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Psalms 1-89 & Psalms 90-150StraightforwardPSALMS 1-89 — The Lord saves To write a commentary on the Book of Psalms is a mammoth task. The author’s understandable difficulty has been to keep the book within reasonable bounds. Theological, ethical and spiritual applications are not majored on and the commentary is section by section rather than verse by verse. The same restraint on space means that there is little room for the explanation of individual words in the psalms of which perhaps a reader may be unsure. The commentary has some outstanding features, in spite of these constraints. The introduction to the Book of Psalms is excellent. The nature, structure, authorship, poetry and variety of the psalms are succinctly discussed with nine types of psalm identified. The writer deals particularly well with the imprecatory psalms, not shirking the hard questions they raise. Especially helpful is the explanation of the three forms of parallelism found in the psalms, something essential to their interpretation. The second volume contains a 50-page appendix on the chronology of the psalms, a somewhat difficult task. Although it may not be without its critics, it is a bold and stimulating exercise and particularly helpful to the preacher who may be looking for useful ways of presenting the psalms. The excellent introduction to Psalm 119 also prompts ideas as to how to share this unique psalm in teaching and preaching. Eric Lane emphasises that the story and the teaching of the psalms are designed to lead us to the personal relationship we may have with God. He suggests reading a psalm a day alongside other daily Bible reading. His two books lend themselves to assisting this exercise. They will be best used in this way rather than as books of reference. Apt and helpful questions are found at the end of each psalm (although not, unaccountably, for Psalms 119 and 150) and these questions would be helpful for Home Bible Study Groups studying selected psalms. Both books conclude with a useful subject and Scripture index. Although not without benefit to pastors in the ways indicated, Eric Lane’s commentary is primarily for the Christian who wants straightforward help in understanding the psalms, a help that will not bewilder with detail but point to the essential truths. Derek Prime,
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