Psalms Volume 1 [Hardcover]

Gerald H. Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Series: NIV Application Commentary, The | Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Perhaps more clearly than any other part of the biblical canon, the Psalms are human words directed to God. Yet, through the Holy Spirit, these honest, sometimes brutal words return to us as the Word of God. Their agonies and exaltations reflect more than the human condition in which they were created. Within the context of the canonical Psalter, they become the source of divine guidance, challenge, confrontation, and comfort. However, it is possible to misapply them. How can we use the Psalms in a way that faithfully connects God's meaning in them and his intentions for them with our circumstances today? Drawing on over twenty years of study in the book of Psalms, Dr. Gerald H. Wilson reveals the links between the Bible and our present times. While he considers each psalm in itself, Wilson goes much further, examining whole groups of psalms and, ultimately, the entire Psalter, its purpose, and its use from the days of Hebrew temple worship onward through church history. In so doing, Wilson opens our eyes to ageless truths for our twenty-first-century lives. Most Bible commentaries take us on a one-way trip from our world to the world of the Bible. But they leave us there, assuming that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. They focus on the original meaning of the passage but don't discuss its contemporary application. The information they offer is valuable---but the job is only half done! The NIV Application Commentary Series helps bring both halves of the interpretive task together. This unique, award-winning series shows readers how to bring an ancient message into our postmodern context. It explains not only what the Bible meant but also how it speaks powerfully today.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Perhaps more clearly than any other part of the biblical canon, the Psalms are human words directed to God. Yet, through the Holy Spirit, these honest, sometimes brutal words return to us as the Word of God. Their agonies and exaltations reflect more than the human condition in which they were created. Within the context of the canonical Psalter, they become the source of divine guidance, challenge, confrontation, and comfort. However, it is possible to misapply them. How can we use the Psalms in a way that faithfully connects God’s meaning in them and his intentions for them with our circumstances today?

Drawing on over twenty years of study in the book of Psalms, Dr. Gerald H. Wilson reveals the links between the Bible and our present times. While he considers each psalm in itself, Wilson goes much further, examining whole groups of psalms and, ultimately, the entire Psalter, its purpose, and its use from the days of Hebrew temple worship onward through church history. In so doing, Wilson opens our eyes to ageless truths for our twenty-first-century lives.

Most Bible commentaries take us on a one-way trip from our world to the world of the Bible. But they leave us there, assuming that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. They focus on the original meaning of the passage but don’t discuss its contemporary application. The information they offer is valuable—but the job is only half done!

The NIV Application Commentary Series helps bring both halves of the interpretive task together. This unique, award-winning series shows readers how to bring an ancient message into our postmodern context. It explains not only what the Bible meant but also how it speaks powerfully today.

About the Author

Gerald H. Wilson (PhD, Yale University) was professor of Old Testament and biblical Hebrew at Azusa Pacific University. He wrote The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter and has written numerous articles for journals, encyclopedias, and reviews.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310206359
• ISBN-13: 978-0310206354
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Application, February 22, 2006

By 

Andris Peselis (Latvia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psalms Volume 1 (Hardcover)

The commentaries of NIVAC series offer three steps for Biblical text application:
1. Original meaning. There author gives some elements of exegesis and original language.
2. Bridging contexts. There author connects Biblical context with contemporary context.
3. Contemporary significance. In this section author tries to find application of Biblical message for contemporary issues and problems.
These three steps are applied for each Psalm.
This is not an expostory or critical commentary. If somebody is looking for deeper grammatical analisis or critical issues of the Biblical text, he must find another commentary.
I expected to find there application of Psalms for contemporary issues. Partly my expectations are fulfilled. There author gives some great ideas, but some - are weak. Nevertheless I give five stars because each idea for application may be a beginning for discussion and this is important for preparation of Bible lessons and/or sermons.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Practical Resource, March 24, 2009

By 

Philip D. Evans "Beyond Reason" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Psalms Volume 1 (Hardcover)

This is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the first part of the Book of Psalms. It allows the reader to understand the background and reasons behind each chapter, and gives a practical application. The way Wilson writes easily translates into writing sermons, allowing the applications to bridge the thousands of years since they were written. The second part of this comentray is eagerly awaited.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging, trustworthy., October 16, 2010

By 

Theophilus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psalms Volume 1 (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic commentary! I have been enjoying the insight into the Psalms for the past few months, and Gerald Wilson has been a great help. I'm a Bible college student right now and it is easy for the Bible to become just a textbook, for me to lose my deep love for Scripture. Without compromising the message of the Psalms, this commentary is encouraging and trustworthy. Wilson does a lot of focus on the message of each Psalm, plus some word help for those of us who don't know Hebrew (yet). The three sections of NIV Application Commentary are Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Significance, but Wilson's commentary definitely focuses on the original meaning section, and each of those is at least five times as large as every other section. It is a shame there won't be a part II from Wilson, who passed away just a few years back and before completing the second section.

This commentary is worth the money and shelf space. It will encourage you and enlighten you about the meaning of the Psalms; Wilson even gets personal sometimes and recognizes his own struggles and battles in which Psalms have helped him (e.g. Psalm 9-10).

:) Enjoy