We have been going at this devotional commentary on the psalms now for over three weeks. The response has been so encouraging. Perhaps you are wondering how to get into this “library of worship” in a more intensive way. Here are a few suggestions for “average” folks.
There is a plethora of good commentaries on the psalms. In my opinion, the most accessible is the one by Derek Kidner in theTyndale OT Commentary. Kidner gives you enough of the technical aspects of each psalm (the literary features, the parallelism, the Hebrew words) to help you appreciate both the psalm’s literary beauty and also its theological significance. Kidner also recognizes the intensely practical meaning of the psalms and I have benefited from his comments in many ways that show up in my own comments.
Upon the recommendation of my good friend, Rick Holland, I have been consulting A Guide to the Psalms, by Graham Scroggie, and found it to be very helpful. You may have to search for it, but when you find it, it will be like finding a treasure of practical and spiritual minded comments.
I am also eagerly anticipating The Psalms as Christian Worship by Bruce Waltke and James Houston, which will finally be published by Eerdmans the end of August.
An often overlooked resource is Reflections on the Psalms by the great English literature scholar and Mere Christian, CS Lewis. This is the only book by Lewis that is a direct treatment of the Bible, and what better scholar to handle the sublimest poetry ever penned but an authority on poetry! Although Lewis constantly acknowledges that he is not a Biblical scholar, readers at any level can benefit from his sensitive handling of all issues related to the Biblical Psalms.
Academic commentaries on the psalms usually fall short of the purpose for which they were written, namely as an expression of worship and prayer! If you would like to pray the psalms, you can do it simply with an open English Bible. If you would like a convenient presentation of the psalms for this purpose, I suggest The Paraclete Psalter which arranges the psalms for prayer at four times during the day. If you consistently use this guide, you will pray through all the psalms in a month! If you pray the daily offices – again four times a day – The Divine Hours, edited by Phyllis Tickle, is about 95% composed of selections from the psalms. I have been using the last two resources daily for three years now, and my prayer life has been revitalized in so doing.
The psalms were originally written not only to be prayed but to be sung, and no one does that better than the Australian group, the Sons of Korah. As I write this, I am listening to their rendition of Psalm 42. Dynamite! Their beautiful recordings are all available on iTunes.
Happy reading, singing, and praying!