The Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text's concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.
"The psalms themselves," says Boice, "speak so powerfully to the hurts, fears, disappointments, faith, hope, and spiritual aspirations of God's people." This first volume in the Psalms collection looks at varied songs-teaching wisdom for living, crying out for justice, and raising morning refrains of confidence and repentance.
James Montgomery Boice was a Reformed theologian, Bible teacher, and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death in 2000. He was also president and cofounder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the parent organization of The Bible Study Hour on which Boice was a speaker for more than thirty years.
During a period of severe depression my dear friend Samuel Cowan recommended this commentary series on the Psalms ... and I'm so glad he did! It has been a blessing to read the Psalms them,selves (often many times) and then read what James Montgomery Boice has to say about them! Boice's style is both expository and pastoral, and he makes good use of illustrations, especially from other, older authors.
I would whole-heartedly recommend this series to anyone who wants to enjoy reading the Psalms! It was as if Montgomery Boice was expounding and explaining each Psalm to me, personally, in my study!
To utilise the words of David in Psalm 40 to reflect my personal benefit of reading this book ... I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in mu mouth - praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD."
This is a top notch commentary. Turns out, majority of the pastors I’ve listened to online also think so. Next to Spurgeon, Boice is definitely the most quoted commentary by pastors. It’s not hard to see why. Each chapter can be read individually, but he does connect them as a whole as well. He gives a fair look at any theories, quotes other resources, comes up with great outlines for each psalm, and always includes application throughout. It feels kind of like reading a very good sermon. I would highly recommend.
I've been teaching through the Psalms on Wednesday nights at the church where I serve as preacher. Boice is a constant companion (along with several others). Boice is a careful student who also communicates in an accessible way. His illustrations are rich. He also makes many good intertextual connections elsewhere in the Bible.
One critique would be that he tends to rely upon the "usual suspects" which shows up in his footnotes. Kidner, Spurgeon, Perowne - these are regular citations. In fact, I opened randomly, found a footnote, and it was a citation from Kidner. That's not necessarily bad, just more an observation.
Overall, though, I find Boice's style highly readable, understandable, and good.
This is a top notch commentary. Turns out, majority of the pastors I’ve listened to online also think so. Next to Spurgeon, Boice is definitely the most quoted commentary by pastors. It’s not hard to see why. Each chapter can be read individually, but he does connect them as a whole as well. He gives a fair look at any theories, quotes other resources, comes up with great outlines for each psalm, and always includes application throughout. It feels kind of like reading a very good sermon. I would highly recommend.
One of my friends in a small group gave me a copy of this, since I love studying the book of Psalms. I've studied it for about thirty years and my daughters and I have been going through the book verse by verse since 2020.
It was delightful to read fresh commentary on the book from not only Dr. James Boice, but also dozens of other commentators through the centuries of Christianity and Judaism. I learned new relationships between the psalms and gained more understanding about their structure and implications.