My formal study of the Psalms began with the assignment to teach the Psalms course for the undergraduate program in Haiti at Emmaus Biblical Seminary in 2007. Of all the Hebrew Bible courses I took in preparation for teaching in Haiti, somehow, I never found room to fit in a course on the Psalms. This meant that my preparation of the course would be entirely self-guided.
My PhD dissertation (which I’m expected to complete in 2015) on biblical Hebrew verse structure and linguistics is the current culmination of my formal study on the book of Psalms. It’s been quite the journey.
Because of my PhD topic, my psalms study has been pretty well focused on Hebrew verse structure and poetics—one of the less theological dimensions of the text. Even with this, I’ve been trying to read as much as humanly possible on the psalms and this means throwing myself in the world of psalms theology, which, I’m learning, is quite the animal. The Psalms as inspired scripture has carved out its own domain in the world of scriptural theology.
On my current reading list is Walter Brueggemann’s Praying the Psalms. Right out the gate, Brueggemann puts his finger on the funny thing that is the theology of the psalmist. He points out that, “God takes all important initiatives. But now I am able to see (and hear) that initiative may be taken by either party wherein the addressed party (Israel or God) is summoned to respond and ‘obey.’ Such an articulation of the transaction means that that character of God is take to be supple and open, exposed to risk and placed in jeopardy by the urgency of Israel. Such risk and jeopardy may be only momentary, after which things ‘settle’ again; in that moment, however, God is shown to be a full participant in a life of lively dialogue” (Brueggemann, 2007, Kindle Edition).
This is a fresh insight that I believe to be spot-on. God exposes Himself to the petitions of His people. This brings an angel to the relationship between God and the covenant people that needs further exploration.
Because of this, I plan on doing a blog series on the theology of the psalms. This post serves as a brief preface.