Best Commentaries on the Psalms

I have been preaching the Psalms continually in the summer since 2008. In that time I have read a lot of books and used a lot of commentaries on the Psalms.  Today I am going to share my top five (modern) commentaries on the Psalms. These are the ones that I have found to be the most useful. The last few years have seen the release of a number of very good works on the Psalms which have added greatly to my exegesis and exposition of the book.

Let me get out of the way first that there are several classical/pre-critical works that I find particularly helpful.  Augustine’s Expositions on the Psalms, Calvin’s commentary, Spurgeon’s Treasury of David and Plumer’s Studies in the Psalms each bring valuable insights, but they need to be tempered with the more modern critical commentaries.

So, in no particular order:

1) The evangelical classic for many years was Derek Kidner’s 1973 2 volume set in the Tyndale series. Kidner makes the most of his limited space, with concise comments that get to the heart of what each Psalm is about.

2) The replacement volume for Kidner in the Tyndale series is by Tremper Longman III, published in 2014. Each chapter of the Psalms is divided into three sections: context, comment and meaning. Longman’s commentaries are always good, but I prefer Kidner in this case.

3) John Goldingay’s three volume set, published in 2006-08, in the Baker series on the Wisdom Books. Goldingay’s most valuable contributions lie in the Theological Implications that follow each Psalm’s commentary. Goldingay remains focused on the Old Testament context, drawing on Christological themes rarely.

4) Another three volume set is from Allan Ross. Published in 2011-16 in the Kregel Exegetical Library, it is the best of the expositional commentaries. Each Psalm is broken down into the following sections: Author’s translation; composition and context; exegetical analysis (in summary and outline); commentary in expository form; message and application. These volumes show that the Psalms are a part of the Bible meant to be preached.

5) From a liberal-critical perspective, the best commentary is the recently published (2014) volume by three scholars: Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford (Baptist), Rolf A. Jacobson (Lutheran), and Beth LaNeel Tanner (Presbyterian). Published in the New International series, if you need a one volume commentary one suit your needs, this one should be added to your library.

So, for all needs there are wonderful options available. For simple concise commentary, use Kidner or Longman. For critical Old Testament context, Goldingay. For preaching the Psalms, Ross. And for a one volume critical option, deClaissé-Walford et al.