The Message of the Psalter in The Naked Bible Podcast (“The Psalms and Eschatology”) with Michael Heiser (July 2021)

The Eschatological Metanarrative of the Psalms: An Interview with David Mitchell (Part 1) in The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast (14 Sep. 2022)

The Eschatological Metanarrative of the Psalms: An Interview with David Mitchell (Part 2) in The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast (21 Sep. 2022)

 

THE MESSAGE OF THE PSALTER REVIEWS

The Message of the Psalter is one of several recent additions to the growing corpus of work that treats the purposeful arrangement of the Book of Psalms. Mitchell is in full accord with those who argue that the Psalter is not a random anthology but is a purposefully edited literary whole. His thesis, however, goes in a different direction from that of others who have attempted to articulate the theological agenda that guided the editorial process…Mitchell argues that the agenda is eschatological….The full picture then emerges: the king comes (Psalm 45), Israel is gathered in (Psalm 50), the nations gather for war (Psalms 73-83), the king is cut off (Psalm 89), rescue by the messianic king (Psalm 110), paeans of messianic victory (Psalms 111-118), and the ascent of all Israel to celebrate the feast of tabernacles (Psalms 120-134)…. The Message of the Psalter makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing study of the purposeful arrangement of the Psalter, as it points us in the direction of an eschatological agenda for the whole.

Professor Mark Futato, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 1999

A recent and impressive full-length treatment is David C. Mitchell, The Message of the Psalter (1997). After a thorough review of Psalms studies interpreting the Psalter as a coherent collection (pp. 15-65), he proposes his own interpretation: that the Psalter is to be interpreted eschatologically and that the Davidic kingship, far from being downplayed and viewed as “failed” in the Psalter, forms the basis for the eschatological hope in a messianic figure that is found throughout the collection.
    He states that “the messianic theme is central to the purpose of the collection” (p. 87), and that the Psalter “was designed by its redactors as a purposefully ordered arrangement of lyrics with an eschatological message. This message…consists of a predicted sequence of eschatological events. These include Israel in exile, the appearing of a messianic superhero, the ingathering of Israel, the attack of the nations, the hero’s suffering, the scattering of Israel in the wilderness, their ingathering and further imperilment, the appearance of a superhero from the heavens to rescue them, the establishment of his malkut [kingship] from Zion, the prosperity of Israel and the homage of the nations” (p. 15).
     Mitchell faults Wilson and others for reading the Psalter “historically” (i.e., tying it in specifically with Israel’s pre-exilic, exilic, and post-exilic situations) rather than eschatologically, whereby the vision looks far beyond these historical periods. He combines a close reading of individual psalms, section by section through the Psalter, with plausible links of these to the development of Israel’s eschatological program (especially Psalms 2, 45, 69, 72, 82, 83, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 95, 109, 110, the Hallel, and the Songs of Ascents, including Psalm 132) in ways already suggested by “the ancient commentators’ referring to them in connection with the same or similar events” (p. 299). The overall force and logic of his argument is impressive, and his work will surely occupy a pivotal position in future discussions of the Psalter’s composition and message.

Professor David M. Howard, Jr., Bethel Theological Seminary, Minnesota
From D.W. Baker and B.T. Arnold, (eds.), The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999): 329-68

Numerous scholars have suggested that at the time of the Psalter’s completion the royal psalms were read as predictions of a future ruler, but no one has proposed that the order of these psalms, let alone the whole Psalter, displays an eschatological program.
This book has much to commend it. The stated thesis and the line of argument are crystal-clear. Mitchell’s handling of his secondary sources, and the number and variety of those sources, are impressive. This book, because of its many strengths, will be an essential resource for any discussion of eschatological readings of the Psalter.

Professor Jerome Creach, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 61.2 (Apr 1999): 345-346

Il y a beaucoup à retirer du livre de D. Mitchell. La manière dont il lit une collection de psaumes comme «a narrative sequence» (p. 126) est toujours originale et stimulante, et c’est certainement là une piste à suivre. D. Mitchell montre également avec succès que les psaumes royaux ne figurent pas dans le Psautier en tant qu’organes-témoins d’un passé glorieux et révolu, mais en tant qu’ils sont porteurs d’espérance. On voit bein ici que le recueil fournit un «contexte» pour l’interprétation des pièces qui y sont rassemblés et que la portée eschatologique de certains psaumes tient parfois simplement à la place qui leur a été attribuée par les éditeurs.

Professor Jean-Marie Auwers, Université Catholique de Louvain
Revue théologique de Louvain 32 (2001)

There is little difficulty in showing that most interpreters, from the ancient versions to the Enlightenment, Jewish and Christian, read the psalms as prophetic of a greater David and the final Kingdom of God. David Mitchell illustrates this with impressive learning, and then argues that this outlook can be traced back to the redactors of the Psalter. They positioned the psalms to indicate quite an elaborate messianic scheme, including the coming of the future king, his first works and death, the final victory and universal consummation.

Professor J.H. Eaton, University of Birmingham

By using both the “future-predictive” concerns of interpreters who post-date the redactors of the Psalter and the eschatological concerns of the prophets who predate them, Mitchell has secured his argument behind and before.

