by Aidan Moon, 4th Year M.Div Student
In his commentary on Psalms 1-50, Dr. Timothy Saleska helps us to slow down and enjoy the beauty of these ancient words. With an enthusiasm that is infectious, he examines Biblical poetry with a careful touch, thoughtfully and attentively listening to and interpreting what they have to say and how they might comfort and guide Christians to this day.
This book is worth reading for the Introduction itself: in it he gives a guide for reading Biblical poetry, and really poetry itself. He gives a rational for poetry in the first place, something that does a rational, discursively-minded theology student some good. His thoughtful guide helps the uneducated reader to see features of a text as an invitation to interpret. For example, the “compressed grammar” of Hebrew poetry (which has to do with omitted words in the clauses) Saleska asks us to see as an invitation to wonder and interpret, drawing attention to such phrases as "war of his heart" or "sacrifices of the dead" or even "you made us drink wine staggering" to emphasize this point: these phrases can be interpreted with rich underlying meaning, and this is actually encouraged by the form in which they come.
Saleska’s winsome, thoughtful, and deeply pastoral attitude makes the rest of the book, in its reflection on each of the first fifty Psalms, a rich and even devotional experience. This book is useful for the preacher, to be sure, but it is also a rewarding and enjoyable read all on its own. Dr. Saleska, in the classroom and in his writing, helps us to see how beautiful language can capture the heart and the mind and makes reading even confusing Hebrew poetry a pleasure. This is certainly worth appreciating.
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