Table Of ContentPsalms
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary
Revised Edition
Willem A. VanGemeren
Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, General Editors
ZONDERVAN
Psalms
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CONTENTS
Contributors
Preface
Abbreviations
Psalms
Introduction
I. BOOK I: PSALMS 1-41
Compositional Outline
A. Psalm 1: God’s Blessing on the Godly
1. The Discriminating Way of the Godly (1:1-2)
2. The Future of the Godly and the Wicked Contrasted (1:3-5)
3. The Discriminating Way of God (1:6)
B. Psalm 2: The Messianic King
1. The Rebellious Nations (2:1-3)
2. God’s Rule in Heaven (2:4-6)
3. God’s Decree (2:7-9)
4. The Rule of the Messiah on Earth (2:10-12)
C. Psalm 3: Quietness amid Troubles
1. Lament over the Enemies (3:1-2)
2. Prayer to the Lord (3:3-4)
3. Trust in the Lord (3:5-6)
4. Prayer for Deliverance and Expression of Hope (3:7-8)
D. Psalm 4: An Evening Hymn (in Despondency)
1. Prayer (4:1)
2. Call for Trust in the LORD (4:2-5)
3. Prayer (4:6-7)
4. Expression of Trust (4:8)
E. Psalm 5: A Morning Prayer (in Anticipation of God’s Presence)
1. Prayer for God’s Justice (5:1-3)
2. Affirmation of God’s Hatred of Evil (5:4-6)
3. Hope in Fellowship with God (5:7)
4. Prayer for and Hope in God’s Righteousness (5:8-12)
F. Psalm 6: A Prayer (in Deep Anguish)
1. Prayer for God’s Favor (6:1-3)
2. Prayer for God’s Love (6:4-5)
3. Need for God’s Love (6:6-7)
4. Prayer for God’s Favor (6:8-10)
G. Psalm 7: The Righteous God Loves the Righteous
1. Prayer for Refuge (7:1-2)
2. Oath of Innocence (7:3-5)
3. God’s Righteous Judgment (7:6-13)
4. Judgment of the Guilty (7:14-16)
5. Praise of God’s Righteousness (7:17)
H. Psalm 8: The Glory of the Creator and of Humankind
1. Ascription of Praise (8:1a)
2. The Glory of the Great King (8:1b-2)
3. God’s Interest in Humankind (8:3-4)
4. Humankind’s Derived Glory (8:5)
5. Humankind’s Glory as Ruler (8:6-8)
6. Concluding Ascription of Praise (8:9)
I. Psalm 9: Prayer and Praise for God’s Just Rule of the Nations
1. Individual Praise (9:1-2)
2. Judgment on the Wicked (9:3-6)
3. Hope in God’s Just Rule (9:7-10)
4. Communal Praise and Individual Prayer (9:11-14)
5. Judgment on the Wicked (9:15-18)
6. Hope in God’s Just Rule (9:19-20)
J. Psalm 10: The Rule of Human Beings and God’s Kingship
1. Questions (10:1)
2. The Rule of the Wicked (10:2-11)
3. Prayer for Deliverance (10:12-15)
4. The Rule of God (10:16)
5. Resolution (10:17-18)
K. Psalm 11: Refuge in the Righteous King
1. Refuge in God (11:1-3)
2. Yahweh Is the Righteous King (11:4-6)
3. God Is the Refuge of the Righteous (11:7)
L. Psalm 12: Lying Tongues and the Truthfulness of God’s Word
1. Prayer for Deliverance (12:1-4)
2. Promise of the Lord (12:5)
3. Reflection on God’s Promises (12:6)
4. Prayer for Deliverance (12:7-8)
M. Psalm 13: Waiting for God’s Salvation
1. Expression of Despair: How Long? (13:1-2)
2. Expression of Prayer: Give Me Light! (13:3-4)
3. Expression of Hope and Trust: Let Me Sing! (13:5-6)
N. Psalm 14: God Deals with Foolish Evildoers
1. The Fool (14:1)
2. The LORD’s Perspective (14:2-3)
3. The Prophetic Perspective (14:4-6)
4. The Hope of the Righteous (14:7)
O. Psalm 15: Who May Live in God’s Presence?
1. The Question (15:1)
2. The Response (15:2-5a)
3. The Promise (15:5b)
P. Psalm 16: Refuge in the Lord
1. Confidence in the LORD (16:1-4)
2. The Experience of Faith (16:5-6)
3. Confidence in the LORD (16:7-8)
4. The Experience of Faith (16:9-11)
Q. Psalm 17: A Prayer for God’s Justice
1. Prayer of a Righteous Person (17:1-5)
2. Prayer for Protection (17:6-9)
3. The Wicked (17:10-12)
