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Book review: Steven L. McKenzie and John Kaltner, New Meanings for Ancient Texts: Recent Approaches to Biblical Criticisms and Their Applications

Psalms theologically as the human response to the Deity, as Israel’s answer to the Lord, is certainly correct but also too exclusive or narrow a picture of the place of the Psalms in Scripture and in Israel’s faith” (p. 62). He examines Psalms 22, 25, 35, 74, and 86, among others, in chapter subsections titled “Whose Initiative in the Psalms?” “Core Testimony and Countertestimony,” “Appealing to God’s Character,” and “Between Memory and Hope.” In the end, Miller concludes that it is not sufficient to view the Psalms as humanity’s words to God, but that they must be read and understood as “divine word revelatory of the fullness of God, formulaic and confessional, revealing of who God is and of God’s way from creation to new creation” (p. 70). Chapter 6 is titled “Tender Mercies.” Here, Miller begins with a summary of the movie Tender Mercies, in which the lead female character repeatedly references God’s “tender mercies to me” (p. 71). Miller moves on to examine the theme of God’s “tender mercies” in Psalm 103—a psalm used often at funerals and weddings and other family occasions. Miller maintains that what draws the reader/hearer to Psalm 103 is “its realism about the human condition” (p. 79), and thus that “the avenue to theology is via anthropology ... all that is said about the human is in order to speak about the character and reality of God” (p. 80). He concludes that the central message of Psalm 103 and the summary statement of God’s “tender mercies” is found in v. 17: “The steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting” (p. 84). In chapter 7, Miller attempts to summarize his view of The Lord of the Psalms with a study of “The First Catechism Question and the Theology of the Psalter.” Here, he revisits the catechism question he examined in chapter 5, “What is the chief end of man?” Here, rather than looking at individual psalms, Miller offers an answer to the question based on the “whole Psalter.” He rehearses the “story of the Psalter” as espoused by those who study the book of Psalms canonically and demonstrates that the Psalter depicts the rich story of the life of ancient Israel, beginning with the reign of King David, moving through the divided kingdom and the eventual fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, the exile, and the return from exile and reestablishment of the temple in Jerusalem. The story ends in Psalms 145–150 with praise to God for God’s goodness to the people despite their unfaithfulness. Miller writes, “So it is that the Psalter ends up where the Catechism begins, with an unending chorus of praise to the Lord” (p. 94). Although The Lord of the Psalms presents very little in the way of “new scholarship” on the book of Psalms, it is an ideal read for individuals who would like to gain some insight into the way the book of Psalms presents God, for groups who would like to engage in a study of God as depicted in the psalms, or for pastors preparing series of sermons on the subject.