The Psalms

Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary. Downer's Grove, 2014, 480 pp $18.

For the past two years I have been preaching through the Psalms on Sunday nights at First Baptist Church of Oak Ridge. I choose the Psalms because of their robust theology and emphasis on prayer. Therefore, I was excited to receive Tremper Logman's new commentary of the Psalms, recently, to review. The Tyndale Old/New Testament Commentaries from IVP are classic commentaries that provide excellent and accessible scholarship for pastors, students, and can even be used devotionally by laymen. IVP has moved Derek Kidner's (2 part) Psalms Commentaries to the "Classic Commentaries" and inserted Tremper Longman as the new author of the Psalms edition to the series.

Longman, has written extensively on wisdom literature and the Old Testament and was a more than adequate choice to follow Derek Kidner's earlier editions. The other primary commentaries I have used so far, in my two year journey, preaching the Psalms have been Willem VanGemeren's Psalms commentary (TEBC) from Zondervan, Gerald Wilson's classic NIV Application Commentary on Pslams 1-72, and Allen Ross's Psalms 1-41 commentary from Kregel. Ross has three books for his commentary set on the Psalms, while Vangemeren's work is a single volume, consisting of 1011 pages. Longman's Psalms commentary is also single volume, but is only 500 pages long. It is a true 'introduction' commentary.  Longman does not comb through exegetical and linguistic issues in this commentary, but that does not mean that it is not valuable as an introduction to the Psalms as a whole.

Longman is precise and rich in his 'Introduction' (23-53) and explains clearly his view of the Psalms and how he has organized this commentary. After discussing the title of the book in section 1, Longman has a helpful section on the titles to the individual psalms. Interestingly the Hebrew Bible has the heading included, or as, verse 1 when there is a heading. But the English translations separate them from the text. I disagree with Longman that he insists "the titles were certainly not written by the original composer of the text but rather by a later editor" (24). But I agree with his conclusion that ultimately the titles should be considered canonical. The titles should be read and they should inform the reader of the context in which the author wrote.

Next, Longman briefly addresses the authors of the individual psalms who, "...wrote songs that could be used by later worshippers who find themselves in similar...situations" (28). While this may be observable, there is no, clear, textual evidence. I do believe that there is textual evidence (Psalm 8, just one of many) that David is obeying Deuteronomy 17 as he reflects on the Law and provides commentary as a righteous King. Jaime Grant's work The King As Exemplar is a convincing resource that argues the function of Deuteronomy's kingship law in the shaping of the Book of Psalms. Longmont does not refer to Grant's work within his commentary. Throughout the rest of the introduction I particularly was drawn to Longman's comments on organization, poetic style, and his excursus on imprecatory psalms.

Organization: Longman, is not persuaded by Gerald Wilson's argument that there are "seem" psalms that organize the Psalter as a whole. While Wilson's a argument is helpful, I agree with Longman's assessment that it is unsatisfying. Longmont cautions, rightly, that in searching for a structured order of the Psalms one 'may' impose a structure on the book. But does that mean that one cannot argue for evidence of structure without imposing on the text? Yes, we should be cautious, but I believe the organization and structure of the Psalms will be a hot, and needed, subject in the years to come. While Longman does not see a structure (see James Hamilton, Gordon Wenham, and Hossfeldt and Zenger) he does agree that there are intentional placements of certain palms, particularly at the beginning and ending of the book (35). Longmont does not address whether or not the ordering of the psalms is inspired or not. While the inspiration of the authors behind each psalm is agreed upon, it is debated whether of not the ordering of the psalms (or the Old Testament) was inspired.

Chiasm: In section 5 of the introduction Longman discusses poetic style. I found his comments on terseness, parallelism, and imagery helpful but was curious that he did not mention chiasmus (chiasm). Vangemeren's commentary points out the chiastic structure of what seems to be every slam and so I found it disappointing that Longman did not mention such a prevalent aspect of Hebrew poetry.

Imprecatory:  The imprecatory (curses) psalms can be troubling for Christians. I believe that the Psalms inform the readers how to pray. While we may not quote specific imprecatory psalms they are helpful in that "they allow us to turn our anger over to God for him to act as he sees fit" (52). I agree with Longman's assessment of the imprecatory psalms and that they are included in the New Testament and should be read and should inform Christians how to pray. We should not pray against people we just dislike or do not care for, nor should we take physical action against them. But we should, as the authors of imprecatory psalms do, pray that God would be glorified in thwarting their wickedness. After all praying the Lord's prayer of Matthew 6 that the Lord's "kingdom come and will be done" is in its essence imprecatory. For God's Kingdom to spread means that their will be both salvation and judgment.

Commentary: The commentary is very well organized.  Each psalm has three parts: context, comment, and meaning. Longmont is clear in his introduction that this is a theological commentary. He does not speak to the relationship between the psalms nor does he go into the poetic significance found within each psalm.  This does not mean that his work should be ignored but that it should not be used solely if one is studying or preaching/teaching through the Psalms.

Overall, I would suggest that this be s starting point for pastors and student in their research and study on the psalms. The book is also accessible so that it reaches a broader audience and can be used for personal devotions.  Temper Longman, and InterVarsity Press have provided another excellent resource in the Tyndale series.

**I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”**