Reflections on the Psalms
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- Author：C.S. Lewis
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Summary
Available from HarperOne， now the exclusive publisher of all of C。 S。 Lewis’s adult religious books， a repackaged edition of the revered author’s moving theological work in which he considers the most poetic portions from Scripture and what they tell us about God， the Bible， and faith。
In this wise and enlightening book， C。 S。 Lewis—the great British writer， scholar， lay theologian， broadcaster， Christian apologist， and bestselling author of Mere Christianity， The Screwtape Letters， The Great Divorce， The Chronicles of Narnia， and many other beloved classics—examines the Psalms。 As Lewis divines the meaning behind these timeless poetic verses， he makes clear their significance in our daily lives， and reminds us of their power to illuminate moments of grace。
In this wise and enlightening book， C。 S。 Lewis—the great British writer， scholar， lay theologian， broadcaster， Christian apologist， and bestselling author of Mere Christianity， The Screwtape Letters， The Great Divorce， The Chronicles of Narnia， and many other beloved classics—examines the Psalms。 As Lewis divines the meaning behind these timeless poetic verses， he makes clear their significance in our daily lives， and reminds us of their power to illuminate moments of grace。
Reviews
Lori
，
There were parts of this that caused me to think differently， more deeply about the Psalms。These are reflections， a jumping off point for pondering the significance of the Psalms and their place in scriptural study。 Lewis discusses "Judgment" in the Psalms， cursings， praising， "sweeter than honey，" among other topics。 There were parts of this that caused me to think differently， more deeply about the Psalms。These are reflections， a jumping off point for pondering the significance of the Psalms and their place in scriptural study。 Lewis discusses "Judgment" in the Psalms， cursings， praising， "sweeter than honey，" among other topics。 。。。more
Sean
，
As always Lewis manages to express what I may have long suspected yet not put into thoughts or words。
Tom
，
In what is perhaps the best quote from the book （copied below）， Lewis describes some “correctives” from the O。T。 to the “natural reaction” or the natural man。 But what I like most from the quote is his understanding of how integrated the O。T。 and N。T。 are - Christ quoted from the O。T。 often， and most often quoted from the Psalms。 And as Christ was going through the Atonement， He was fulfilling one prophecy after another， even to the very end， and He fully understood He was doing so。 “He said unt In what is perhaps the best quote from the book （copied below）， Lewis describes some “correctives” from the O。T。 to the “natural reaction” or the natural man。 But what I like most from the quote is his understanding of how integrated the O。T。 and N。T。 are - Christ quoted from the O。T。 often， and most often quoted from the Psalms。 And as Christ was going through the Atonement， He was fulfilling one prophecy after another， even to the very end， and He fully understood He was doing so。 “He said unto them， These are the words which I spake unto you， while I was yet with you， that all things must be fulfilled， which were written in the law of Moses， and in the prophets， and in the psalms， concerning me。 Then opened he their understanding， that they might understand the scriptures。” Luke 24:44-45 （emphasis added）。Money quote from Lewis:“Thou shalt not hate thine brother in thine heart。 。 。 。 thou shalt not avenge or bear any grudge against the children of thy people， but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself。” Leviticus 19:17-18。 In Exodus we read 。 。 。 “if thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray， thou shalt surely bring it back to him” （Exodus 23:5）。 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth， and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth” （Proverbs 24:17）。 And I shall never forget my surprise when I first discovered that St。 Paul’s “If thine enemy hunger， give him bread，” etc。， is a direct quotation from the same book （Proverbs 25:21）。 But this is one of the rewards of reading the Old Testament regularly。 You keep on discovering more and more what a tissue [i。e。， interconnected fabric] of quotations from it the New Testament is; how constantly our Lord repeated， reinforced， continued， refined， and sublimated， the Judaic ethics， how very seldom He introduced a novelty。 This of course was perfectly well known; was indeed axiomatic to millions of unlearned Christians as long as Bible reading was habitual。 Nowadays it seems to be so forgotten that people think they have somehow discredited Our Lord if they can show that some pre-Christian document （or what they take to be pre-Christian） such as the Dead Sea Scrolls， has 'anticipated' Him。 As if we supposed Him to be a cheapjack like Nietzsche inventing a new ethics！ 。 。 。 The Light which has lightened every man from the beginning may shine more clearly but cannot change。 The Origin cannot suddenly start being， in the popular sense of the word， 'original'。” p。 27。 。。。more
Tawallah
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This is a book that will require multiple readings on my part to fully grasp all that Lewis discussed here。 Here he uses his knowledge of literature to explore themes and topics found in the Psalms， a collection of poems。 I was most inspired on this first reading on how he dealt with the cursing psalms， the mirth and solemnity of worship， and the humanity and divinity of Christ。 Despite not understanding everything， it did make me long more for a more intimate relationship with God。 And that may This is a book that will require multiple readings on my part to fully grasp all that Lewis discussed here。 Here he uses his knowledge of literature to explore themes and topics found in the Psalms， a collection of poems。 I was most inspired on this first reading on how he dealt with the cursing psalms， the mirth and solemnity of worship， and the humanity and divinity of Christ。 Despite not understanding everything， it did make me long more for a more intimate relationship with God。 And that may just be its objective。 。。。more
