From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms

by Walter Brueggemann, Brent A. Strawn (Editor)

The Psalms express the most elemental human emotions, representing situations in which people are most vulnerable, ecstatic, or driven to the extremities of life and faith. Many people may be familiar with a few Psalms, or sing them as part of worship. Here highly respected author Walter Brueggemann offers readers an additional use for the Psalms: as scripted prayers we perform to help us reveal ourselves to God.

Brueggemann explores the rich historical, literary, theological, and spiritual content of the Psalms while focusing on various themes such as praise, lament, violence, and wisdom. He skillfully describes Israel's expression of faith as sung through the Psalms, situates the Psalmic liturgical tradition in its ancient context, and encourages contemporary readers to continue to perform them as part of their own worship experiences. Brueggemann's masterful take on the Psalms as prayers will help readers to unveil their hopes and fears before God and, in turn, feel God's grace unveiled to them.

Genres: Christian, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology

222 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2014

About the author

Walter Brueggemann was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociopolitical imagination of the Church. He argued that the Church must provide a counter-narrative to the dominant forces of consumerism, militarism, and nationalism.

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just read Brueggeman's Cambridge commentary on Psalms along with two other works of his on the Psalms, did I really want to read his new introduction to Psalms? Yes, absolutely. That's how good anything Brueggeman writes on the Psalms is: you're compelled to read it just to spend more time considering the Psalms with him.

After providing the general sketches of an introduction Brueggeman introduces you to the Psalms by bringing you into their world, considering various types of Psalms through actual exegesis of certain Psalms. Brueggeman explores the relationship between Canaanite expressions and how Israel puts them to use in their own praise, the types of praises Israel gives, enthronement, YHWH and chaos, Jerusalem, lament, imprecations, ordering of Creation, wisdom psalms, memory, thanks, and special treatment of Psalms 22, 23, 51, and 73. The book ends with an appendix where Breuggeman lays out his "typology of function" based on Ricoeur, seeing Psalms in terms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation, along with different critical approaches to the world in various Psalms, familiar if you have read similar such treatments yet appreciated in this current form. An extensive bibliography is also provided.

Well worth exploring when desiring to dig more deeply into the Psalms.

**--galley received as part of early review program

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brueggeman gets 5 stars based on his vocabulary alone. I think I understood about three words in the book and they were all articles. this gives me the impression that it is a Really Great Book and perhaps in the fullness of time I may comprehend it.

[Margie Dorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brueggemann has become one of my favorite theologians, and this book is really well done. He manages to combine deep scholarship and erudition with a writing style that (unlike some others) does not come across as omniscient and dismissive of other possibilities. And best of all, his tone is so pastoral and full of enlightenment, that I come away from this study of Psalms feeling completely refreshed. He shows the Psalms as necessary in totality for processing of life in the world, from those psalms that show the complacency of a comfortable and perhaps a bit naive status quo, to the psalms of lament and anger that focus on an "I" whose complacence has been totally disrupted, bringing forth a bald honesty in the face of YHWH, to a new being that, having been healed, focuses on YHWH and the healing and restoration and building up of the "we" of community. And there is so much more. I highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An academic read, but well worth the effort. I highly recommend this short book!
A collection of Brueggeman’s writings on the Psalms, where he encourages us to expand or personal—and more importantly corporate—reading of psalms. The Psalms express the whole range of emotions and counter many of our western societal unchallenged assumptions.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A meditation on different Psalms and the purposes they served for people in past days as well as people of our day.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a light read. Very informative about the Psalms. So much information that was new to me that I read it twice.so glad I did.

[Graydon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely insightful, although somewhat dense and technical at times.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Deep and insightful probe into the Psalms written in the style for which Brueggemann is known and respected.