Kingship in the Enthronement Psalms : A Historical Literary Analysis of the Kingship Metaphor and its Implications for Israel's Worship

The book aims to provide a closer reading particularly to the texts of the enthronement psalms (47, 93, 95-100) in relation to the theological concerns pertaining to the kingship metaphor of Yahweh in the book of Psalms. This aims to provide an authentic understanding of kingship metaphor in finding the implications for Israel's worship. It presents that the enthronement psalms indicate that the kingship metaphor is a key for evolving worship. The book suggests the exalting God through music, postures and gestures can be integrated to our worship today. Hence, this scholarly work brings out how worship is embedded in the enthronement texts through the kingship metaphor. The fruit of such a Historical-Literary analysis connectedness to particularity and universality gives us a tool to motivate a congregation of believers to give due worship to Yahweh. Thus, it shows how kingship of Yahweh impacted Israel's worship and how it can continue to have an effect in the worship of Indian churches today.

Dr. Husazulu Chuzho hails from the Phusachodumi Village, Nagaland and belongs to the Chakhesang Community of Naga. She did her Bachelor of Theology at Baptist Theological College, Pfutsero, Nagaland; Bachelor of Divinity at Eastern Theological College, Jorhat, Assam; Master of Theology at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, Maharashtra; Doctor in Theology in the Biblical Department of Old Testament Studies under SATHRI Senate of Serampore (University). She is a teaching faculty at Discipleship Bible College, Dimapur and also as a visiting faculty to Trinity Theological College, Dimapur, Nagaland. She has also contributed numerous articles in various leading journals.

Bringing out the theology of worship by focusing on the kingship metaphor that is used for Yahweh seems to me to be the first of its kind in the Old Testament Scholarship and especially in Indian sub-continent. Focusing implications of the metaphor for worship of One Sovereign God in pluralistic context with specific suggestions for use of music, gestures and postures was a much needed labor of love by Dr. Husazulu Chuzho.

Chuzho uses historical literary method in explicating the theology of the Enthronement Psalms 47, 93, and 95-100. She does this in way that avoids weaknesses of diachronic and synchronic methods but avails of their strengths. Thus, careful attention is paid to historical background and various contexts of the text including form critical and grammatical ones. In this way, she brings out the theology of worship which is anchored in exegetical depths of the text and applied to ecclesial doxology in its wider dimensions.

I have liked and been blessed to read the implications of not just theology of particularity, universality, sovereignty and majesty of Yahweh in worship but practical aspects of gestures, postures and music in worship. More specifically, in section 4.4, there is a good explication of clapping, shouting, kneeling and bowing in a way that motivates the readers to use these actions in worship. In 5.4, likewise, Chuzho brings out importance of glorifying God in worship, thanksgiving, listening and witnessing to God in worship. She illustrates how music saturated with the word of God can inspire both individual and collective aspects of worship. The very reading of this book proved to me to be both intellectually stimulating and spiritually enlightening.

**Contents and Sample Pages**