Psalms 73-150

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #16

by Derek Kidner

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" . . . "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet" . . . "Search me, O God, and know my heart" . . . Such phrases leap to mind each time a Christian lifts his or her heart to God. For many, in fact, the book of Psalms is the richest part of the Old Testament.Renowned scholar Derek Kidner provides a fresh and penetrating guide to Psalms 73-150. As in the companion volume (Psalms 1-72), he analyzes each psalm in depth, comments on interpretive questions and lays bare the universal relevance of the texts.This helpful companion to the book of Psalms, while not specifically devotional, will inspire and deepen personal worship.

Genres: Reference, Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Christianity, Nonfiction

235 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Frank Derek Kidner (1913-2008) was a British Old Testament scholar, best known for writing commentaries.

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, superbly-expressed, pastorally-motivated conservative exegesis of and notes on the Psalms.

Gives quite a sensible suggestion for the event that might have prompted Ps.124 (the attempt by Philistines to take advantage of the potential weakness of Israel during the power struggle between David and some remnants of the house of Saul, as recounted in 2 Sam 5), which other commentators I have consulted were very reluctant to mention.

Haven’t read it all yet, but I have no doubt that it will be profitable when I return to it.

[Joshua Schwisow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, but full of excellent and memorable observations on the Psalter. Kidner was a master of “lucid brevity”.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tyndale Old Testament commentaries are some of the greatest introductory commentaries on the Old Testament, first began in the 1960’s, there have been several revisions and replacements for older volumes in the series, many of these replacements have been commentaries from the late noted scholar Derek Kidner, who wrote a plethora of commentaries for this phenomenal series. Yet despite constant replacements being added the current publisher of this series, IVP, has decided to take all of Kidner’s commentaries which have been replaced and revived them in a new series called Kidner Classic Commentaries. Each of these works is the commentary formerly found in the Tyndale Old Testament series but revived so that they might not go out of print, which would be a shame for each and every one of his commentaries are worth owning.

In Kidner’s second volume of his commentary on the book of Psalms, 73-150, begins with a short introductory section, which while short is extremely helpful, with Kidners typical insightfulness. In reference to the commentary on the text of this book of wisdom, Kidner takes great care in carefully exegeting the passage while giving great practical application to the reader throughout the textual commentary. A pastor will find Kidner’s practical insights extremely helpful in giving application from the text to his congregants, while the laymen will find this commentaries easy to use formant and the non-technical format an easy read.

With regard of recommending, Psalms 73-150 , to others I would whole heartily recommend this commentary to students of scripture, Pastors, Bible Teachers, Sunday school teachers, with is enough depth to this text to understand a particularly issue in the text while giving aid to pastors in preaching the text.

This book was provided to me free of charge from IVP Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Psalm 73-150: Kidner Classic Commentaries

© 2014 by Derek Kidner

Publisher: IVP

Page Count: 242 Pages

ISBN: 978-0830829385

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said a few things in my review of the first volume that definitely hold true for the second. I'll just fill in the gaps with a few disconnected thoughts.

1. Every time Kidner wrote "the noun here is emphatic," I heard Miles van Pelt shouting back, "No, it's only pushing the verb into second position do distinguish the imperfect from the volitional!" It was a bit distracting, I must admit.

2. I'm really undecided as to how I feel about the author's treatment of the psalms' imprecations. His position (in sketch form) is that these imprecations must be heard as pointing to real injustice that demanded a response, that they were appropriate prayers for the people living at that time in redemptive history, but we would do best to look to the cross as God's final answer to injustice. I think this interpretation has more than a little merit to it, but still I'm not sure I agree. It's better than C.S. Lewis' take was, anyway.

3. This made for a great companion through the book of psalms, which tends to get overwhelming and monotonous for me when I don't have a guide. Kidner consistently indicates applications as well as interpretations.

[Spencer R · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my full review here: http://wp.me/p3JhRp-RN


At just over 240 pages this serves as a nice, thick completion to his commentaries on the Psalms. Each Psalm is given between 3-6 pages. Kidner doesn’t treat the Psalms as just words on a page. They are life.

For example, in Ps 113, who is like the Lord? No one. “It is here that God’s glory most sharply differs from man’s: a glory that is equally at home ‘above the heavens’ (4) and at the side of one forlorn person” (437). God’s glory is seen in “giving the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother” (v9).

Kidner doesn’t allow himself to fall into the mire of despair, that swamp of gritty details and mindless facts. He is brief and crisp. He takes conservative views on the Psalms. Discussions about the Hebrew text are usually placed in the footnotes.

These volumes are especially helpful for the pastor, the student, and as a morning devotional (with some extra details).

Thanks to IVP Academic for the book!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Kidner wrote both books on Psalms in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series, and the book of Proverbs and they are all excellent. Like Dale Ralph Davis, he has a knack for a. brevity, and b. getting to the heart of a matter devotionally. For this second half of the book of Psams, this is a perfect fit. An excellent commentary.

[Aeromama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining: 4/10
Transformational: 7/10

Some good cultural background in here. This book was a complement to Robertson's The Flow of the Psalms as I made my way through the Psalms for the past 2 years.

I recommend the IVP Old Testament commentary over this one for overall cultural backstory and everyday use.

[Billy Hillton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very awesome.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the last year I have been working through Kidner’s two commentaries on the Psalms. They have been life-giving and exceptional in helping me to fall in love with the Psalms. I would heartily recommend for study or for devotion.

[Kingsley Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Together with Robert Alter, Derek Kidner is a real stand-out commentator on the Psalms, and this doesn't disappoint.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few have surpassed this commentary in its devotional nature and pastoral approach.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tyndale series is a good, if uneven, mid-level, conservative commentary series. Kidner's Psalms commentaries are good. Doesn't untangle thorny text critical issues and he generally takes the conservative stance, but a lot of what he says here has been helpful and has opened up the psalms for me as much as some of my more technical commentaries.

[Kelly Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kidner writes a fair commentary on the Psalms. I have the two volume editions. While this not what one considers a "Technical" commentaries for use by seminary-trained persons it is still very useful for anyone who would like more than just surface explanatory notes.

[Bauer Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The master commentator on psalms. These are mini-classics for every student of the psalter.

[Oliver Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most devotional and poetic and yet still exegetically helpful commentaries I've ever read. Kidner is a boss.