Men with Chests

A renowned author approaches the Old Testament book of Psalms with humility. Lewis himself describes his knowledge and approach as “amateur.” However, one should not understand this to mean that he is unlearned on the subject. It is clear that he has great insight into the Psalter. He writes for the student, although it quickly becomes obvious that his thoughts would be beneficial to anyone. For the layman and aspiring scholar, they are wonderful groundwork to cause them to think outside their normal process. While for the advanced scholar and pastor, they are great reminders of things that they likely have already learned and yet may have forgotten.

Lewis suggests that Christians often take the Psalms for granted and read their worldview into the scripture. Thus, he spends the majority of his time discussing the background to the major types of Psalms. It is through this effort that one is expected to regain the Old Testament “Jewishness” of the Psalms.

There are several subjects that he relates quite well:

The Imprecatory Psalms. These Psalms are full of requests for God to bring defeat, or even death to the psalmist’s adversary. He explains the anger and rage of the psalmist not as “good and pious,” but as ultimately “a reminder” that the world is full of “wickedness” and that wickedness is “hateful to God.” He in no way condemns the Psalmists.

Delight in the Law. What does it mean to delight in the Law of the Lord? Lewis wrangles with this issue as well. He explains that “delight” can be better understood as exhilaration. Yet he struggles with the idea himself. When one compares Judaism to the Paganism surrounding Old Testament Israel it is easy to see how God’s Law is so much greater. His best effort to relate this delight is a comparison of God’s Law to “clean air” after being stuck in a dungeon.

Life after death. Lewis explains that Old Testament Jews did not really have any sort of (defined) belief in Heaven, or Hell. At least not in any fashion that would be noticeable by a New Testament believer. His conclusion is that the place in the heart of the Christian that is filled with the hope of eternity, was in their hearts filled with the “hope of peace and plenty on earth.”

As mentioned above the strengths of Lewis’ work, is in his ability to help one think “outside the box.” He tries hard to strip away the 20th Century thinking and bring the reader back to the basics. The overall benefits of reading this work are worthwhile, however there things that one should beware of.

Areas to watch for:

To put it simply, the biggest struggle is found in Lewis’ hermeneutics. This comes to the surface when he relates the Psalms to other scripture (Chapter 10). This thought runs throughout the entire chapter in many fashions. At one point, he relates his view that Job is not historical, but just a story written to teach a lesson. He also believes that chronological scripture is not wholly accurate. He allows for the idea that scripture was developed over time, in some cases. Finally, he seems to indicate that the Old Testament contains God’s word and the reader must struggle to locate what is God’s word and what is not.

There are many other quibbles that can be had with Lewis. These focus around his Anglican background. They appear to more minor and affect the surrounding concepts very little, if at all. One of these is his belief in Purgatory, which he references several times and even gives the impression that Akhenaten and others may have benefited from it. Another area is his belief in the Eucharist and other sacraments. The final issue one will encounter is his willingness to accept, in at least some fashion, the concept of evolution.

Lewis was a great man of God. While there are several issues that appear in this book, one must remember the old adage … where there are three Baptists there are five opinions. Lewis covers many issues and does so masterfully. It must be realized that with a range so wide it would be impossible to make everyone happy. These struggles aside, Reflections on The Psalms is a wonderful work that will be enjoyed and should be read more than once. God gave Lewis an amazing mind and he uses it here our benefit.

Buy this book now from Amazon: Reflections on the Psalms (Harvest Book)