Summary
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The article, “How (and How Not) to Read the Psalms,” critiques the common “hunt and find” approach, which provides “little consideration to historical context” and “likely misses the psalmist’s own purpose.” Instead, readers “must read the Psalms thoughtfully.” Poetry “is not made for speed reading,” but requires “thoughtful consideration.” “The meaning is expressed in few words” and “parallelism is another.” Readers must “notice the identity of the ‘I’ who speaks,” as “pervasively, it is the king who is in view.” “We will often miss the point if we too quickly personalize the Psalms and overlook the fact that, by and large, they concern the king.” Moreover, “read in context,” seeing them as “anticipation of David’s greater son and King, the Messiah,” and “with another eye to the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Its devotional value [will be] still more deeply rich.”