Lauren Stanton
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Although I’m a fan of much of Lewis’s work， this book wasn’t my favorite。 I found the writing style to be confusing at times and the language he used was hard to understand。 I had difficulty staying engaged while reading this book， which is why it took so long for me to finish。 On a positive note， I enjoyed the connections that Lewis made between the Psalms and other scripture。 I also found it helpful that he discussed the different emotions/themes found in the Psalms， and that not all of them a Although I’m a fan of much of Lewis’s work， this book wasn’t my favorite。 I found the writing style to be confusing at times and the language he used was hard to understand。 I had difficulty staying engaged while reading this book， which is why it took so long for me to finish。 On a positive note， I enjoyed the connections that Lewis made between the Psalms and other scripture。 I also found it helpful that he discussed the different emotions/themes found in the Psalms， and that not all of them are God-honoring。 At times， the Psalms depict self righteousness or hatred towards others- these themes do not exist in the Psalms to glorify these attitudes， but to display the raw reality of human emotion and sin。 Overall， this book was a bit too much for me， but I appreciate the topics Lewis explores and explains。 I just wish he had approached it a bit differently。 。。。more
Deb
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C。 S。 Lewis' reflections were more general and not on specific psalms as I had thought。 The last two chapters were hard for me to follow and to understand， but the other chapters did have insights that I hadn't read before。 This is the third book of his that I have read， the other two being Surprised By Joy and A Grief Observed。 I enjoyed reading those。 C。 S。 Lewis' reflections were more general and not on specific psalms as I had thought。 The last two chapters were hard for me to follow and to understand， but the other chapters did have insights that I hadn't read before。 This is the third book of his that I have read， the other two being Surprised By Joy and A Grief Observed。 I enjoyed reading those。 。。。more
Courtney Hatch
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It’s hard not to love everything CS Lewis writes—he’s bold and doesn’t shy away from challenging ideas and material， and his love for both God and theology are palpable in his pages。This is probably my least favorite of his so far， just because （as I’ve seen others mention） it needed heavier editing。 His essays felt much less focused on the psalms themselves but were rather over topics he wanted to write about that then fit together using psalms as a general thread tying them together。 Could’ve It’s hard not to love everything CS Lewis writes—he’s bold and doesn’t shy away from challenging ideas and material， and his love for both God and theology are palpable in his pages。This is probably my least favorite of his so far， just because （as I’ve seen others mention） it needed heavier editing。 His essays felt much less focused on the psalms themselves but were rather over topics he wanted to write about that then fit together using psalms as a general thread tying them together。 Could’ve been stellar with a tighter focus。 。。。more
Adeline
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3。7"I walk in wonders beyond myself。"Some thoughts:- I've recently started making my way through the Psalms again， slowly writing notes on each （shout out to Sarah for getting me that journaling Psalter， I know you read these posts）。 I think I was expecting something a little more academic when I started reading this book， but it does exactly what it says on the label - it's a collection of Lewis' thoughts （and sometimes speculations） on the Psalms。 That's not a bad thing because Lewis writes qu 3。7"I walk in wonders beyond myself。"Some thoughts:- I've recently started making my way through the Psalms again， slowly writing notes on each （shout out to Sarah for getting me that journaling Psalter， I know you read these posts）。 I think I was expecting something a little more academic when I started reading this book， but it does exactly what it says on the label - it's a collection of Lewis' thoughts （and sometimes speculations） on the Psalms。 That's not a bad thing because Lewis writes quite beautifully， but this wasn't really what I was looking for。- Instead of going poem-by-poem （or book-by-book） as I was somehow expecting， these reflections are grouped by major themes found across all whole collection of Psalms （e。g。 justice， death， nature， praise）。 - Although I don't agree with all his conclusions， I really respect how Lewis tackled the tough subjects first - questions like 'Why do the psalmists write of judgement against their enemies？'， 'How should we feel about the anger and resentment present in some of the Psalms？' and 'How did the psalmists understand death？' He also clarifies which statements are entirely his own conjecture， which I appreciate。 However I'm not a fan of his habit of throwing out seemingly controversial statements then finally clarifying them chapters later。 - I complain， but there's also plenty of good stuff。 Lewis describes people who wish to 'pin down' Christ by distilling his words to remove all context and form as 'trying to bottle a sunbeam'。 The same applies to the Psalms （which are simultaneously prayers and poems）， they can't be appreciated without considering context， emotion， literary devices， etc。 - On the whole， I can't say I gained many revolutionary insights into the Psalms， but it was definitely interesting to see C。S。 Lewis' thoughts on them。"One who contended that a poem was nothing but black marks on white paper would be unanswerable if he addressed an audience who couldn’t read。 Look at it through microscopes， analyse the printer’s ink and the paper， study it （in that way） as long as you like; you will never find something over and above all the products of analysis whereof you can say ‘This is the poem’。 Those who can read， however， will continue to say the poem exists。" 。。。more
