The Spirit of the Psalms: Rhetorical Analysis, Affectivity, and Pentecostal Spirituality

In this study of the book of Psalms, Lee Roy Martin advances a rhetorical approach to interpretation that appreciates the forms, the figurative language, and the affective dimension of the biblical text. He argues that the function of poetry is to evoke (and provoke) the passions and to form the affections. The study of the Psalms, therefore, can benefit from a hermeneutic that appreciates the affective component of the text and that takes full advantage of the passions that are brought to the text by the interpreter. The formation of the affections is explored in conjunction with the key Pentecostal affections of gratitude, compassion, courage, joy, and hope. In addition to rhetorical analysis, Martin incorporates early Pentecostal reception history (Wirkungsgeschichte) as a means of hearing from the generation that represents the theological heart of the Pentecostal tradition. Chapters 1-7 are studies of individual Psalms: 1 (a wisdom psalm), 63 (a song of trust), 91 (a song of trust), 105-106 (historical psalms), 107 (a thanksgiving psalm), 130 (a lament), and 150 (a hymn). Chapter 8 is a reception history of the Psalms in the Apostolic Faith periodical (1906-1915), and Chapter 9 constructs a Pentecostal theology of worship from the book of Psalms.