Book Review, Michael Paddy May 11, 2008

Michael Paddy
Old Testament Orientation II
Professor B.K. Lester, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Old Testament
May 11, 2008

Reflections on the Psalms

The Celebrated Musings on One of the Most Intriguing Books of the Bible
C.S. Lewis
Introduction

C.S. Lewis has always been an enigma to me. From the moment I picked up one of his books early in my
Christian life, The Screwtape Letters, 1 I have been confused and bewildered by the fascination of so
many people to him and his writings. I chose this book on a dare from my accountability group because
they knew that I would stumble through the reading having to intentionally try to understand the man
as well as the content of his writing. I believe that to appreciate, understand and bring clarity to reading
a book one needs to understand the author. I will share my thoughts on this in my conclusion.

Summary of the Book

“This is not a work of scholarship...I write for the unlearned about things in which I am unlearned
myself.”2 “I write…talking about difficulties I have met…lights I have gained...with the hope that this
might at any rate interest, and sometimes even help, other inexpert readers.” 3

These quotes from the introduction set forth the initial idea Lewis had in writing down his thoughts on a
chosen selection of the Psalms. But what one finds in reading his book is anything but general or simple
but as the subtitle aptly says, “musings” which can be defined as ruminations, or thoughtful reflections. 4

He tries to say that they are not a collection of essays he has written but rather Psalms he has been
“driven” to not by what he liked but in some cases by what challenged him as well. 5 I found it to be
selections of thoughts on subjects or themes that probably challenged the man Lewis, in his long
spiritual search and journey.

Like most of his books he tends to think out loud writing with a style that is more conversational than
written. His propensity to the use of interjections in the middle of a thought, “”The Psalms were written

1
The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis, Copyright restored by C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd., 1996, Harper Collins Books
2
Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis, page 1, Harcourt Books, Copyright Arthur Owen Barfield, 1986
3
C.S. Lewis, p.2
4
www.wordreference.com, Adapted From: WordNet 2.0. Copyright by Princeton University. All rights reserved
5
C.S. Lewis, p.2
 Book Review, Michael Paddy May 11, 2008

by many poets and at many different dates. Some, I believe, are allowed to go back to the reign of
David; I think certain scholars allow that Psalm 18, (0f which a slightly different version occurs in 1
Samuel 22) might be by David himself.”6, at times seemed distracting and made reading difficult for me.
But I found myself eventually settling down as I read as if I was having a long conversation with Lewis on
the topics he chose to speak on in connection with the Psalms. (I actually imagined Lewis’ voice to be
that of Anthony Hopkins' as I read, because of the actor’s role playing Lewis in The Shadowlands 7).

His introduction finishes with his discussion and explanation of literary types such as parallelism,
translation, using four main sources for checking word(s) meaning 8, finally closing with a deprecating
comment on himself and critics of his work. 9

This book of musings is broken down first in a collection of chapters dealing with specific themes that
seemed to intrigue Lewis; some even challenging his and others preconceived thoughts on the subjects
mentioned like judgment, cursings and death. He wonders aloud the reason behind these subjects and
themes in a book of rejoicing and praise. 10

He then moves onto topics that are light and poetic as he says: “What must be said, however, is that the
Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung: not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons.” 11 He
sets forth his ideas and in two chapters offers what he calls “Second Meanings” where he tries to
interject other thoughts held on the subjects at hand to take a deeper look at critical thought concerning
the subjects.12

I found the book to be difficult to read at times because of what I mentioned earlier. I am sure there are
many who find Lewis’ writings “pivotal” to the deep Christian thinker. 13 And the significant impact the
last thirty years of his life’s work has had on the “general reading public” 14 I only came to appreciate
what I read after looking at comparative books to examine the similes and differences as required by the
course.

6
C.S. Lewis p.2
7
The Shadowlands, 1993, Produced by Richard Attenborough and Brian Eastman, A Warner Brothers Production
8
C. S Lewis pp. 4-7
9
C.S. Lewis pp. 7, 8
10
C.S Lewis p.9
11
C.S Lewis p.2
12
C.S. Lewis pp. 99-108; 120-138
13
C.S. Lewis, Back Cover, quote from Jan Karon, (no information on person)
14
C.S. Lewis Back Cover, quoted from The Times Literary Supplement (London)
 Book Review, Michael Paddy May 11, 2008

Other Writings of Similar Genre

Pulling three books from my own library on the subject of the Psalms in comparing style, content,
substance and teaching, I was surprised to see many similarities when I thought I would see more
contrasts in representing the Book of Psalms to the reader.

Starting with my favorite expositor of the Psalms, Derek Kidner and his work, Psalms, An Introduction &
Commentary,15 I was surprised to revisit these two volumes to see that Kidner starts off in his
introduction with the subject of Hebrew Poetry. 16

His expanded thoughts were on the Old Testament in general but the idea was that the Psalms must be
looked at in its literary style of poetry to be understood and interpreted correctly. 17 Much like Lewis he
infers that reading the Psalms must first be read in this literary genre and context.

The differences in writing style is obvious to the reader in that Lewis as stated tended to be musing,
thinking out loud, while Kidner’s style is well formatted with ideas, thoughts and comments laid out with
more examples and more contributed notes, texts, authors, and examples from the Psalms itself.

Where Lewis used a collection of thoughts or anthological abbreviated style of looking at just a few
Psalms, Kidner sets forth in his Introduction a more complete reference for the reader to go back to as
they work their way through the entire book of the Psalms.

