How to Read the Psalms, 2nd ed.
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The Psalms have been well-loved and frequently used by Christians throughout history. For directness, intensity, and intimacy, they are unrivaled in all of Scripture. Somehow the psalmists seem to have anticipated our own awe, desires, and frustrations.
Yet the Psalms also challenge us when we look at them closely. Their poetry is unfamiliar in form. Many images used are foreign to us today. And the psalmists sometimes express troubling thoughts that seem hard to reconcile with other teachings of Scripture.
In this volume of the popular How to Read Series, Tremper Longman III gives us the kind of help we need to overcome the distance between the psalmists’ world and ours. He explains the various genres of psalms, the way they were used in Hebrew worship, their relationship to the rest of the Old Testament, and the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. Then he looks at how Christians can appropriate the message and insights of Psalms today.
Step-by-step suggestions for interpretating the psalms on our own are followed by exercises for further study and reflection, plus a helpful guide to commentaries on the Psalms. This second edition includes expanded content, updated sources, and a new appendix on the structure of the book of Psalms.
- Explains the various genres of psalms, the way they were used in Hebrew worship, their relationship to the rest of the Old Testament, and the characteristics of Hebrew poetry
- Features exercises for further study and reflection
- Provides suggestions for interpretating the Psalms
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Introduction: An Invitation to the Psalms
- 1. The Genres of the Psalms
- 2. The Origin, Development, and Use of the Psalms
- 3. The Psalms: The Heart of the Old Testament
- 4. A Christian Reading of the Psalms
- 5. The Psalms: Mirror of the Soul
- 6. Old Testament Poetry
- 7. Understanding Parallelism
- 8. Imagery in the Psalms
- 9. Psalm 98: Let All the Earth Praise God, Our Warrior
- 10. Psalm 69: Lord, I Suffer for Your Sake
- 11. Psalm 30: Thank You, Lord, for Healing Me!
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Is There a Meaningful Order to the Psalms?
- Notes
- Answers to the Exercises
- Guide to Commentaries
- General Index
- Scripture Index
Part One: The Psalms Then and Now
Part Two: The Art of the Psalms
Part Three: A Melody of Psalms
With this second edition, Tremper Longman III has placed us all in his debt. With theological and literary sensitivity, and drawing on his wide research on Psalms, he introduces readers to the main issues needed to read Psalms well and the resources that can enable their further reading. A foundational work, this deserves to be read widely.
—David Firth, tutor in Old Testament at Trinity College, Bristol
There is no better guide to reading and understanding the biblical Psalms than Tremper Longman. Bringing decades of his expertise to a new culmination in this second edition of How to Read the Psalms, Longman's work continues to be the go-to resource for students, pastors, and all who want to seriously engage the heart of the Old Testament and its anticipation of Jesus Christ.
—Karen Jobes, Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor Emerita of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at Wheaton College
Longman has a unique gift to make complex biblical ideas clear and understandable. In this introduction to the Psalms, he writes with a scholar's experience and wisdom, and with a pastor's ability to connect Scripture to everyday life and practice. I will continue to use Longman's book not only as a textbook in my courses but also as a resource to help me understand and appreciate the Psalms.
—David T. Lamb, Allan A. MacRae Professor of Old Testament and dean of the faculty at Missio Seminary
- Title: How to Read the Psalms, 2nd ed.
- Author: Tremper Longman III
- Series: How to Read
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2025
- Pages: 168
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Resource ID: LLS:HWRDPSLMS2NDD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-10T17:44:01Z
Tremper Longman III serves as Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. He has written over 35 books, including commentaries on Genesis, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Daniel, Nahum, and Revelation. His books have been translated into 18 different languages. In addition, as a Hebrew scholar, he is one of the main translators of the popular New Living Translation, and has served as a consultant on other popular Bible translations, including The Message, the New Century Version, the Christian Standard Bible, and the Common Bible. He has also edited and contributed to a number of study Bibles and Bible dictionaries, most recently The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
He earned his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University, his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary, and both his MPhil and PhD from Yale University. Dr. Longman and his wife, Alice, have three sons and eight grandchildren.