Great new book
December 14, 2010
I am not an exclusive psalmodist, since I also believe that, in addition to the 150 (or 151 if you are Eastern Orthodox) it is legitimate to sing `A Mighty Fortress' and perhaps `A Debtor to Mercy Alone' in public worship; but I would be quite happy never to sing anything other than psalms, and certainly wish the church sang a whole lot more of them than she does. Why settle for mince and onions when you can have filet mignon?
That is why it is great to flag up Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms by Michael Lefebvre, which has just been released by Christian Focus. The Rev. Lefebvre writes as an exclusive pslamodist who yet appreciates the beauty of hymnody; and the book is not an argument for EP, nor is it couched in the familiar `if you are not an EP, you are committing damnable idolatry' rhetoric, which is guaranteed to turn off non-EP readers on page 1 of most books about singing psalms (Rowland Ward's little book on the subject being an honorable exception). Rather, the author makes the case, from history and the Bible itself, that psalm singing should be central to the church's praise.
A brief book, which sets out to answer Bonhoeffer's question as to how, when, and why the book of Psalms changed from a book of praise directed to God to a book of words directed from God to men and women. Well worth purchasing, reading, and meditating upon.
That is why it is great to flag up Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms by Michael Lefebvre, which has just been released by Christian Focus. The Rev. Lefebvre writes as an exclusive pslamodist who yet appreciates the beauty of hymnody; and the book is not an argument for EP, nor is it couched in the familiar `if you are not an EP, you are committing damnable idolatry' rhetoric, which is guaranteed to turn off non-EP readers on page 1 of most books about singing psalms (Rowland Ward's little book on the subject being an honorable exception). Rather, the author makes the case, from history and the Bible itself, that psalm singing should be central to the church's praise.
A brief book, which sets out to answer Bonhoeffer's question as to how, when, and why the book of Psalms changed from a book of praise directed to God to a book of words directed from God to men and women. Well worth purchasing, reading, and meditating upon.
