Abstract
The Brazos Theological Commentary Series seeks to provide a reading and interpretation of scripture ‘creedally for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other orthodox Christians did for their times and places.’ Jason Byassee does just that, with a reading and interpretation of Psalms 101-150 that, relying a great deal on the work of Augustine, offers what he calls a ‘Christological maximalist’ interpretation of the psalms (p. xxii). He states that he ‘wrote this commentary in the same way that I preach’ and ‘on the assumption that its readers would, like me, have a Bible open to the pertinent psalm and would be hunting for Jesus there’ (p. xxi). He refutes the idea that reading the Old Testament in such a way is supersessionist, stating, ‘there is no necessary reason for allegory to be anti-Jewish’ (p. xxiii). He further states, ‘Jesus told his disciples that the psalms were written about him and must be fulfilled [Luke 24:44]’ (p. xxii).
While this reviewer does not agree in every way with Byassee’s approach to the Psalter, she nonetheless will enter into Byassee’s world and explore his interpretation of the Psalter. I begin with a critique of Byassee’s work on two psalms – Psalms 104 and 110 – and then move on to summary and concluding statements.
Byassee maintains that Psalm 104 presents us ‘with a theology of dust’ – dust from which we were formed and dust that formed the body of the earthly Jesus (vv. 29-30). Thus we are called to a ‘dust-affirming faith’ – a concern for creation (pp. 23-24). He cites Wendell Berry as an advocate of earth care, but then states that Berry’s point ‘would be strengthened by more fulsome trinitarian and Christological emphases’ (p. 24). He also takes issue with those who suggest that many of the images of God in the psalm are similar to other ancient Near Eastern literature (see, esp. vv. 2-9). He writes, ‘I am tempted to lament that we can find whatever other religious are “present” in this psalm but are forbidden from finding Jesus or the Holy Spirit there’ (p. 23). And he states that, for Augustine, the description of God riding on the wind (v. 3) refers to the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:9, p. 29).
Another example of Byassee’s contention that the psalms point to Jesus is his commentary on Psalm 110, the most-quoted psalm in the New Testament. He maintains that the psalm shows that the New Testament church ‘sought to ponder the mystery of the relationship between God the eternal Father and his incarnate Son’ and found answers to that mystery in Psalm 110. He further states, ‘the many New Testament references to Ps. 110:1 function as mini-commentaries. … They show us how Christians are to read Ps. 110’ (p. 77).
Byassee commentary is an interesting mix of good exegesis (his discussion of hesed on p. 19), fodder for preaching (Ps 137, pp. 185-188), and personal reflection (p. 131). It thus fulfills the intent of the Brazos Theological Commentary series.