James Brixey
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Great read。 Useful stuff。 Tempted to give it five。 By another author， this might have been a five。C s Lewis has an interesting view of scripture。 I will go away and think about it more。
Barb
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There were doctrinal aspects of this book with which I disagreed with Lewis。 However， as I thought about it， it dawned on me Lewis was not a biblical scholar or theologian but a smart man who was a Christian。 This helped me take our doctrinal differences in stride and appreciate his insights。 As a literary scholar， Lewis offered insights to poetry and aspects of various psalms that I’d never thought about or appreciated before。
Aaron Schuschu
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Anxiety over how old friends may interpret the text given recent goings- on， blatant misrepresentations of Buddhism， and ending on what he thought was a dunk on evolution aside… one of his better ones。
Jake
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A lot of fantastic insights。 There are some other areas I'm still processing。 A lot of fantastic insights。 There are some other areas I'm still processing。 。。。more
Hannah Belyea
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From one student of faith to another， Lewis explores the harsh beauty of the Psalms in a short series of insightful analyses， from the multifaceted importance of judgment and forgiveness， to their place and part of denomination and culture。 Lewis provides his fellow believers a perceptive yet relatable examination， a fine discussion starter or afternoon read alike with its simple but inquisitive studies。 There is divine meaning in the Biblical poetry， and it has eternal ramifications for both be From one student of faith to another， Lewis explores the harsh beauty of the Psalms in a short series of insightful analyses， from the multifaceted importance of judgment and forgiveness， to their place and part of denomination and culture。 Lewis provides his fellow believers a perceptive yet relatable examination， a fine discussion starter or afternoon read alike with its simple but inquisitive studies。 There is divine meaning in the Biblical poetry， and it has eternal ramifications for both believers and perusers。 。。。more
Hunter Hebenstreit
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A wonderful balanced take on the Psalms with many good insights！
B Hatfield
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more of a review to come when I gather my thoughts！but this was a real thinker， challenged me in a lot of ways to think about Heaven and prayer！
Acacia Mitchell
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Lewis has provided some food for thought。 I especially appreciated his connection of the psalms to the new testament。 His explanation for how a text can have two meanings has definetly given me more to think about。 Throughout， Lewis is very humble as he shares his thoughts and leaves plenty of room for the reader to disagree。 It's a very candid， easy to read book。 Lewis has provided some food for thought。 I especially appreciated his connection of the psalms to the new testament。 His explanation for how a text can have two meanings has definetly given me more to think about。 Throughout， Lewis is very humble as he shares his thoughts and leaves plenty of room for the reader to disagree。 It's a very candid， easy to read book。 。。。more
Ariel
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Let's be honest， anything that CS Lewis wrote is worthy of reading。 However， I mistakenly thought this would be more devotional and less analytical。 I benefitted from reading it; there is true meat in this little book， but I would recommend that you read it with the right understanding that it is not a worshipful or introspective book to aid you in your personal study of Psalms。 It's more of a professor's apologetic text about the themes of the psalms， even the dark and murderous ones， to help u Let's be honest， anything that CS Lewis wrote is worthy of reading。 However， I mistakenly thought this would be more devotional and less analytical。 I benefitted from reading it; there is true meat in this little book， but I would recommend that you read it with the right understanding that it is not a worshipful or introspective book to aid you in your personal study of Psalms。 It's more of a professor's apologetic text about the themes of the psalms， even the dark and murderous ones， to help us understand the emotive expression of these words in light of theology。 My personal favorite was his comparison of the psalms to a courtroom: while modern evangelism often portrays God as the judge over humanity in the sense of guilty or innocent， CS Lewis writes of the Jewish propensity to see God as the judge in small claims court， awarding damages to an aggrieved party。 David often pleads his case for justice as a plaintiff to the One who can sort out what the aggressor would owe the person he wronged。 That was an interesting concept and illuminated how I now read the Psalms。 。。。more
