Book of the Month - March
Open and UnAfraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life
W. David O. Taylor - ISBN: 978-1-4002-1047-3 - 2020
Author:
David Taylor is a theologian, author, speaker, priest, and director of initiatives in art and faith. A professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. He has written for The Washington Post, Image Journal, Theology Today, Worship, Religion News Service, Christianity Today, and Books & Culture, among others. He lives in Austin with his wife Phaedra, a visual artist and gardener, and his daughter Blythe and son Sebastian. - taken from https://www.wdavidotaylor.com/about
Brief Synopsis:
Open and UnAfraid brings the reader to a place of understanding of the Psalms. The book works to help the reader look at Psalms through different lenses. Taylor looks for themes among the Psalms and permits us to see them in a different light. The chapter names give you insight into how the book is structured, names as honesty, communication, death, justice, or creation. This book attempts to answer the question, “ How can we find a more transparent, resilient, and fearless life of faith? Look to the Psalms.” The books of the law given by Moses came to humans as five books. For centuries, man’s answer was the five books of the Psalms. The Psalms provide insight into how to talk with God and live in an open relationship with him. Taylor takes us on that journey.
Insights:
“What the psalms offer us is a powerful aid to un-hide: to stand honestly before God without fear, to face one another vulnerably without shame, and to encounter life in the world without any of the secrets that would demean and distort our humanity” - page 2
“One of the most striking things about these lament psalms is that they include the interrogation of God. This, as it turns out, is a divinely approved form of address. Psalm 121:4 confesses that the Lord is the one who neither sleeps nor slumbers but watches over us. But in Psalm 44:23, the psalmist dares to say, “Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever” (NIV). Here, the psalmist sounds like Elijah, who taunts the priests of the god Baal: Shout louder! . . . Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened. (1 Kings 18:27 NIV) Is this the way one speaks to the Maker of heaven and earth? Is this how you talk to the Holy One? Is this how we ought to address the Sovereign God? According to the psalmist, the answer is, at times, yes.” - page 72
“The psalmists see structural injustice within society, where Christians, perhaps especially evangelicals in the West, may see only personal guilt. The psalmists see the wickedness that pervades institutions and cultures, while Christians may see only the need for the forgiveness of individual sins.
The psalmists see powerless people who are oppressed by the powerful, and so they pray for justice (Pss. 37; 82; 11); Christians see only Psalm 51 with its plea for mercy. Writes C. S. Lewis, "Christians cry to God for mercy instead of justice; they [the psalmists] cried to God for justice instead of injustice."
It isn't that mercy and justice are opposed in the Psalter; they belong together intimately and integrally. But while many Christians give justice half the attention they give to mercy, the Psalter devotes twice as much space to justice as it does to mercy. This is not because mercy matters less than justice but because a world that violates justice violates God's fundamental purposes for that world.” - page 124
Should I read it or skip it?
If you are looking for a better way to understand how to use the Psalms in your everyday life, this is your book. Taylor takes a moment to tell you what this book is not. He does not intend this book to discuss authorship or the date of writing each Psalm. He intends this book to give us a new appreciation for understanding Psalms instead of dissecting them. I chose this book for my Old Testament Students to read. I would recommend it to you too.