4. Prayer for Deliverance (17:13)
5. The Wicked (17:14)
6. Hope in Righteousness (17:15)
R. Psalm 18: Royal Thanksgiving
1. Yahweh, the Rock of Israel (18:1-3)
2. Affliction (18:4-6)
3. The Lord’s Coming to Help (18:7-15)
4. The Lord’s Deliverance (18:16-19)
5. God’s Faithfulness to the Faithful (18:20-29)
a. Our Faithfulness to God (18:20-24)
b. God’s Faithfulness to Us (18:25-29)
6. The Lord’s Goodness (18:30-45)
a. The Divine Perfections (18:30-36)
b. The King’s Victory over the Enemies (18:37-42)
c. The Glorious Deliverance (18:43-45)
7. Yahweh, the Rock of Israel (18:46-50)
S. Psalm 19: God’s Perfections Revealed in Work and Word
1. The Revelation of Creation (19:1-6)
a. The Revelation of the Skies (19:1-4b)
b. The Revelation of the Sun (19:4c-6)
2. The Revelation of God’s Law (19:7-11)
3. Prayerful Reflection (19:12-14)
T. Psalm 20: Prayer for Victory
1. Prayer in Need (20:1)
2. Prayer for God’s Royal Help (20:2-4)
3. Rejoicing in Anticipation (20:5)
4. Confidence in God’s Royal Help (20:6-8)
5. Prayer in Need (20:9)
U. Psalm 21: The Rule of God through His King
1. The King’s Joy in the LORD’s Strength (21:1)
2. God’s Gifts to His King (21:2-6)
3. The King’s Response (21:7)
4. The People’s Expectations of the King (21:8-12)
5. The People’s Joy in the LORD’s Strength (21:13)
V. Psalm 22: Anguish and Joy
1. God’s Abandonment, Rule, and Praise of Israel (22:1-5)
2. Public Spectacle (22:6-8)
3. God’s Covenantal Responsibilities (22:9-11)
4. Abandonment and Prayer for Covenantal Favor (22:12-21)
a. The enemies (22:12-13)
b. Personal anguish (22:14-15b)
c. Severity of the situation—life itself (22:15c)
d. The enemies (22:16a)
e. Personal anguish (22:16b-17)
f. Severity of the situation—life itself (22:18)
g. Cry for help (22:19)
h. Severity of the situation—life itself (22:20a)
i. Enemies and cause of anguish (22:20b-21)
5. Public Praise (22:22-24)
6. God’s Presence and Rule: The Praise of Israel and the Nations (22:25-31)
W. Psalm 23: The Goodness of God
1. The Lord Is My Shepherd (23:1-4)
2. The Lord Is My Host (23:5-6)
X. Psalm 24: The King of Glory Is Our God
1. The Great King (24:1-2)
2. The Hill of the LORD (24:3-6)
3. The Divine Warrior (24:7-10)
Y. Psalm 25: A Prayer for Deliverance, Guidance, and Forgiveness
1. Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance (25:1-3)
2. Prayer for Guidance and Forgiveness (25:4-7)
3. Assurance of Guidance (25:8-10)
4. Prayer for Forgiveness (25:11)
5. Assurance of Guidance (25:12-14)
6. Prayer for Deliverance and Protection (25:15-22)
Z. Psalm 26: The Innocent’s Plea for Redemption
1. Prayer for Vindication and Affirmation of Innocence (26:1-3)
2. Dissociation from Evil (26:4-5)
3. Affirmation of Innocence and Love for the Lord (26:6-8)
4. Dissociation from Evil (26:9-10)
5. Affirmation of Innocence and Prayer for Redemption (26:11-12)
AA. Psalm 27: Confidence in the Lord
1. Confidence in God’s Presence (27:1-3)
2. Prayer for God’s Presence (27:4-6)
3. Prayer for God’s Presence (27:7-12)
4. Confidence in God’s Presence (27:13-14)
BB. Psalm 28: Prayer to the Lord, My Strength and My Shield
1. Personal Prayer (28:1-2)
2. Prayer for Justice (28:3-5)
3. Trust in God’s Justice (28:6-8)
4. Personal Intercession (28:9)
CC. Psalm 29: The Victorious Kingship of Yahweh
1. In Praise of Yahweh’s Kingship (29:1-2)
2. The Glorious Voice of Yahweh (29:3-9)
3. In Praise of Yahweh’s Kingship (29:10-11)
DD. Psalm 30: Praise for God’s Faithfulness in a Time of Need
1. Praise for God’s Wonderful Acts (30:1-3)
2. God’s Favor and Anger (30:4-7)
3. Praise for God’s Wonderful Acts (30:8-12)
EE. Psalm 31: How Great Is Your Goodness!
