Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
Pages: 224
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-9787-0633-0 • Hardback • June 2019 • $117.00 • (£90.00)
978-1-9787-0634-7 • eBook • June 2019 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Robert L. Foster is lecturer in religion and New Testament at the University of Georgia.
Introduction: The God of the Psalter
1. “O LORD, Rescue Me” (Psalms 1-41)
2. “Put Your Hope in God” (Psalms 42-72)
3. “How Long, O LORD?” (Psalms 73-89)
4. “Sing to the LORD a New Song” (Psalms 90-106)
5. “Praise the LORD” (Psalms 107-150)
6. The Imitation of God
Foster's monograph offers an engaging, thoughtful meditation on God's presence in the psalms and is a welcome addition to the literature on the psalms, one that makes a needed contribution to our understanding of the many ways in which the psalmists understood God.
— Horizons In Biblical Theology
This book is indeed an introduction to the theology of the book of Psalms. Foster’s careful examination of the individual psalms and their understandings of God lays a solid foundation for future work that will draw some of his observations together in more constructive ways. For those working within faith contexts, his concluding suggestions for teaching the Psalter’s ethics provide a helpful springboard for pedagogical innovation. Foster’s hope that his observations will ‘invite further exploration of the Book of Psalms around these ideas" will likely be realized (p. 177).
— The Journal of Theological Studies
The Book of Psalms has always attracted a lot of attention from both scholarly and general audiences. This book is an interesting example of a work that successfully reaches both audiences. Although it is written from the perspective of a believing Christian, it is informed by contemporary Psalms scholarship. At the same time it is accessible to anyone who is biblically literate. The book’s focus is on the images of God found in the Psalter. It is not a commentary but an exercise in biblical theology that examines each of the Psalter’s five books. Its approach is a welcome change from that of a standard commentary.
— The Bible Today
Building on the work of genre analysis and canonical study, Robert Foster offers a welcome theological study of the book of Psalms, being single-minded about the character of God through the songs and prayers of Israel. Foster walks us through the five “books” of the Psalter and is able to identify distinct theological accents in each “book”. He finishes with a compelling summary of theological vocabulary (fully aware of the pluralism in the articulation of God), and offers fresh pedagogical guidelines for appropriation of the Psalter. This is a quite distinctive study that merits broad use.— Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
Robert Foster is dedicated to a canonical reading of the Psalter. Skipping individual headlines of the psalms he sets out with great care, deep enthusiasm, and wise oversight to rediscover the variety of faith-experiences and concepts of God in the five “books” of proclamation and petition. Indeed, theological diversity for the author himself and his readers is one of the great assets of studying the Psalter. Other highly recommendable features of Foster’s book are his illuminating references to Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of or analogies to Hebrew belief and his musings about the enduring ethical depth of psalmic teachings.— Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Marburg University, emeritus
How astonishing that there aren't many books on God in the Psalms. I think it's because we are more interested in ourselves than in God, and the nature of the Psalms gives us the chance to focus on the people like us who might pray them. But how important to discover the God of the Psalms. Because it is, after all, God to whom people are responding in the Psalms, and God whom they are reaching out to. When I was asked to commend this book, I thought, 'Oh no, not another book on the Psalms.' But what a fine one this is, as it works through the Psalms and helps the reader to discover what is in them. — John Goldingay, Fuller Theological Seminary
Drawing upon the full array of scholarly perspectives and approaches, Robert Foster offers a new and fascinating reading of the Psalter. Referring regularly to the psalmist as “the preacher,” he interprets the Psalms in canonical order as an extended sermon that highlights the diverse ways that God is portrayed. His ultimate and much-needed goal is to invite and facilitate a theological and ethical appropriation of the Psalms, and he succeeds admirably.— J. Clinton McCann, Jr., Eden Theological Seminary
It’s the biggest question in “the little Bible.” Who is God? In search of the answer, Foster takes us on a theological walking tour through the five books of the Psalter. Along the way, we hear prayers and proclamations, affirmations and arguments. We hear the psalmists arguing with each other about God’s character, God’s action, God’s inaction. And of course, we hear the psalmists arguing with God. Ultimately, Foster wants us to hear how the theology of the Psalms can shape our own communities, teaching us how to pray and how to act. This volume is a welcome and important contribution to the ongoing conversation about the theology of the Psalms. — Joel LeMon, Emory University