Cami
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I sure love C。S。 Lewis， but I sure wish he would have had a really tenacious editor。 There are some good nuggets hidden in all of the extra words。
N904 SC
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Overall worth a read for Christians。 Some chapters were more revelatory than others， for me。 But I had more than my fair share of “wow！” moments。 Lewis again earns my admiration and 5 stars。 “A Word about Praising” is one of the best chapters of any nonfiction book that I can remember reading。 “Scripture” was a strong and enlightening chapter for me， too。 Note to self — re-read these！Favorite quote:It may be indispensable that Our Lord's teaching， by that elusiveness （to oursystematising intelle Overall worth a read for Christians。 Some chapters were more revelatory than others， for me。 But I had more than my fair share of “wow！” moments。 Lewis again earns my admiration and 5 stars。 “A Word about Praising” is one of the best chapters of any nonfiction book that I can remember reading。 “Scripture” was a strong and enlightening chapter for me， too。 Note to self — re-read these！Favorite quote:It may be indispensable that Our Lord's teaching， by that elusiveness （to oursystematising intellect）， should demand a response from the whole man， should makeit so clear that there is no question of learning a subject but of steeping ourselves in a Personality， acquiring a new outlook and temper， breathing a new atmosphere，suffering Him， in His own way， to rebuild in us the defaced image of Himself。。。And in the same way， the value of the Old Testament may be dependent on what seems its imperfection。 It may repel one use in order that we may be forced to use it in another way - to find the Word in it， not without repeated and leisurely reading nor without discriminations made by our conscience and our critical faculties， to re-live， while we read， the whole Jewish experience of God's gradual and graded self-revelation， to feel the very contentions between the Word and the human material through which it works。 For here again， it is our total response that has to be elicited。 。。。more
Heather Richardson
，
“The Scottish catechism says that man's chief end is 'to glorily God and enjoy Him forever。’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing。 Fully to enjoy is to glorify。 In commanding us to glorify Him。 God is inviting us to enjoy Him。”“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made David dance。”“There， despite the presence of elements we should now find it hard to regard as religious at all， and the absence of elements which some might thin “The Scottish catechism says that man's chief end is 'to glorily God and enjoy Him forever。’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing。 Fully to enjoy is to glorify。 In commanding us to glorify Him。 God is inviting us to enjoy Him。”“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made David dance。”“There， despite the presence of elements we should now find it hard to regard as religious at all， and the absence of elements which some might think essential to religion， I find an experience fully God-centred， asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence， the gift of Himself， joyous to the highest degree， and unmistakably real。 What I see （so to speak） in the faces of these old poets tells me more about the Godwhom they and we adore。”“The birth of Christ is the arrival of the great warrior and the great king。 Also of the Lover， the Bridegroom， whose beauty surpasses that of man， But not only the Bridegroom as the lover， the desired; the Bridegroom also as he who makes fruitful， the father of children still to be begotten and born。” 。。。more
Kurt
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This book goes hard。 Made me believe even harder。So true。 Reflections on Proverbs next。
Sean Bohnet
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A crafty and wise writer CS is。 Between his introduction and explanation of differing perspectives， I’m taught to be more thoughtful in how I expound upon a topic。 I enjoyed the psalm topics that Lewis extracted and chose to write on。 You’ll gain insight， and it may be in how Anglican he is: even in his false doctrines he believes beautifully and honorably。
Jacob Aitken
，
Much better than I thought it would be。 I always thought， or had been told， that Lewis denigrated the imprecatory psalms。 He did no such thing。 He actually said "you can't act out these psalms today。" If you did， you would probably be in sin and certainly break the law。 To be sure， his position， never certain， is inadequate。 It does make us think more deeply about these issues。 Much better than I thought it would be。 I always thought， or had been told， that Lewis denigrated the imprecatory psalms。 He did no such thing。 He actually said "you can't act out these psalms today。" If you did， you would probably be in sin and certainly break the law。 To be sure， his position， never certain， is inadequate。 It does make us think more deeply about these issues。 。。。more
Gideon Robinette
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I would give it a read if I were you， even with its faults you could still get something out of it 。
Jonathan Ginn
