The Psalms: Structure, Content, and Message

by Claus Westermann (Editor)

Introduction: A Call to Praise



The Community Psalm of Lament (CL)
The Community Psalm of Narrative Praise (CP)
The Individual Psalm of Lament (IL)
The Individual Psalm of Narrative Praise (IP)
The Psalm of Descriptive Praise of Hymn (H)
Creation Psalms
Liturgical Psalms
Royal Psalms
Enthronement Psalms
Wisdom Psalms
Psalm 119
Conclusion: Psalm 90
The Psalms and Christ



Selected Bibiography

Genres: Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Old Testament

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Catherine Meijer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another installment in my case for the world needing more short and beautifully written books (especially in academic subjects). The introduction alone is worth the price of admission. Some quotes from the intro that have lived on in my brain:

“Nevertheless, something happens when we read these words today, when we learn to follow this summons to praise a God from a distant world, when we translate it from its language into our own, and when we become accustomed to the call and speak it or sing it. We then take our place in a history which has not been interrupted since that unknown person of the people of Israel first caused the call to sound forth.”

“Only those who praise do not forget. One may indeed speak about God, and still have forgotten him long ago. One may reflect upon the nature of God, and still have long since forgotten him.”

“Praise, praise with all your being the eternal God for sending fatherly goodness into your life; for somewhere and in some way your life participates in something which is in sharp contrast with human frailty: the steadfast love of the lord.”

Fun fact: a quick Wikipedia dive reveals that the author aligned with the Confessing Church of Germany during WWII (as opposed to the pro-Nazi German Christians) and began his work on the Psalms in a Russian concentration camp with only Luther's translation of the Psalms & New Testament.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my father-in-law, who is a deacon in the Episcopal church. I'm more of a New Testament guy than Old Testament, so I can't vouch that my opinion means much. I had to look up Westermann to find out how respected he is in the field, and it seems he is quite respected. I thought the book was fine for such a short book on the topic. I didn't put much effort into this book. There are dozens of references to specific psalms in this book, and I only looked up one. Perhaps when I develop more interest in the OT I will revisit this book—it is certainly worth reading more than once.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible introduction. I used to struggle with reading academic books. I found them too cerebral and wanted something which was more down to earth. Having now read more ' down to earth' commentaries I long for commentaries with a little more depth. This is one of them. And the good news is that it remain accessible even to the less academic. Westermann clearly has a passion for the book and is keen we hear the message of the author's loudly and clearly by viewing the book from the starting place of structure and content. I liked it.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. There are some good nuggets scattered through this one. Westermann looks at the Psalms through ten content genres. His notes on structure and content were probably the most useful. At times he's a little heavy on the canonical criticism and redaction theory.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but profound and not overly technical. Westermann takes a form-critical approach, yet asserts his own conclusions about about the main types of the Psalms as praise and lament. Recommended for a fast but pithy introduction to the Psalms.