Treasuring the Psalms: How to Read the Songs that Shape the Soul of the Church

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

Treasuring the Psalms: How to Read the Songs that Shape the Soul of the Church

Author:

Ian J. Vaillancourt

Publisher:

IVP Academic (an imprint of InterVarsity Press)

http://InterVarsity Press

Publication:

August 15, 2023

Length:

240 pages

OVERVIEW

Outside the gospels, a few books of the Bible are as popular as the Psalms. They are immensely inspiring and generally short—perfect for morning devotional material. However, Vaillancourt argues that we miss out on so much if we don’t consider them as a literary unit—how they work together as a collection to communicate certain themes or consider what literary devices they use to achieve their divinely inspired focus. He helps readers see the Psalms’ many layers and how studying them provides the possibility of new spiritual growth.

• Part 1: Reading the Psalms Canonically considers how the Book of Psalms is structured.
• Part 2: Reading the Psalms Christologically considers how seeing the psalmist David as a type (a foreshadowing) of Christ and how many Messianic prophecies appear in the Psalms show Christ is at the center of the book.
• Part 3: Reading the Psalms Personally and Corporately considers the three major types of Psalms (praise, lament, and thanksgiving) and how we can learn to do each posture.

The writing style proves a bit dry, making the book a challenge, but the information is quite good. Vaillancourt gives a solid explanation for why the Book of Psalms is particularly Christocentric. All books of the Bible can be read as revealing Christ, but not all of them talk about the coming Messiah as openly as these 150 poems for Israel. He also has a good sense of what ideas modern readers will easily miss and gently corrects modern misconceptions. For example, many readers may find lamenting morbid or depressing. Vaillancourt shows that the Psalms embrace lamenting while giving it a particular form, which means we can cry in tragic times. He also makes some important points about how our position as Christians who live under a new covenant changes some details—like whether we are permitted to pray for our enemies’ destruction. Most importantly, he encourages readers to study the things they are unsure about for themselves: the book is filled with links to online resources, which takes them deeper into the Psalms.

Not the easiest read, but a substantial one.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommended Audience:

Christians seeking a deeper engagement with the Psalms.

Christian Impact:

Vaillancourt explains why we should read the Psalms carefully, Christologically, as a unit and individually, and without being afraid to notice the literary elements. Some scholars emphasize the Psalms as literature to the point they downplay the Psalms being divinely inspired truth. Others emphasize the Psalms as truth without talking about literary devices, which leads to attempts to literally read every verse (God having our tears in a jar, etc.). Vaillancourt helps readers to see that they can balance those two extremes. We have permission to explore the Psalms as great literature while affirming that the Psalms are true.

http://Amazon.com