On 7 August 2022, I had the honor and joy of proclaiming God’s word from Psalm 139 at Bay Ridge Christian Church (BRCC) in Annapolis, MD—the church I attended during the four years of my undergraduate studies at St. John’s College.

Bret Hicks, the lead pastor at BRCC and a mentor of mine, has been on sabbatical, and the elders of the church are preaching through a series on the Book of Psalms with an emphasis on the practice of prayer. It is in that context that I was invited to give an exposition of Psalm 139.

Video Recording

You can hear and watch the sermon on Psalm 139 here (starting around 41:25 in the video):

If you would like a manuscript, please contact me.

Recommended Resources

Commentaries. I spent plenty of time in preparation arguing in my head against Alter, Brueggemann, deClaissé-Walford, Gerstenberger, and Lewis. For different reasons, these all seemed to lack penetration into the sense of Ps 139 as a whole. deClaissé-Walford, especially, was more flummoxed than insightful. Lewis’s chapter on “The Cursings” is one of his low-points in biblical criticism. But Brownback, Kidner, Motyer, and Waltke were by far more helpful, penetrating the language and finding their way to fruitful application.

The most influential for this particular sermon was Waltke’s commentary in Waltke and Houston’s Psalms as Christian Worship. The volume has a good but strange balance; and while I do not agree with Waltke across the board, I find him consistently insightful and edifying. Note that this volume is not a commentary on the whole Psalter (it has chapters on Pss 1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 51, 110, 139). It is something of a monograph combined with a commentary. It has a wealth of thoughtful reflection on the selected psalms’ effect and reception in the history of the church, as well as good technical discussions of their form and language.

Bibliography

Sources Directly Contributing to the Content and Form of the Sermon

• Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation and Commentary. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2007.
• Brownback, Lydia. Sing a New Song: A Woman’s Guid to the Psalms. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
• Brueggemann, Walter. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2007.
• deClaissé-Walford, Nancy, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth Laneel Tanner. The Book of Psalms. NICOT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014.
• Gerstenberger, Erhard S. Psalms, Part 2, and Lamentations. FOTL 15. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
• Hamilton, Ian. “Creation: The Essential Setting for Proclaiming Christ.” Pages 51–69 in Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Practice. Edited by William R. Edwards, John C. A. Ferguson, and Chad Van Dixhoorn. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2022.
• Kidner, Derek. Psalm 73–150: A Commentary on Books III–V of the Psalms. TOTC. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1975.
• Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann J. Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the supervision of Mervyn E. J. Richardson. 2 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
• Lewis, C. S. Reflections on the Psalms. 1958. Pages 131–209 in The Inspirational Writings of C. S. Lewis. Edison, NJ: Inspirational Press, 1994.
• Martin, Chalmers. “The Imprecations in the Psalms.” Princeton Theological Review 1.4 (1903): 537–53.
• Motyer, J. Alec “Psalms.” Pages 484–582 in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. Alec Motyer, and G. J. Wenham. 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVasrity, 1994.
• Theodoret of Cyrus. Commentary on the Psalms. 2 vols. Translated by Robert C. Hill. FC 101–2. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2000–2001.
• Waltke, Bruce K. and James M. Houston with Erika Moore. The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.
• Young, E. J. “Background of Psalm 139.” Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 8 (1965): 101–110.

Sources Indirectly Contributing to My Preparation

• Bower, John R. The Larger Catechism: A Critical Text and Introduction. Principle Documents of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010.
• Ferguson, Sinclair B. The Holy Spirit. Contours of Christian Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996.
• Futato, Mark D. Interpreting Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook. HOTE. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2007.
• Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020.
• Hamilton, James M., Jr. God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
• Letham, Robert. Systematic Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019.
• Longman, Tremper, III. Immanuel in Our Place: Seeing Christ in Israel’s Worship. Gospel according to the Old Testament. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001.
• Millar, J. Gary. Calling on the Name of the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer. NSBT 38. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2016.
• Murray, John. Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics. 1957. Repr., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
• Turretin, Francis. Institutes of Elenctic Theology. 3 vols. Edited by James T. Dennison Jr. Translated by George Musgrave Giger. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1992–1997.
• Vos, Geerhardus. Reformed Dogmatics. 5 vols. Translated and edited by Richard B. Gaffin Jr. Grand Rapids, MI: Lexham, 2012–2016.
• Waltke, Bruce K. “Christ in the Psalms.” Pages 26–46 in The Hope Fulfilled: Essays in Honor of O. Palmer Robertson. Edited by Robert L. Penny. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008.
• Waltke, Bruce K. with Charles Yu. An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2007.
• Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000.