The Art of Preaching Old Testament Poetry, by Steven D Mathewson   

'After 55 years of ministry I found this book a great help, and the sample sermons are an encouragement to develop our own preaching from Old Testament poetry'

The Art of Preaching Old Testament Poetry 
By Steven D Mathewson  
Baker Academic 
ISBN 9781540967626 
Reviewed by Martin M’Caw 

 

This is a scholarly book with eight pages of bibliography, but also an easy read written by an experienced pastor. Mathewson’s reason for writing this book was to bring the best scholarship and thinking about the message of the poetry books to ministers and preachers. Each chapter on the five poetic books has a helpful section heading ‘Preaching Christ’, which is the ultimate factor. 

Given that preaching is the name of the game, engaging the listeners is essential. For the Psalms Mathewson suggests an eight week series including Jesus’ use of psalms which would give sufficient exposure without overwhelming the congregation. He calls the Psalms ‘a missionary hymnbook’ as they cover emotional development with shouts for joy and shedding tears through different types of psalms with themes of praise, lament, confidence, wisdom and combinations. The chapter finishes with a long list of helpful resources for study and preaching, as do all the other chapters. 

I wonder how often  many contemporary ministers preach from Proverbs. They are a good read but not necessarily regarded as regular preaching material. Mathewson suggests there are two basic overall themes: wisdom offering a superior lifestyle to foolishness and illustrating how to live according to wisdom. 

His advice is to ‘think strategically’ before planning a series of sermons from Proverbs. If Hebrew is not our forte it is helpful in preparation to use different English translations. He uses his sermon on Proverbs 31:1-9 to show how the wisdom of Proverbs culminates in Jesus teaching to live for justice and meet the needs of the poor and destitute. 

With regard to Job, God’s ultimate answer to our suffering is in Jesus' teaching and Paul’s statement that the love of Christ can never separate us from any catalogue of suffering. Job helps us to understand how to live when life falls apart, whereas Ecclesiastes, in contrast, helps us how to live when life is fleeting and makes no sense. Christ-centred preaching should be understood as locating any passage of scripture in the larger story of the Bible. 

Mathewson suggests preachers tend to avoid the Song of Songs as the lyrics seem silly, embarrassing, confusing and devoid of theology. However in preparation for preaching he suggests there is a basic theology to communicate because sex is a beautiful gift from God to be celebrated and needs boundaries for protection. While the New Testament has no direct references to the Song of Songs the most productive approach is to think about marital love in light of the larger story of the Bible as it is only in the power of the gospel that we can love our spouses. 

After 55 years of ministry I found this book a great help, and the sample sermons are an encouragement to develop our own preaching from Old Testament poetry. 

 

The Revd Dr Martin M’Caw is a retired Baptist minister, and Wing Chaplain to No2 Welsh Wing RAF Cadets, also retired