Psalms (Understanding the Bible Commentary | UBC)

by Craig C. Broyles

Publisher:

Baker

, 2012

Overview

The Psalms are beloved for their poetic beauty, poignant expression of human emotion and spiritual experience, and soaring depictions of God’s glory. This commentary examines literary elements to help understand each psalm as a whole. Further, it highlights the psalms in their liturgical role as part of Israel’s worship, with an eye toward enriching contemporary worship and prayer.

Contents

Top Highlights

“), and uses the desire for long life and ‘many … days’ (Prov. 3:2, 16; 4:10; 9:11) as a motivation for moral behavior” (Page 169)

“In verses 3–8 we shall see celebrated that although humans initially appear insignificant, they have a position of power—not by virtue of their innate abilities but by virtue of God’s ordaining it. How then are the lips of mere infants connected with strength? Their cries are heard by their parents. So, strength resides in the cry of one who has privileged access to one who embodies strength.” (Page 71)

“In this respect, one of the primary purposes of Psalm 91 is not to issue guarantees against misfortune but to promote faith in Yahweh as opposed to other ancient Near Eastern religions.” (Page 363)

“But the key revelation of this psalm is not that humanity can dominate the animal world but that you made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him, and you made him ruler, and you put everything under his feet. This psalm reminds us that our supremacy in the natural world did not result from our own efforts or from something inherent in nature but from God’s deliberate choice. The psalm takes a radical departure from ancient Near Eastern ideology by its declaration that Yahweh has made every human a king (cf. the terminology used in 21:5, a royal psalm).” (Page 72)

“Finally, a question heard throughout the prayer psalms, ‘Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?’ (88:10), can be answered in the affirmative.” (Page 120)

Product Details

• Title: Psalms
• Author: Craig C. Broyles
• Series: Understanding the Bible Commentary Series
• Publisher: Baker
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 560
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Psalms › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781441251756, 9781565632202, 9780801045752, 1441251758, 1565632206, 0801045754
• Resource ID: LLS:BAKERUBOT19PS
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-12T21:58:34Z

About Craig C. Broyles

Craig C. Broyles is a professor of religious studies at Trinity Western University, Canada. He is author of The Conflict of Faith and Experience: A Form-Critical and Theological Study of Selected Lament Psalms and co-editor of Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies of an Interpretive Tradition.