John D. Witvliet. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003. 320 pp. $26.99. ISBN 0801026237. www.bakerbooks.com
This final collection of essays is by a single author, John D. Witvliet. Witvliet has organized these essays, many previously published but here presented in revised form, into five broad categories: biblical, theological, historical, musical, and pastoral studies. The breadth of disciplines covered is a testimony to Witvliet’s own interdisciplinary scholarship and commitment to worship discussions that bring the historian, theologian, and practitioner to the same table. As a result, these essays are grounded in careful scholarship. They are insightful, pastoral, and accessible to a wide audience.
Two other slightly older books have been recently rereleased and are worth rereading; both were reviewed in RW in their original editions: Worship: Reformed According to Scripture by Hughes Oliphant Old (RW 66, p. 46) and David Peterson’s Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (RW 33, p. 46).