Prewer, Bruce D. Australian Psalms. Adelaide: Lutheran Publishing House, 1979

Leske, Adrian M.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 7 | Issue 1 Article 31-1-1981Australian PsalmsAdrian M. LeskeFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationLeske, Adrian M. (1981) "Australian Psalms," Consensus: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 3.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol7/iss1/3BOOKS IN REVIEWTwo Books from AustraliaThe Lutheran Publishing House in Australia has developed its book publishingbusiness considerably in the last few years and are now producing many fine books.Two books sent recently for review show the high quality of workmanship and edit-ing, as well as content. Although primarily published with the Australian churchscene in mind, both are very relevant and useful to our situation in Canada.AUSTRALIAN PSALMSBRUCE D. PREWERAdelaide: Lutheran Publishing House, 1979Pb. Pp. 128.This book of modern psalms and poems by Prewer, a parish pastor of the UnitingChurch of Australia, makes fascinating reading. The author certainly has succeededin his desire to make the Christian faith relevant to the Australian scene. Many ofthe psalms seem to exude the strong perfume of the eucalyptus gums as they with-stand the shimmering heat of summer, to say nothing of the noisy laughter of thekookaburras and the “conversation of the blackbirds.”Besides his original psalms, Prewer has included a number of “transpositions” ofBiblical psalms. In these, “the setting is transposed from Israel to Australia, and fromB.C. to A.D. times,” according to the author.The first part of the book contains psalms of praise which are so contemporarythat one easily gets caught up in a growing crescendo of joy. After reading his trans-position of Psalm 148 I felt almost compelled to jump up and shout, “Three cheersfor the Lord!” There is some sensitive feeling and good theology in two beautifulpoems on Baptism and Holy Communion. The book is worth its cost for thesealone.The second section is called “The Shame and the Glory.” It begins with anexcellent poem called simply “Holiness” which touches our unholy consciences inregard to native rights, world hunger, political expediency and the lifeless image ofthe church and then points us to the holiness and mercy of the “Lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world.” It continues with poems on penitence and de-pression and other problems of living and consistently leads us back into the lovingarms of a caring Heavenly Father. Of course, a Canadian may miss some of the3132 Consensussubtleties of the Australian allusions. For example, in his poem “When” whichbegins:Lord, when my prayers are like a gibber plain,and my soul like spinifex —drench me with a downpour of mercy!References to a “gibber plain” (a dry, stony desert area common in parts of Cen-tral Australia) and to spinifex (coarse grass which grows on desert sand dunes)immediately conjures up an image of barren desolation.In the third section of the book dealing with times and seasons the reader willenjoy many fine aids to private and public devotions. Aussie allusions in some,however, will diminish their usefulness for this part of the world. For instance, thepsalm, “On Christmas Eve,” which speaks of dry grass “crackling under footstepslike crisp paper” and the “scent of pollens on a warm summer wind” can only havecuriosity value for the shivering Canadian shoveling snow. Nevertheless, the manypsalms and poems sensitive to the issues of today and expressed in real down-to-earth language make this book worth getting.PRAYER RESOURCES FOR DAILY WORSHIPDAVID A. SCHUBERTAdelaide: Lutheran Publishing House, 1979Pb. Pp. 128.For someone who is looking for a good little book to bring fresh stimulus to hisprayer and devotional life, this book is worth considering. It not only presents asimple liturgy for family or private devotion for each day of the week and for partic-ular occasions, but it also offers a great variety of brief prayers from various sourcesin history which have stood the test of time. The book also contains listings onsuggested themes, prayers and Bible readings for worship through the Christian year.Prayer Resources is prefaced with an extract from Luther’s “A Simple Way toPray” and this has obviously been the inspiration for the organization of this book. Itis one of the most useful books on prayer resources I have come across recently.David Schubert is a teacher at Concordia College, Adelaide, South Australia.Adrian M. Leske

Australian Psalms

https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2214&amp;context=consensus

Australian Psalms

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Wilfrid Laurier University