Studying the Psalms: Bible Commentary, and Challies’ Reading Challenge

As part of doing the 2017 Challies Reading Challenge, I have acquired several books as Kindle deals on special Amazon sale.  Books can be purchased quicker than they can be read, but even so the reading continues, and currently I’m reading one of the “Be” commentary series from Warren Wiersbe —  Be Worshipful: Glorifying God for Who He Is (Psalms 1-89).  In other Kindle deals of free or near-free books, my collection now also includes the “Be” commentaries for Exodus and Ezekiel, for future commentary reading.

This Psalms commentary is a good general, easy reading and non-technical commentary.  Various truths are brought out, though in a straightforward and concise way, as the many themes are considered in each of the Psalms. It provides more detail at a basic text level than Andrew Bonar’s Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms, which I read a few years ago, and from the human author’s (usually David’s) point of view; Bonar’s work was a good devotional, but, for some of the psalms at least, the idea that Christ Himself would have written/prayed particular texts, seemed more forced to fit that theme.  This “Be Worshipful” commentary considers each of the types of psalms – laments, messianic, praise and thanksgiving, royal psalms, wisdom psalms, psalms of affirmation and trust, penitential, and imprecatory psalms – along with basic structure of the thought in each psalm.  Along the way several interesting points are brought out, such as the grouping of certain Psalms together: 22, 23, and 24 form a trilogy on Christ the Shepherd.  In 22, the Good Shepherd dies for the sheep (John 10:1-18); in 23, the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep and cares for them (Heb. 13:20-21); and in 24, the Chief Shepherd returns in glory to reward His sheep for their service (1 Peter 5:4).  Psalm 27 includes the “first mention” of light as a metaphor for God, and addresses three types of fear:  fear of circumstances, fear of failure, and fear of the future.

For overall study on the Psalms (and my first such study), I find this commentary very helpful, with many encouraging observations. It also ties in well with other readings about the usefulness of studying the Psalms for dealing with personal life issues.  Many articles talk about the value of the psalms for dealing with personal life struggles, and to study the Psalms was one part of the valuable advice given to the young, pre-Reformation Martin Luther.  David Murray’s blog has many helpful articles about the Psalms, including this Top 70 Online Resources on the Psalms.  This article from Crossway by author Lydia Brownback, describes a helpful approach to studying and applying the Psalms, of personal reading and journaling through various Psalms, with Psalm 3 as an example.  The “Be Worshipful” commentary helps identify the context of David’s life pertaining to a particular Psalm, along with main points about the Psalm.

Some highlights from my reading so far:

• Psalm 13:  We must not deny our feelings and pretend that everything is going well, and there is no sin in asking, “How long?” But at the same time, we must realize how deceptive our feelings are and that God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20) and can lift us above the emotional storms of life. David eventually learned to replace the question “How long, O Lord?” with the affirmation “My times are in thy hand.” (Psalm 31:15)
• Psalm 23, so oft-quoted at funerals, is really about the life experience of the mature Christian.  “While people of all ages love and quote this psalm, its message is for mature Christians who have fought battles and carried burdens.”
• Psalm 24:  As children of God, we belong to three worlds: the world of creation around us, the world of the new creation within us (2 Cor. 5:17), and “the world to come” of the wonderful final creation that will be our home for eternity (Rev. 21-22)
• Psalm 30:  God doesn’t replace sorrow with joy; He transforms sorrow into joy (John 16:20-22)