by JM. Boice
3 Volume Set
I first heard about this ‘commentary’ in the course of a
regular home visit. The lady of the house told us that she kept
it beside her bed and she was in the habit of reading a chapter every
evening. “Wonderful reading”, she said
“Personal and direct; With the Gospel of grace always central,
while still speaking to our lives”. Soon afterwards I came
across it in a bookshop. Three volumes. About 1300 pages
(including all volumes). The price was about $70.00 for the set
(or about $30.00 per book). I took it home.
The author, James Montgomery Boice, was the senior pastor of a
Presbyterian Church in the United States until his death in 2000.
Because he preached through entire books of the Bible passage by
passage, he could turn many of his sermons into commentaries.
Boice does not read like a regular commentary though. He does not
go through the psalms, verse by verse, explaining as he goes, like
normal commentaries do. Instead, the text of the Psalm (New
International Version) stands at the head of every chapter; the
introductory paragraph then divides the psalm into logical sections;
and finally these sections are discussed, one by one. Longer
psalms or psalms of special note are generally divided into
sections. For example, Psalm 110 is covered in two sections
because it is the psalm most quoted in the New Testament.
Similarly Psalms 107, 118 and 139 are also divided in two. Psalm
119 is divided into 14(!) sections. Most chapters are about five
to eight pages long, perfectly suitable to be read in a single sitting.
For my own sermon preparation I always find myself going back to John
Calvin, because he always brings us back to the basics of the
Gospel. What Calvin lacks, though, is a connection to the world
we live in. Calvin speaks about the issues of his time,
especially issues like justification; the authority of the pope; and
the worship of saints. Boice, on the other hand, addresses the
issues which Christians face today. He boldly challenges those
who claim that Jesus is their Savior even while they reject Him as the
Lord of their life. But more than criticizing
‘Christians’ who live in sin, Boice lambastes “a type
of evangelical theology that refuses to face the fact that such persons
are not Christians.” Boice challenges us to accept the
Gospel as the ultimate solution to all our needs and the absolute rule
for our whole lives.
Actually Boice does much more than explain the meaning of the psalms
and apply them to our lives. Instead he repeatedly refers back to
heroes of Church history, and describes how the psalms impacted on
their lives. Boice explains how Luther found Paul’s gospel
of justification by faith in Psalm 130; and how John Wesley was greatly
encouraged by that same psalm. The title that Boice gives to
Psalm 131 is Like a Satisfied Child. In the paragraphs that
follow, Boice gives special attention to these words of David:
“But I have stilled and quieted my soul: like a weaned child with
its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Says
Boice: “When David says that his soul is ‘like a weaned
child,’ he is not saying that he has always been content with God
or even merely that he is content with God now. He is reflecting
on the difficult weaning process in which a child is broken of its
dependence on its mother’s milk and is taught to take other foods
instead. Weaning is usually accompanied by resistance and
struggle on the child’s part … and it is difficult for the
mother. But weaning is necessary if the child is to
mature.” - Wonderfully imagery of David, powerfully explained by
JM Boice.
This commentary set is recommended especially for younger readers who
want Christian answers to the challenges of the world. For
university students; for recent graduates; for those who have just
joined the work force; for those who have just made profession of
faith; I would highly recommend these books. Buy them, and place
them beside the bed of the 18-25 year olds. But feel free to read
them yourself first. You could do much worse.
Review by Rev R. Eikelboom
