“The Alternative World of the Psalms”

By Walter Brueggemann, ThD, PhD
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary

Excerpt: “What the Psalter gives us is a world occupied by God. The work of the Psalter is to populate our world with this character who transforms. And the world becomes a place of joy and duty, and joyous duty, a place of buoyancy and risk. But we itch to be left in a joyless, duty-free world that is noticeably short on buoyancy and empty of risk. But because we have entered this counter-world of the Psalter, we may decide differently. The people of this covenantal duty enjoy buoyancy and risk, are characteristically lost in wonder, love, and praise.”

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