REC Home*** Theological Forum 

 

Theological Forum Issue

Vol. XXVI, No. 2, July 1998

 

BAPTISM

Boice, James Montgomery 1997. Living by the Book. The Joy of Loving and Trusting God's Word. Based on Psalm 119. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 176 pages. $11.99.

This book is not a commentary on Psalm 119 in the strict sense of the word, it is rather a devotional exposition of the Psalm. The sub-title of the book gives a clue in this direction: the joy of loving and trusting God's Word is given based on the contents of Psalm 119. The book is written from a Reformed evangelical stance emphasizing the importance of the Word of God.

All kinds of interesting facts are given on the role Psalm 119 played in the lives of ministers, theologians and ordinary people. Who would have known that William Wilberforce, a British statesman, wrote in his diary "that he walked from Hyde Park Corner, repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort" or that David Livingstone, the well-known missionary to Africa, won a Bible for repeating Psalm 119 by heart at the age of nine! Incidentally, the importance of memorizing Scripture is stressed more than once in this book.

Psalm 119 is of course an acrostic psalm, divided into 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Boice did not follow this structure; he divides his book into 14 chapters taking two to three stanzas at a time. The basic teaching of each of the stanza(s) is given, illustrated by other examples from both the Old and New Testaments and also from the great figures from the past and contemporary Christian authors. The book does not shy away from many practical applications of the truths revealed in the Psalm which will be to the benefit of ministers and pastors in local congregations.

Perhaps the best recommendation of this book came from my 18 year old son. He saw the book on my desk, read it within three days and commented that he found it a great book teaching him once more an appreciation for the Bible as the Word of God!

This book compels one once again to read and cherish Psalm 119 as one of the remarkable parts of Scripture.

S.D. SNYMAN