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This book reads like a handful of loosely-connected essays， some of which are more closely related to the book of Psalms than others。 While occasionally insightful， I found some of Lewis's thoughts quite problematic in certain places。 I appreciated his provocative thoughtfulness， as well as his remarkable ability to illustrate his ideas and concepts in a concrete manner。 However， I took issue with his views on the imprecatory psalms， the OT conception of life after death， and some of the conclus This book reads like a handful of loosely-connected essays， some of which are more closely related to the book of Psalms than others。 While occasionally insightful， I found some of Lewis's thoughts quite problematic in certain places。 I appreciated his provocative thoughtfulness， as well as his remarkable ability to illustrate his ideas and concepts in a concrete manner。 However， I took issue with his views on the imprecatory psalms， the OT conception of life after death， and some of the conclusions he draws based on perceived similarities shared between Christianity， other religions， and pagan mythologies。 。。。more
leva
，
at first i thought this is going to be an easy read that would help me grow spiritually while giving me insights on the psalmsbut it was far from thatit constantly challenged me， pushing my boundaries and imaginationit really did give me insights but not in an uplifting way， rather in a more logical， analytical even historical wayit strengthen some opinions that I've made some time ago on my own but it also made me get out of my confort zone and think about the endless possibilities and overall at first i thought this is going to be an easy read that would help me grow spiritually while giving me insights on the psalmsbut it was far from thatit constantly challenged me， pushing my boundaries and imaginationit really did give me insights but not in an uplifting way， rather in a more logical， analytical even historical wayit strengthen some opinions that I've made some time ago on my own but it also made me get out of my confort zone and think about the endless possibilities and overall the amazing Plan of God that goes beyond our limited mindsnevertheless it wasn't a bad book。 i enjoyed it quite a bitbut it was a difficult read， for me at leasti found myself getting lost a few times and having no idea what was the author trying to say。。。it was like saying nothing while saying everything？i can tell that his mind was very complex and this book is just him trying to explain his thought process on different topics that were rather new to me and some even hard to swallowanyways i totally accept that some books are just a bit too hard for me to comprehend and this is one of themmaybe some day， când o să mi se coacă mintea mai mult， voi putea gusta mai bine astfel de lecturi provocatoare:） 。。。more
Sarai
，
This book will require a reread for me because there were definitely portions that went totally over my head。 I love when the Bible is explored as a Jewish book written firstly for a Jewish audience。 It brings to light so many aspects I am not practiced in recognizing。 After that look， we can explore how it relates to a resurrected Jesus and believers who have received the Holy Spirit。 Lewis gives many detailed analogies and explanations of deeply theological ideas。My goal is to reread the Psalm This book will require a reread for me because there were definitely portions that went totally over my head。 I love when the Bible is explored as a Jewish book written firstly for a Jewish audience。 It brings to light so many aspects I am not practiced in recognizing。 After that look， we can explore how it relates to a resurrected Jesus and believers who have received the Holy Spirit。 Lewis gives many detailed analogies and explanations of deeply theological ideas。My goal is to reread the Psalms and revisit this book。 。。。more
Renita
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Good。 Read again。
Thomas Goddard
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I've always loved Christian writers who struggle with their faith。 Those who acknowledge that there are moments where faith is tested and that there is no shame in it。 That's the point of faith。I've always wished I'd had it， especially growing up。 It would have bonded me with my family in a way that really fused us。 Instead I have always been a sceptic by nature and couldn't access that realm; nor their world more generally。The Psalms are that often quoted and rarely understood area of the Bible I've always loved Christian writers who struggle with their faith。 Those who acknowledge that there are moments where faith is tested and that there is no shame in it。 That's the point of faith。I've always wished I'd had it， especially growing up。 It would have bonded me with my family in a way that really fused us。 Instead I have always been a sceptic by nature and couldn't access that realm; nor their world more generally。The Psalms are that often quoted and rarely understood area of the Bible。 The main point that Lewis makes is that the mode in which they are written is purposeful。 It employs parallelism。 Where a sentence is structured to have a similar meaning in both parts。 Example: "Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked""His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue。"For a translator this is like having two bites of the fruit。 （Pun intended） Because there is a double failsafe against misunderstanding。 You could not translate 'jaw' incorrectly if the next part mentions teeth。 Or miss the intent of the 'mouth is full of lies' if the next part speaks of 'evil。。。 under his tongue。'C。S。 Lewis has a comforting style。 Every time I read him， I am reminded how wonderful faith can be。 How reassuring and home-like。 Shaped to the comfort of the believer。 And then my wickedness reers up and kicks those comforts away。 How would you enjoy life near as much without a little sinfulness？ Without a little indulgence？ I'm doomed。 。。。more
Keegan Moore
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