The Psalms, gritty and bold prayers of a people seeking to be obedient to a powerful and compassionate God, collectively illustrate what a real faith in the living God looks like. In Psalms as a Grammar for Faith: Prayer and Praise, W. H. Bellinger Jr. traces the way the Psalms exemplify and create a grammar for living a life of faith. Bellinger combines his years of study of the Psalms and his own theological sensibility to explore both the genre and shape of the Psalter. He focuses upon the themes of lament and of praise. Bellinger addresses the presence of enemies and the prayers for vengeance throughout the Psalms, concluding that these lamentations exemplify a covenant theology of prayer. He then examines the psalms of praise that teach the art of worship. Various kinds of praise in the Psalter serve as examples of adoration - proper ways to thank almighty God for the goodness of life and for the divine mystery. Finally, Bellinger explores the five divisions of the Psalms, arguing for a powerful and intentional anthology initially connected to ancient Israel's encounter with defeat and exile. Bellinger concludes that the Psalter directs readers to use the psalms of lament and praise as models for life, depending on God's justice in times of anger, singing God's praise in times of thanksgiving, and always acknowledging God as Lord over hardships and blessings. Only in this way, he argues, can humans live the faith of the Psalms - a faith defined by complete dependence on God.

The Psalter as Witness considers the complexity of the Psalms as well as their role in bearing witness to the theological claims that comprise Israel's traditions. While no single volume can readily capture the full range of the Psalter's theology, these chapters provide rich reflection on significant themes in selected psalms, in collections of psalms, and even across the structure of the Psalter itself. The result of the Baylor-Bonn symposium, The Psalter as Witness employs the full array of methodological approaches to the Psalms practiced in both Germany and North America. The Psalter as Witness thus effectively mirrors the theological, thematic, and generic intricacies of the Psalms in the myriad ways interpreters read the Psalter. The Psalms here become a window into the central, life-giving commitments of Israel in its call to justice and mercy, its practice of ethics and politics, and its worship and life with God.

Timeless. Empowering. Inspired. True. The Holy Bible is the Wordof Godfor the people of God, whose task it isto bear witness to the work of God in the world. For generations, this book has served to define the identity of the church and shape its mission. Taken together, the Old and New Testaments tell the story of a God who creates, calls, and covenants with people, a God who makes all things new. At the heart of this story is the person of Christ, the one in and through whom Christians read all Scripture. The Baylor Annotated Study Bible represents a monumental collaborative effort, bringing together nearly seventy biblical scholarsaBaylor faculty, graduates, affiliates, and friendsato refresh our view of the sacred texts. Each of the sixty-six canonical books of the ProtestantBible is given an introduction and commentary intended to immerse readers in the literary, sociohistorical, and theological depths of Scripture. In addition, the intercommunication and echoes between the biblical books are exhibitedthrough a rich assemblage of cross-references. Rounding out this indispensable study aid are a biblical timeline, glossary of terms used in the introductions and commentaries, concordance to the New Revised Standard Version translation, and full-color maps. Areliable companion for both personal and classroom study, the Baylor Annotated Study Bible follows in the long-standing mission of Baylor University: toserve as a faithful witness to the liberating, transformative good news of the gospel.Just as Baylor stands astride the realms of church and academy, so the Baylor Annotated Study Bible joins Christian conviction with scholarly rigor to provide a unique and accessible guide for all students of the Christian Scriptures and all followers of Christ. Let the tools provided herelead to an engagement with God's Word that enlightens, enriches, and encourages.

"The Study of the Old Testament Psalter has undergone great changes during the twentieth century in an effort to recover a fuller awareness of their original setting and purpose . . . Bellinger's book admirably fulfils the task of exploring the many insights of modern scholarship on the psalms in order to clarify the faith to which they bear witness. It does this by showing the real-life situations which occasioned the formulation of prayers of complaint and praise, opening up a warm sense of the humanity and faith which they nurtured. Readers will find a great richness of scholarship here set out in vigorous and exciting language to make plain that the psalter retains a powerful challenge for the present day. These psalms explore the whole range of human experience and provide a vehicle by which faith can become articulate and sharply focused, even when faced with pain and doubt. The sheer honesty of these prayers challenges contemporary complacency."--Ronald E. Clements, professor of Old Testament studies, King's College, University of London
"Bellinger has created an excellent primer for the Psalms. . . . I like his use of examples in each section and his references in each chapter to what has gone before."--Victor Matthews, professor of religious studies, Southwest Missouri State University

Timeless. Empowering. Inspired. True. The Holy Bible is the Wordof Godfor the people of God, whose task it isto bear witness to the work of God in the world. For generations, this book has served to define the identity of the church and shape its mission. Taken together, the Old and New Testaments tell the story of a God who creates, calls, and covenants with people, a God who makes all things new. At the heart of this story is the person of Christ, the one in and through whom Christians read all Scripture. The Baylor Annotated Study Bible represents a monumental collaborative effort, bringing together nearly seventy biblical scholarsaBaylor faculty, graduates, affiliates, and friendsato refresh our view of the sacred texts. Each of the sixty-six canonical books of the ProtestantBible is given an introduction and commentary intended to immerse readers in the literary, sociohistorical, and theological depths of Scripture. In addition, the intercommunication and echoes between the biblical books are exhibitedthrough a rich assemblage of cross-references. Rounding out this indispensable study aid are a biblical timeline, glossary of terms used in the introductions and commentaries, concordance to the New Revised Standard Version translation, and full-color maps. Areliable companion for both personal and classroom study, the Baylor Annotated Study Bible follows in the long-standing mission of Baylor University: toserve as a faithful witness to the liberating, transformative good news of the gospel.Just as Baylor stands astride the realms of church and academy, so the Baylor Annotated Study Bible joins Christian conviction with scholarly rigor to provide a unique and accessible guide for all students of the Christian Scriptures and all followers of Christ. Let the tools provided herelead to an engagement with God's Word that enlightens, enriches, and encourages.

This volume is the result of a symposium held at Baylor University in May of 2006, entitled "Baylor University Symposium on the Psalms." The participants were carefully selected to represent the diversity of approaches currently employed in the study of the Psalter. Although a number of volumes in print offer the reader introductory information related to the Psalter, perhaps even noting various methodological approaches, very few actually "model" the diversity of such approaches. This volume exposes readers to the variety of approaches as practiced by leading scholars in the field.