1. Prayer (31:1-18)
a. Prayer for Yahweh’s Righteousness (31:1-5)
b. Expression of Trust (31:6-8)
c. Prayer for Yahweh’s Favor (31:9-13)
d. Expression of Trust (31:14-18)
2. Thanksgiving (31:19-24)
FF. Psalm 32: The Blessing of Forgiveness and Wise Living
1. Blessing of Forgiveness (32:1-2)
2. Lesson from Experience (32:3-5)
3. God’s Protection (32:6-7)
4. Promise of Wisdom (32:8)
5. Lesson from Experience (32:9)
6. God’s Protection (32:10)
7. Rejoicing in Forgiveness (32:11)
GG. Psalm 33: The Lord Is a Sovereign and Gracious Ruler
1. Song of Praise (33:1-3)
2. Perfections of Yahweh (33:4-5)
3. Yahweh Is the Creator-Ruler (33:6-11)
4. Yahweh Is the Ruler over Humankind (33:12-17)
5. Yahweh’s Love for His People (33:18-19)
6. Hope in Yahweh’s Love (33:20-22)
HH. Psalm 34: Wise Counsel for the Poor of Heart
1. Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness and Justice (34:1-7)
a. Individual and communal praise (34:1-3)
b. Individual and communal experiences (34:4-7)
2. In Praise of Wisdom (34:8-22)
a. Exhortation to wisdom (34:8-14)
b. The rewards of wisdom (34:15-22)
II. Psalm 35: A Prayer for Vindication
1. Call on the Divine Warrior (35:1-10)
2. The Troubled Soul (35:11-18)
3. Prayer for Vindication (35:19-25)
4. Joy of Deliverance (35:26-28)
JJ. Psalm 36: The Blessedness of the Wise
1. The Nature of the Wicked (36:1-4)
2. The Wisdom of God (36:5-6)
3. The Joys of Wisdom (36:7-9)
4. Prayer for Protection from Evil (36:10-12)
KK. Psalm 37: Wise Living in a Crooked Generation
1. Exhortation to Hope in the Lord’s Deliverance (37:1-6)
2. The Comfort of Divine Retribution (37:7-11)
3. The Contrastive Ways of the Righteous and the Wicked (37:12-26)
4. Call for Wise Living in View of the Belief in Divine Retribution (37:27-33)
5. Exhortation to Hope in the Lord’s Deliverance (37:34-40)
LL. Psalm 38: A Prayer for Reconciliation
1. Prayer for Reconciliation (38:1-4)
2. Pain of Anguish (38:5-12)
3. Prayer for Vindication (38:13-16)
4. Pain of Injustice (38:17-20)
5. Prayer for Reconciliation (38:21-22)
MM. Psalm 39: A Stranger to Life and an Alien with God
1. Silence before the Lord (39:1-3)
2. Prayer for Divine Illumination (39:4-6)
3. Prayer for Deliverance (39:7-8)
4. Silence before the Lord (39:9)
5. Prayer for Divine Sustenance (39:10-11)
6. Prayer for Deliverance (39:12-13)
NN. Psalm 40: The Joyful Experience and Expectation of Salvation
1. Personal Experience of Salvation (40:1-3)
2. Blessedness of God’s Protection (40:4-5)
3. Expression of Commitment (40:6-8)
4. Proclamation of God’s Perfections (40:9-10)
5. Prayer for God’s Perfections (40:11)
6. Confession of Sin (40:12)
7. Prayer for God’s Protection (40:13-16)
8. Personal Need of Salvation (40:17)
OO. Psalm 41: God’s Blessings in Adversity
1. Affirmation of God’s Blessings (41:1-3)
2. Prayer for Healing (41:4)
3. The Words of the Enemies (41:5-9)
4. Prayer for Healing (41:10)
5. Confidence in God’s Blessings (41:11-12)
6. Concluding Doxology to Book I (41:13)
II. BOOK II: PSALMS 42-72
Compositional Outline
A. Psalms 42-43: Hoping in the Lord’s Salvation
1. Lament (42:1-4)
2. Hope (42:5-6a)
3. Lament (42:6b-7)
4. Hope (42:8)
