Best Commentaries on Psalms

Derek Kidner writes brilliantly. He expresses succinctly—in lightning struck words—his profound reflections on the text. His comments are judicious and within orthodox theology. Moreover, he thinks canonically, Christianly, and thus applicably for the Christian life.

Longman’s commentary on Psalms replaces Kidner’s, which was originally in the same series. It’s the fruit of mature scholarship and sensibilities developed over a career of exploring Old Testament poetry and wisdom. The commentary interprets each psalm in its Old Testament context, summarizes its message, and reflects on its christological significance for New Testament believers.

Challies writes, “These are shorter, less technical commentaries geared toward a general audience. That makes them ideal for those who wish to read devotionally, but perhaps a little bit less helpful for sermon preparation.”

Longman comments, “Mays has given us an exciting new commentary that focuses on the literary expression and theological message of the Psalms. It approaches the Psalms as rich statements of faith in God. . . . He has a good feel for the Psalms as individual compositions as well as for the structure of the book as a whole. He gives more comment to psalms that have had a bigger impact on later Christian theology.”

Widely viewed as the best mid-level commentary on Psalms. Mathison writes, “For each psalm, VanGemeren provides a substantive introduction followed by expository comments and textual notes on every verse. In many cases, these comments are then followed by an appendix dealing more fully with some important issue in that particular psalm.”

Waltke, Houston, and Moore examine selected psalms through the lens of their history of interpretation. The Worship focuses on thirteen psalms that represent various genres and perspectives or hold special significance for Christian faith and the life of the church, including Psalms 1, 23, 51, and 139.The Lament volume covers ten lament/penitential psalms (5, 6, 7, 32, 38, 39, 44, 102, 130, and 143). And the Praise volume covers book IV of the psalter (psalms 90–106). The authors’ exegesis is erudite, original, canonical and Christ exalting.

Mathison says, “The NIVAC series divides comments into three sections: Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Significance. In most of the commentaries in this series, the author will do very well in one or maybe two of those sections. Wilson is one of the few who succeeds in all three.”

Longman says, “Craigie’s commentary is the best of the modern commentaries on the Psalms in matters of language and Old Testament background and message. He is a well-known Ugaritic specialist and is able to cut through the benefits and pitfalls of recent research into the connections between Ugaritic and biblical literature.” The other volumes in the series follow Craige’s lead admirably, but all three volumes are slow to make strong theological connections to the New Testament.

Longman says Goldingay has provided “an extensive interpretation of the Psalms focusing on poetics, grammar, and especially theology of the individual psalms. The best Psalms commentary for the meaning of the book in its original setting, but those looking for a strong discussion of the book’s connection with New Testament theology will be disappointed.”

These volumes are by far the best in analyzing the poetics of a psalm. And they’re helpful in showing the psalms’ interconnectedness. Hossfeld and Zenger’s research is profitably erudite without being tedious. But Hossfeld in particular must be read with theological caution because he assumes some critical, non-orthodox views. Volume 1 in the series exists in German but has not yet been published in English.