A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 3 (90-150)

Who reading this review finds the Psalms to be among or at the top of their list of favorite books of the Bible? I am quite sure most if not all of you raised your virtual hands to that question. Why are we so passionate about reading the Psalms? In my humble opinion, it is because the Psalms capture elements of what each of us deal with each day, both in our daily interactions with others and in our relationship with God. The Psalms are a microcosm of sorts of life.

There have certainly been numerous commentaries written on the Psalms either addressing the various types of Psalms or interacting with specific well-known Psalms. Others analyze how the Psalms are put together, their poetic attributes, and many dive into the theological truths found in this amazing book of Scripture. Allen Ross has contributed a great commentary set on the Psalms. His third and final volume of his series is worthy of your time and investment.

Many commentaries take readers into what I call the “nerd zone”, that place of academic intensity where admittedly I like to dwell sometimes, but that is typically not that useful for day to day Bible study. While the author provides lots of scholarly data, he writes in an easy to understand way that will help the lay person understand the Psalms.

Noteworthy about this series and this volume, in particular, is the manner in which Ross examines the Psalms under consideration in this study. He does not just tackle word meanings, genre, poetic structure, or other scholarly particulars although that is part of his focus. Nor does he spend all of his time on application although he certainly does include that important piece. Ross does a marvelous job of weaving all these elements into a purposeful, impactful, and useful study of Psalms 90-150. Readers are provided with an outline, an exegetical analysis, expository commentary, application, and the all-important context that puts the reader in tune with the background to each individual Psalm from the perspective of the writer. It would be remiss of me to also mention the copious footnotes and the expansive bibliography that should by no means be ignored by the reader of this fine commentary.

Put all these parts together and you have an excellent study on Psalms. Allen Ross has done a great job on this series in general and in particular this commentary series on the Psalms. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume and this series as an excellent addition to your personal library as it will bring you to a greater understanding of the Psalms, their message, and in the case of what is addressed in this volume, what God is telling His people in Psalms 90-150. This volume and set stacks up with some of the best commentary series and books I have come across on the Psalms and I have encountered quite a few entries over the years.

I received this book for free from Kregel Academic and 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.”