PREACHING CHRIST FROM PSALMS
Foundations for Expository Sermons in the
Christian Year
By Sidney Greidanus
Eerdmans. 595 pages. £28.99
ISBN 978 0 802 873 668
Making the transition from the Old Testament to Christ can be challenging even for able preachers, and doing so from the Psalms can be particularly daunting.
So what a privilege it is to be able to benefit from this series of masterclasses. Many who are already in debt to Sidney Greidanus will need no persuading as to the usefulness of his latest book.
This lengthy volume combines commentary (on 20 psalms) with explanatory method for moving from biblical text to expository sermon. The basis for that method is set out in an important opening chapter which covers many key issues of interpretation that the preacher needs to face so as to handle this part of Scripture correctly. He sensitises us to matters of literary form, imagery, parallelism, structure, Psalter context, God-centredness and the variety of routes leading to Christ. The succeeding chapters apply these principles to individual psalms, presenting a detailed sermon exposition preceded by the various stages of preparation required (many en readers will be familiar with the discipline of formulating ‘theme’ and ‘aim’ sentences). In each case, an associated prayer, song and even tips for reading the psalm in the congregation is offered. That the Revised Common Lectionary should drive the choice and order of the psalms covered is an unhelpful distraction which is often disavowed by Greidanus himself. That said, aside from the absence of salvation-historical psalms and those from Book III, the selection is representative of the Psalter. A more serious concern is the tendency towards speculation – e.g. ‘Psalm 29 is a protest against the worship of Baal’ (p.202); ‘Psalm 95 retraces the major stations on a pilgrimage to the temple’ (p.320).
Fostering good habits
But this book is empowering for the preacher at the level of the major interpretative tools to which it provides such ready access. Those who choose to read it from start to finish will both be edified and foster good exegetical and expository habits, growing in confidence in appropriately preaching and teaching the gospel from individual psalms. Others may prefer to benefit from the key opening chapter and then refer to the treatment of individual psalms as the need arises.