Style of writing and intended purpose of the books differ but should in no way give credence to one
being more better, or more correct. What it shows are that both, though different in style, content, and
purpose; can be used to enlighten one in understanding the Psalms.

A second book chosen to interact with in this study was written by a more popular, contemporary
Christian writer, Charles Swindoll. His two volumes, “Living Beyond the Daily Grind”, 18 are more in line
with Lewis as the subtitle of Swindoll’s book is “Reflections on the Songs and Sayings in Scripture”. Not
limiting himself to the Psalms, Swindoll breaks down his two volumes using an A B style in both volumes.
He selects a collection of Psalms and a collection of Proverbs giving devotional thoughts to each.

Swindoll’s books has an introduction to lay out his purpose in writing, “The right combination of words,
melody and rhythm seldom to work like magic…the pressures and demands folks like us are forced to
cope with…we could use a little magic.”19

Immediately Swindoll uses the literary style of the Psalms as a focal point in bringing clarity to one’s life
and especially the “daily grind” that accompanies it using what he calls “the magic of song”. 20 The very
first distinction in this volume(s) and Lewis’ is that where Lewis says his book is for the unlearned and in
15
Psalms, Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, D.J. Wiseman, Editor, Intervarsity Press, 1973
16
Derek Kidner p.1
17
Derek Kidner, p.1 ff.
18
Living Beyond the Daily Grind, Charles R. Swindoll, Copyright 1988 by Charles R. Swindoll, Word Publishers
19
Charles R. Swindoll, p. ix, Introduction
20
Charles R. Swindoll, pp. vii-xi, Introduction
 Book Review, Michael Paddy May 11, 2008

my estimation fails at points to meet that expectation, Swindoll’s volumes are laid out in a simple
format, (made to be read in a devotional way, one per week for a year), and using simple language and
very strong application to the reader.

Chuck Swindoll is known for his folksy, applicable, down-home, easy reading style. 21 His volumes are far
from deep and rarely touch on any issue that is controversial or critical in thought or interpretation. His
also could be considered musings, and are probably based on sermon series preached by him and later
written in a more readable format. Definitely an easy read, Swindoll does challenge the reader to
explore the Psalms for personal growth and application in a contemporary culture.

Lastly I chose Philip Yancey’s volume, “The Bible Jesus Read” 22 I literally laughed out loud when I reread
Yancey’s preface to the book where he apologizes for not being too deep, thorough and /or critical of
the books he writes about.23
Like Lewis he tries to make sure that the reader understands that writing a book does not make one an
expert, rather someone on a similar journey exploring a subject interested by many. Yancey is probably
more like Lewis in his attempt to discover the hard things written and how they have affected his
thoughts and actions in life rather than to give a generalized overview of the entire book with things
that might interest many.24

On his chapter on the Psalms he quotes John S. Mogabgab stating that “there is untidiness, a
turbulence, an undertow of mystery in these ancient prayers.” 25 He then begins his own musings of the
Psalms and like Lewis personalizes his work using anecdotes from his own experience to reinforce the
feelings that the Psalms bring to his emotions. Unlike Lewis and more like Swindoll, Yancey does not use
many words to say few. He uses simple language and style to get his point across with relevance and
ease.

His writing on the Psalms is only one Chapter, (but very full chapter), Yancey seems to break down and
say what is necessary where Lewis uses a whole volume. Themes are mentioned utilizing other works by
varied authors to give a breadth of the Psalms almost luring one to do their own study and research
both on his own volume and ultimately the Psalms themselves.

His closing theme, “Problem Psalms”26 actually echoes and disagrees with Lewis on Lewis’ views of the
cursing Psalms. Yancey refers both to the book “Reflections on the Psalms” and examines Lewis’
attitude and life after experiencing some personal trials wondering if Lewis felt the same as he did when
he wrote Lewis wrote his musings especially his chapter on the “Cursing” Psalms. 27

Lastly I went back to my class lectures and notes. The Psalms have always been a challenge for people
especially Christians as we try to “Christianize” and bring doctrinal clarity to the Psalms. Dr. Yates says

21
www.nelsonministryservices.com Copyright 2008 Nelson Ministry Services, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
22
The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey, Copyright 1999 by Philip Yancey, Zondervan Publishing House
23
Philip Yancey p.9
24
Philip Yancey pp.10-14
25
Philip Yancey p.109, quoting John S. Mogabgab, (person unknown)
26
Philip Yancey pp. 133-139
27
Philip Yancey pp. 135-136
 Book Review, Michael Paddy May 11, 2008

that the trouble starts when we break down the Psalms into their individual chapters and verses and try
to apply them to everyday life without looking at the context of the passage in its original context or as a
whole book. Whereas the prophets were about God’s word to man, “The Psalms are the words of man
to God”28

In conclusion what I learned in the context of what Dr. Yates has said is this. Just as the Psalms are
man’s words to God, C.S. Lewis in some ways echo back that style in his own writings concerning the
Psalms. Sometimes with clarity and very often conflicted, Lewis’ writings mirror the writings of the OT
writers of the book of Psalms. Sometimes with no real answer but always seeking the truth, reading
Lewis we end up where we should be talking to God and asking the questions that all of us ask directed
to a God who listens, sometimes answers but is always there!

28
Liberty University Distance Learning and Graduate Studies, OBST 592, DVD Disc 9, Lesson 17, Dr. Gary Yates