(Part 1)

JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch
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mirror the lives of my audience? Does the situation within the poem align
itself with the spiritual, psychological, or physical position of my audience?
And, how can the interpreter/preacher connect the experience of the
original audience to assist spiritual growth and knowledge of my current
audience?" 106 The above questions require the interpreter/preacher to take
the purpose or meaning of the poetic text (princple 7 above) and make it
applicable to the audience.
10. If possible, identify how the text progresses to the Christ event in the New
Testament. The application of this last step is contingent on the interpreter/
preacher’s preferred approach to preaching from the Old Testament (i.e.,
Christocentric or Christotelic). Caution should be used when tracing out
the progression to the Christ event. Within the Psalter, several psalms
have been deemed messianic, specifically select royal and enthronement
psalms. It is no surprise that New Testament writers quote from the royal
and enthronement psalms—especially Pss 2, 18, 45, 47, 93, 95 –99, and 110. 107
In closing, I think Bullock is correct in his warning that the interpreter/
preacher “should exercise caution not to over-messianize this book, but
they need not follow the trend of modern scholarship and abandon the
category of messianic psalms altogether, so long as their historical meaning
is not abandoned.” 108 As interpreters/preachers, we all have a responsibility
to glorify the Kingdom of God in our proclamation of his word. This last
principle must be done with a deft hand. Too much emphasis on Jesus runs
the risk of ignoring the meaning and implications of the original poem;
yet, too little emphasis on the Christ event can lead to simply moralizing
the biblical text. In this regard, the interpreter/preacher must be a trained
tactician when it comes to shedding light on the Kingdom of God.
The guiding principles for preaching biblical poetry are not a static list. Preaching
biblical poetry is truly an art, which is beloved in the eye of the beholder. That being
said, I firmly believe that when an interpreter/preacher invests in the principles
outlined above the reward will be edifying to the Christian and the audience/
congregation.
106
The questions are slightly adapted from Achtemeier, Preaching from the Old Testament, 148–149.
107
See Bullock, Interpreting the Psalms, 177–86.
108
Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, 47.