(Part 1)

JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch
57
Timothy J. Ralston correctly explains that a “verse-by-verse” approach
to the psalms (and I would add all biblical poetry) can quickly become
enthralled in word studies and/or syntactical analysis, which do not have
much to offer the church. 99 On the other hand, thematic development (i.e.,
topical) of a sermon isolates and focuses on a key theme(s) or thought(s)
of the poetic text. 100 For example, a sermon from Ps 147 could focus on the
sovereignty of God evidenced by his omnipresence (v. 3), omniscience (v.
4), and omnipotence (v. 5).
9. Consider the emotive nature of the poetic text. This principle primarily concerns
preaching from the Psalter. As noted above, the Psalter consists of human
prayers and songs directed to God. The emotive nature of the psalms
provide interpreters/preachers with poems that “are endlessly interesting
to preach—even fun to preach, although sometimes difficult fun.” 101 We
find enjoyment and difficulty in interpreting/preaching the Psalter because,
as Martin Luther explains, it “teaches you in joy, fear, hope, and sorrow
to think and speak as all the saints have thought and spoke.” 102 Thus, the
Psalter has provided centuries of saints—both old and modern—with the
heart-wrenching plea of individuals and people along side the merciful and
loving attention of God to those pleas. 103 The ebb and flow of orientation,
disorientation, and reorientation (see Brueggemann above) within the
Psalter provides interpreters/preachers the platform to assist the audience/
congregation in sharing from the experiences of the ancient Israelites’
relationship with God. 104 In many ways, the Psalms testify the Israelites’
“full-orbed faith.” 105
The interpreter/preacher should ask a variety of questions that will help
relate the emotive nature of the poetic text to the audience/congregation:
“What does the poetic text mean for my audience? How does the poem
of the poem may be beneficial; however, he suggests this approach not be holistically adopted. See
Garrett’s warning about the difficulties of such an approach to preaching biblical poetry in Garrett,
“Preaching from the Psalms,” 103–4.
99
Ralston, “Preaching the Psalms,” 31.
100
For discussions on thematic sermons of poetic texts, see Firth, “Preaching Praise Poetry,” 94–
96; cf. Ralston, “Preaching the Psalms,” 39–41; and Futato, Interpreting the Psalms, 197–200.
101
Davis, Wondrous Depth, 17.
102
Martin Luther, Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther, edited by John
F. Thornton and Susan B. Varenne (New York: Random House, 2002), 28.
103
Goldingay, Key Questions about Biblical Interpretation, 133.
104
Elizabeth R. Achtemeier, Preaching from the Old Testament (Louisville: Westminster John Knox,
1989), 138.
105
Strawn, “The Psalms: Types, Functions, and Poetics for Proclamation,” 5.