Professor Susan Gillingham, Worcester College, Oxford
Review of Biblical Literature 2 (2000)

Mitchell’s Message of the Psalter is undoubtedly a welcome contribution to a branch of research which some refer to as a search for the “third way” in Psalter study.

Martin McNamara, Professor Emeritus of Sacred Scripture
Milltown Institute of Theology, Dublin

Mitchell’s Message of the Psalter is a major contribution in this modern quest for a planned Psalter… much of this new approach is surely of proven worth and will remain with us.

Heythrop Journal 43.1 (January 2002)

THE MESSAGE OF THE PSALTER AMAZON REVIEWS

★★★★★ Appreciation of the Psalms

I would say that David’s Mitchell’s book on the Psalter should be considered a masterpiece of both academic and inspirational work. It has helped me not only understand the Psalms and clarify my questions about it since my seminary days with a better grasp of its meaning, but it has given me a deeper appreciation for it as literary art, but also its message about the coming Messiah and His salvation. I would highly recommend this if you are a pastor as myself, or to anyone who loves God’s Word.

Amazon Customer

★★★★★ The Psalter

An academic book of greatness. I really enjoy the scholarship of the author. It’s important to read it slowly, look up the scripture references and meditate on the message.
Lovely book that opens up the true meaning behind the Psalter.❤️❤️❤️

Beth Earich

★★★★★ Impressive full-length treatment proposing the Psalter be interpreted eschatologically

In my studies and devotions I have become increasingly convinced when reading Psalms of a strong messianic/ eschatological undercurrent throughout, that bubbles to the surface, for example, in Psalms such as 96–100. So when I saw David M. Howard Jr.’s review* of Dr. Mitchell’s “impressive full-length treatment” proposing “that the Psalter is to be interpreted eschatologically,” I rushed to get a copy out of the library. As Howard concludes his review, “The overall force and logic of his [Mitchell’s] argument is impressive … and his work will surely occupy a pivotal position in future discussions of the Psalter’s composition and message.” I, for one, am very grateful for Dr. Mitchell’s valuable contribution to Psalms study.

J.C.P. Smith

★★★★★ Ground-breaking work! The Psalms Come Alive!

I read through David Mitchell’s book about 6 years ago and I refer to it very frequently. I was in a time when I was really searching out resources that brought together 3 subjects: eschatology, YHWH the Bridegroom, and worship. Mitchell’s book kept hitting my search queries. Upon reading the description I was mesmerized. It was my first theology book over $100, and it has paid for itself over and over again.
    Mitchell’s work took some time for my hungry heart to navigate through the historical and present “playing field” of the Psalms. The first chapter alone was worth the price of the book, just to know how to navigate approaches to Psalms interpretation. I appreciate this author’s pain-staking time investment for so many. While this book isn’t for the faint of heart, it is for the hungry of soul desiring a breakthrough in understanding the Psalms and relevance today. Thank you, David Mitchell!

Matt Candler, Kansas

★★★★★ Convincing new eschatological schema for Psalms. Must read.

After years of repetitive fragmentational studies of the book of Psalms, we have here at last an intelligent and persuasive look at the whole of the book. The main thesis is the possible arrangement of the psalter’s contents to promote an eschatological timetable centring on the Messiah and the gathering of both Israel and the nations. Mitchell provides evidence which is not only compelling but also highly original, involving the thematic associations with Asaph and Korah, explaining the “Elohistic psalter”, as well as positing a latter day timetable, for which he finds support in such diverse areas as Zechariah, Ezekiel and Thessalonians.
    The links to possible reconstructions of New testament eschatological doctrine based on the schema Mitchell claims are particularly interesting in their confirmation of material in Revelation pertaining to the millennium and the return of the messiah in the skies, even links with the exile metaphor used in the general epistles and gospels.
    Like all the best theories, Mitchell’s is comprehensive and strong enough to provide a highly persuasive structure to the book of Psalms (which incidentally provides massive interpretational help with individual psalms, particularly royal) while also leaving the reader gasping to fill in the dark areas it throws into contrast (e.g. are the 5 books of psalms analogous to the Torah after all?!) A book which is likely to become highly influential in Psalms scholarship, especially with regard to the interpretive key to the psalter, the eschatology of the second temple period and new testament eschatology.

Anonymous Amazon reviewer (2001)

GOODREADS REVIEWS

★★★★★ I took this book slowly so that I could really understand Mitchell’s argument and note things down in my Bible. I am not quite sure if I fully buy his whole argument or not (only time will tell), but I love his hypothesis a great deal. What is his hypothesis you might ask? It is that the redactor of the Psalter will the songs together in such a way as to build a prophetic arc – one much a kin to those of the prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah. What I love about this is that Mitchell doesn’t just lean on his own intuitions, he tries to demonstrate through linguistics, repeated patterns from multiple areas of scripture, deuterocanonical texts, and rabbinic material as well. This book is heavily foot noted and there were times that Mitchell would drop Hebrew or Greek phrases in untranslated (luckily I remember enough to make guess work of these), but it was quite rewarding to my nerdtastic and masochistic sensibilities. It also passed muster with my belief that a good scholarly work shouldn’t be difficult because of bad writing but rather because of complex ideas and lots of data to sift through carefully. This book provides that in spades. Nick. See review.