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Title: Transformed by Praise: The Purpose and Message of the Psalms by Mark David Futato ISBN: 0-87552-190-8 Publisher: P & R Press Pub. Date: May, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)
Rating: 4
Summary: Sometimes Insightful, but Improveable Effort
Comment: Futato is a respected Old Testament scholar who has devoted a great deal of his scholarly efforts to studying the Psalms. This work is a popular level treatment that seeks to explore major themes in the psalms and how such themes impact on our lives today.
There are two strengths in particular of this book which I found quite helpful and insightful. Attempting to identify book-wide themes in the Psalms can be daunting because on the surface, the 150 psalms that make up the book of Psalms can appear disjointed and randomly presented as products of multiple authors writing in different time periods. Futato does a very good job of arguing for a continuity in the psalms that favors the view that the 150 psalms were logically sequenced and that the whole book of Psalms can be organized into 5 'sub-books'. By establishing this kind of structure, Futato succeeds in getting a handle on the entire book and approaching major themes logically within a reliable interpretive framework.
In particular, Futato's argument that psalms 1 and 2 represent an introduction of sorts to the whole book is persuasive and quite helpful. The best part of the book, in my view, was his treatment of Psalm 2 and his argument that many of the major themes of the entire book of Psalms can be found in Psalm 2, which shouldn't surprise us if Psalm 2 (and 1) constitute a book-wide introduction.
Futato also spends a good deal of time getting into Hebrew poetical styles and functions that are heavily evidenced in the psalms, and how such literary devices factor into interpretation and theme extraction. Futato, in my view, made some insightful points in this section but also at times seemed to be reaching too far in his efforts to fit the psalms into neat literary constructions for ease of interpretation.
The other weakness is that while the book does attempt to bring Christ into the picture of the psalms, it is questionable whether Futato really explores this theme sufficiently. The Psalms, like all of Scripture really, ultimately have Christ and His redemptive work as their focus. Christ can be found in the psalms not only through specific prophecies and quotes, but also through larger redemptive and eschatological themes that were not explored to as great a degree as I believe are warranted.
Lastly, the book had quite a number of grammatical mistakes in it that result too often in awkward sentences. Future editions, should there be any, need to deal with this problem.
Overall, a good effort that attempts to extract legitimate and relevant themes out of the psalms for modern day consumption, but an effort that can be improved upon.
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Title: A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms by J. Clinton, Jr. McCann, Clinton McCann ISBN: 0687414687 Publisher: Abingdon Press Pub. Date: August, 1993 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Psalms & Wisdom Literature (Exploring the Bible, 3) by Ernest C. Lucas ISBN: 0830825533 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes: An Introduction to Wisdom Literature by Derek Kidner ISBN: 0877844054 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: November, 1985 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: How to Read Proverbs by Tremper Longman ISBN: 0877849420 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: How to Read the Psalms by Tremper III Longman ISBN: 0877849412 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: June, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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