W. David O. Taylor - The Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life

PRAISE FOR OPEN AND UNAFRAID

Guided by the inimitable Eugene Peterson, David Taylor has created a win-some, accessible entry into the book of Psalms. He weaves into his exposition his own life experience and vibrant faith. He connects the poetry of the psalms to real-life wonders and struggles. This book offers pedagogical guidance on how to read the Psalter. This is a welcome addition to our literature on the psalms.

Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

The Psalter is the heart and soul of the Old Testament. It is also a pathway into the presence of God. The human emotions it depicts and the God it encounters help us make sense of life. David Taylors Open and Unafraid not only walks the reader through key themes of the psalms but its practical focus keeps you there, so that you can know God and yourself better. The book is truly a guide into life as it ought to be lived and experienced.

Darrell L. Bock, executive director for cultural engagement, Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement; senior research professor of New Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

What encourages me about this book is the way a clear map is drawn to a path to intimacy with the psalmists God. The authors challenge is to cover the wide range and scope of psalmody. David Taylor has met the challenge by his conscientious exposition of the psalms under thematic headings that open us to an ongoing theme: divine responses to flash points of human need. In every psalm we discover this human-divine contact, and it is because the human voices are so authentic that we feel at home in them. Many of the psalms are personal outbursts in the face of crisis and exhibit raw emotion. Others are cries of gratitude. This book encourages us to pray from what we really experience and who we really are.

Luci Shaw, writer-in-residence, Regent College; author, Thumbprint in the Clay and Eye of the Beholder

As a Catholic monastic, the Psalter forms the praying heart of my Christian community. The problematic notions of warfare, violence, and anger in the psalms in the monastic tradition are always addressed as spiritual warfare within ourselves, and not turned outward toward others. But we all deal with praise and discouragement, good and bad, peace and conflict in daily life in Christ. This book helps address those things from a fresh perspective. I am pleased to see another good book on the psalms from a recognized Christian scholar.

John Michael Talbot, contemporary Christian music pioneer; bestselling author; founder and general minister, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity

There are lots of books about the psalms, so why should you bother with this one? One important aspect of the psalms is that they reflect Gods actual dealings with actual people. David Taylor talks about the psalms in a way that shows how they connect with him as a real person. DavidI mean this Davidtalks about his sadness, anger, honesty, and joy, and helps you see how the other Davidthe David of the psalmstalks about sadness, anger, honesty, and joy, and about how God relates to us and we relate to him as sad, angry, honest, and joyful people.

John Goldingay, professor of Old Testament and David Allan Hubbard Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

The psalms are at the heart of Scripture and they unlock and express the secrets of our hearts: our deepest fears, longings, and hopes. David Taylor takes us straight to that hidden heartthe hidden heart of Scripture, the hidden heart of the readerand opens it out fearlessly and beautifully. He is sensitive to the poetry of the psalms and to their original context, but most of all, he unlocks what these psalms can mean for us now. Engaging with this book, and especially with the exercises and prayers at the end of each chapter, could be transformative for many readers.

Malcolm Guite, chaplain, Girton College, Cambridge; author, Sounding the Seasons and Faith, Hope and Poetry

Like the psalms themselves, Open and Unafraid is rich, both theologically and aesthetically. In these fraught and fearsome days, we need the psalms more than ever. And we need more faithful artists and thinkers like David Taylor to mine the infinite gifts the psalms offer across the ages.

Karen Swallow Prior, author, On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions

I have been exposed to different journeys of life undertaken by individuals whose walks through the life pathways have revealed the efficacy of the guideposts and road maps provided in the Scriptures by our Creator, the psalms being one such prominent resource. I also participated recently in a supposed mission seminar in which worship was a major topic, from which I learned that the psalms are poems that express the life encounters the composers had with their (and our) Creator as they lived out the purpose of their creation. Going through Open and Unafraid reinforced the insights I have gained so far, as well as provided further clarity and enlightenment to guide my own steps as I continue my life journey along the pathways the Lord has created for me. I, therefore, strongly recommend this book to every one of my fellow travelers on this life journey!

Reuben Ezemadu, international director, Christian Missionary Foundation, Inc; continental coordinator, Movement for African National Initiatives

David Taylor takes us on a journey through the psalms, exploring the depth of lifes realities: sadness, anger, doubt, chaos, loneliness, even death. He helps readers to face their own human condition with nonnegotiable honestyopen and unafraid. Yet this journey through the psalms also points to God, who is sovereign, gives life and joy, and unites us. You can hear the tender, gentle, and encouraging words from the author as you read this book with a devotional yet challenging message. If you appreciate the books by Eugene Peterson, you will not be disappointed by this book as it bears the same sentiment from the heart of a caring pastor and the mind of a penetrating theologian.

Patrick Fung, general director, Overseas Missionary Fellowship International

This David Taylors book is open and unafraid, because it breathes and sings the grace of God to anybody who reads it, as do the psalms themselves. Open and Unafraid is marinated in Gods psalms, so its testimony is honest and direct, personal and heart-warming, and both magisterial and humble. The learning underneath the writing is worn lightly, and the conversational tone is engaging, opening up the encyclopedic richness of the biblical psalms (also for governments to hear). The appended questions and exercises for each chapter are truly fruitful and fun. This book has a complete vade mecum character.

Calvin Seerveld, professor emeritus of philosophical aesthetics, Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto; author, Voicing Gods Psalms and How to Read the Bible to Hear God Speak

The psalms are an inexhaustible source of comfort and challenge in the life of faith. Thanks to David Taylor for orienting us so compellingly to so many of the psalms key virtues. But while many books could orient us to the psalms external excellencies, this one does more, helping us to see how the psalms come into their own as they are used by the Holy Spirit to transform human lives, heal human souls, and enravish us with a deep awareness of the wonder and glory of God.

John D. Witvliet, director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; professor of music and worship, Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary