Psalms: Volume 3: Psalms 107-150
Reviewed by Robert P. Mills, March 5, 1999
One of the most helpful things I learned in seminary came almost as an aside during a lecture, when a professor encouraged us to read a psalm or two every day. As I have tried to follow this advice, the Psalter has enormously enriched my spiritual life.
In the process of becoming more intimately acquainted with this portion of Holy Scripture, I have encountered many books written about the Psalms, not all equally helpful. One of the most insightful is this “expositional commentary” by James Boice, senior pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church (PCA) and one of American evangelicalism’s most respected spokesmen.
Boice treats most psalms in a single chapter. (A notable exception is his 14 chapters on Psalm 119 were published by Baker in 1997 as Living by the Book: The Joy of Loving and Trusting God’s Word.) Beginning with the text of the psalm, Boice discusses its historical and liturgical context as appropriate, firmly rooting the Psalms in the life of Israel. Especially helpful are his frequent connecting of the Psalms to events and theological themes in the New Testament and his practical application of these ancient hymns to the lives of contemporary Christians.
Boice draws freely on the works of earlier commentators including Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Leupold, Morgan and Maclaren as well as on more recent work, including A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, meditations on the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) by PCUSA minister Eugene Peterson. The result is an enlightening and enjoyable conversation with those in the Great Tradition.
This commentary, which completes Boice’s three-volume study of the Psalms, could be read profitably by pastors preparing sermons or by individuals seeking a resource for their own devotional reading of the Psalms. Perhaps the best recommendation I can give this work is to say that I’m making space on my shelf for volumes one and two.