product Details

• Title: How to Read the Psalms
• Author: Tremper Longman
• Series: How to Read
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1988
• Pages: 166
• Christian Group: Evangelicals
• Resource Type: Monographs
• Topic: Psalms

About Tremper Longman III

Tremper Longman III is an Old Testament scholar and the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Prior to joining Westmont in 1998, Longman taught for 18 years at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He received his MDiv from Westminster and a PhD from Yale University. In addition, he is one of the main translators of the popular New Living Translation, and has served as a consultant on other popular translations of the Bible, including The Message, the New Century Version, and the Holman Standard Bible.

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