Review: The Messiah and the Psalms by Richard Belcher

Richard P. Belcher Jr.  The Messiah And The Psalms.  Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor Imprint, September 20^th, 2014. 288 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This book is on the topic of a Christ and the Psalms by an Old Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary.  The author Richard Belcher takes a Christocentric approach towards the Psalms.  If you are interested in the Psalms, Messianic prophecies, hermeneutics and preaching Christ this book might be for you even if you don’t necessarily agree with everything the author has to say.

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Messianic Psalms: 4 Messages

One of the amazing truths about the Bible and Christianity is the fact that Scripture prophesied about the Messiah hundreds of years before it happened.

Here’s a 4 part series on Messianic Prophecies as found in the Psalm.

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Messianic Prophecies Sessions From Shepherd’s Conference 2017

Last month Shepherd’s Conference released the audios from this incredible conference.  In light of Good Friday and also our series of posts this week concerning apologetics and the last week of Jesus I thought I share the audios from that conference pertaining to Messianic prophecies.

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Review: The Emmaus Code: How Jesus Reveals Himself Through the Scriptures

David Limbaugh. The Emmaus Code: How Jesus Reveals Himself Through the Scriptures.  Washington D.C: Regnery Publishing, November 9^th, 2015.  256 pp.

The subject of this book is on the Messianic prophecies found in the Jewish Scriptures and how it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ.  This book truly surprised me.  The author is a conservative political commentator, author and the younger brother of talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.  Maybe it is because I became somewhat skeptical of talk show hosts writing books on Jesus after my experience of reading Bill O’reilly’ book on “Killing Jesus” (it left a bitter taste in my mouth with how poor the theology was) but when I first picked this book up my expectation was really low.  Again this book surprised me in the sense that it was really well researched and written.  At first I didn’t know what to make of the book’s introduction in which David Limbaugh said he’s has been studying the Bible and its prediction of Jesus for over twenty years.  I wasn’t sure if I could believe him; but after finishing the book I do.  This book was really well done and of an amazing caliber considering that the author is a “layman.”  He write in a way that is informative and winsome.

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Review: Songs of a Suffering King by J.V. Fesko

This is a short and wonderful devotional commentary through the first eight Psalms.  It might seem unusual that the author J.V. Fesko is a professor of systematic theology at WSC is writing this commentary on the Psalms but I thought he did a good job for a devotional commentary.  Every theologian ought to be able to write something like this since the Word is what every theologian is building upon.  Fesko’s commentary is trying to show the readers how the first eight Psalm is about Jesus Christ.  I think for those who want to see what Christ-centered preaching/reading of the Bible is like, this is a book to get the flavor.  My favorite chapter was his look into Psalm 1.  I really enjoyed the author’s observation and argument from the content of Psalms 1 that the “righteous man” in Psalm anticipates more of Christ than it does anyone else since only Christ is the one who is totally righteous.  The author insist strongly that Psalm 1:1 ought to be translated “blesses is the man” rather than something more generic such as “blessed are those,” since the “man” here is referring to Jesus.  Fesko then makes the point from the New Testament that we can be righteous too provided we are grafted into Christ, thus playing on the motif within Psalm 1.  I appreciated the devotional questions in the back of each chapter.  The author was able to point us to Christ and also not neglect the original context of the Psalms themselves (David and his life, etc).  I only wished he could have brought out more insight from the text itself at times (that criticism is one not only for this book but one that I have for most devotional commentary in general).  Excellent book, I recommend it.

NOTE: I received this book for free from the publisher Reformation Heritage Books through Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for my honest opinion. The thoughts and words are my own and I was under no obligation to provide a favorable review.

Get it on Amazon: Songs of a Suffering King: The Grand Christ Hymn of Psalms 1 8

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More Christmas wish list in Presuppositional Christian Apologetics (2013)

Three years ago I posted Christmas wish list in Presuppositional Christian Apologetics.

In light of the fact that Black Friday was yesterday I thought I add a few more books to that lists of books I recommend if you are looking for gifts for those who are curious about Presuppositional apologetics or getting more into it.  Of course, if it’s someone who is intensely into Van Til’s apologetics, it doesn’t hurt to ask whether or not they have it already.

Here are a few that I think I can recommend with links to my review:

1.) Christian Apologetics by Dr. Cornelius Van Til

Note: For some reason I really enjoyed the format of this book more than Van Til’s Defending the Faith.

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

2.) Pushing the Antithesis

Note: Found this helpful for apologetics discipleship with the format though not without concern (see comment section of the review).

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

3.) Persuasion

Note: Good sketches of what apologetics and evangelism conversation with a Van Tillian bent looks like with different folks.

Purchase: Amazon

4.) Schaeffer on the Christian Life: Countercultural Spirituality

Note: This spiritual biography is authored by a professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary.  A good devotional and spiritual read for an apologist, to keep one’s life spiritually balance and not just “head knowledge.”

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

5.) The Unfolding Mystery

Note: 25th Anniversary edition.  I think it’s important for Presuppositionalists to also really know their Scriptures and their Old Testament Messianic prophecies pointing towards Jesus Christ.  If one claims to be driven by Scripture in apologetics (where the Word sets the framework for apologetics) I think it’s also important to know how the Old Testament prophesied about Jesus as the Messiah.

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

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Review: Daniel’s Prophecy of the 70 Weeks by Alva J. McClain

Don’t be fooled, this short little book surprisingly is a heavier weight of exegesis than what its size may look like.  After seeing this work cited in various footnotes in Dispensational books and journal articles, I thought I go to the source and read this book myself.  I was not disappointed.  The book focuses on the Prophet Daniel’s oracle of the Seventy Weeks in Daniel chapter nine.  In analyzing the passage the book is divided into three parts:  The first sixty nine weeks which predicts the coming Messianic Prince; then the gap between the sixty ninth and Seventieth week; and finally the seventieth week and the coming of the Roman Prince.  Daniel 9 has Messianic prophecies that have significance for apologetics which the introduction of the book rightly points out.  It is a testimony of the power of the Scriptures and also stirs confidence for the believer that the remaining prophecies of the Seventieth week will no doubt also be fulfilled.  I appreciate this book’s argument for why the “weeks” means groupings of seven years and also showing how prophecies up to the sixtieth ninth week have been fulfilled quite literally.  This of course strongly suggests that details of the future Seventieth week will be fulfilled literally as well.  I thought the author did a good job in carefully cross referencing other passages in order to illuminate Daniel 9 and he was able to do it such a way that one gets the sense he did justice to the text instead of merely “proof-texting” with disregard of the context and also lack of care in thinking through the passage’s inter-textuality.  Originally written in 1940 (before the 1948 formation of Israel) and having gone through multiple printing, I find this book to be a classic and a must read.

UPDATE: RALPH AKA “BOGRAPHY” HAS SHARED THAT THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE ONLINE IN A 5 PART PDF SET IF YOU CLICK HERE.

If you must really buy a hard copy of the book, get it over at AMAZON.

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