Reflections on the Psalms by C S Lewis

In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis examines the book of Psalms – one of the most popular books in the Bible. He focuses on how the book portrays the Bible, God, and faith. Lewis explores Psalms’ poetic verses and their relevance to the reader’s everyday life. The book has 12 chapters, purposely written to provide amateurs with a better understanding of the book of Psalms. Lewis’s overarching argument is that the book of Psalms was originally written as a poetic book (Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 2). Accordingly, the book should be read in a lyrical as opposed to a doctrinal or sermonised fashion. The Psalms should be sung as hymns to worship God. They should be read as poems so as to grasp the original message their authors’ intended to convey. For Lewis, the intention of his book is not to justify the truthfulness of Christianity – it is rather to make the reader of Psalms understand the true meaning of the Psalms (Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 7). This paper provides a critique of the book.
The book is divided into two major sections. In the first section (chapters 1-9), Lewis examines the books of Psalms from the perspectives of readers and Jewish writers. The section specifically focuses on topics relating to judgment, hatred, death, cursings, nature, the beauty and sweetness of God, sins of the tongue, and why human beings praise God. In the second section (chapters 10-12), Lewis examines Psalms from the perspective of the Christian reader. He devotes this section to explain how Christians should read the book of Psalms. Lewis posits that the book has two interpretations, and that the second interpretation is totally unknown to the Psalmist. In the second section, Lewis also suggests that Pagan texts might convey the second meanings as well. As Lewis concludes the book, he argues that the book of Psalms not only conveys the coming of a messiah, but also depicts Jesus as both the Messiah and the Lord.
Lewis was one of the most celebrated British writers in the Mediaeval, Renaissance, and Christianity fields. Reflections on Psalms is just one of the several works he has authored. The book is thought-provoking, memorable, and interesting to read. It provides a new understanding of one of the most elusive books in the Bible – Psalms. More specifically, Lewis influences the reader to view the book of Psalms in light of its poetic beauty. An even more important strength is that Lewis strongly admires the book of Psalms. He acknowledges the influential character of the book, describing how the Psalms give him the same delight David had when dancing for God.
Nonetheless, a number of weaknesses are worth noting. First, Lewis starts his book with matters he views as the more distasteful or unpleasant – judgment, cursings, death, and so forth. Such a start denies his readers a chance to begin to enjoy his perspectives. Immediately after the introduction, Lewis embarks on the subject of judgment. Is it not quite strange that the subject of judgment preceded that of cursings? Lewis’s justifies his prioritisation of unattractive matters by asserting that Jews waited upon judgement day anxiously (Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 8-10). For Lewis, Jews viewed judgment in a different way than contemporary Christians may.
Even so, Lewis’s idea makes the reader comprehend the book of Psalms from a different perspective. With this perspective, some texts become clearer, permitting the reader to understand why Jews anticipated the Day of Judgment with such enthusiasm. According to Lewis, the Christian perspective of judgment is better than the Jewish perspective, but this does not necessarily mean that the Jewish approach should be disregarded (Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 12).
This assertion raises a fundamental question: why should the Christian perspective be different from the Jewish perspective? Lewis attempts to answer this question in chapter 11, suggesting that the book of Psalms has a duel meaning. He gives the example of Melchizedek in the Old Testament, wherein he is depicted as a high priest. In the New Testament, however, the reader would view Melchizedek as Christ. Whereas this allegory could be valid to some extent, it still does not answer why there should be two approaches to justice. Lewis’s arguments do not offer the answer, a major weakness evident in much of his book. In essence, Lewis fails to provide a strong premise for his arguments, though he asserts from the word go that the book was not intended to be an academic text. Whether he intended the book to be academic or not, the kind of arguments he presents warrant a strong foundation.
Another notable weakness in Lewis’s book is little or no use of symbolism. This is quite surprising given his strong background as a literary academician. In chapters three and seven, Lewis dwells on the subject of hate, somewhat implying that the Bible condemns hate. This is not necessarily true. When viewed in the entirety of the Bible, hate can have varied meanings, some of them symbolic. The story of the two brothers Esau and Jacob is an ideal example. Though God hated Jacob, His love for Jacob symbolised His election of Jacob – He chose Jacob for a far greater purpose. Missing such symbolic meanings is a considerable weakness on the part of Lewis’s text.
Lewis had amateurs in mind when writing the book. He did not intend to provide a theological interpretation of the book as he argues that the book’s core message is poetic, not theological. His intention was to help readers of the book get a better comprehension of the message the authors of the book meant to relay. As Lewis notes in the introduction, he wrote the book “for the unlearned about things in which I am unlearned myself” (Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 1). This means that the book is not really an academic book or was not written for purposes of scholarship. It also means that Lewis did not wish to demonstrate his knowledge of biblical or theological matters through the book. Nonetheless, this does not necessarily mean Lewis was not knowledgeable on the said matters. Majority of his other works – such as Mere Christianity, Christian Reflections, and God in the Dock – clearly depict him as “learned” in matters of theology and the bible.
Overall, in spite of some weaknesses, Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms is a great read. Some arguments of the book may make the reader somehow uneasy, but – similar to many of his works – it is still a fascinating piece of text. Though Lewis claims that it is a book for amateurs, mature Christians would be a more appropriate audience. Indeed, I would recommend the book to mature Christians as opposed to amateurs. Lewis is a force to reckon with as far as the literary world is concerned, and strong believers would find the book insightful, interesting, mindboggling, encouraging, and beneficial. Arguably, Lewis did a good job in conveying his arguments to his target audience. He appealingly analyses the poetic nature of the book of Psalms, making the reader gain a fresh interpretation of the book. Even so, there is doubt whether he succeeded in comprehending the book of Psalms from the perspective of the authors.


Bibliography
Lewis, C.S. Reflections on the Psalms. Great Britain: Fount Paperbacks, 1958.