Mark down these two volumes on Psalms by James Hamilton Jr. as my new favorite in this newer Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (EBTC) series. Strangely enough, in this series that emphasizes theology it isn’t the theology that makes me rate it so highly (though the theology is excellent), but the overall approach to the Psalms themselves. In short, he sees an overarching structure and unity that presents a purposeful, carefully planned presentation rather than a loose collection with no more interconnection than a hymn book. You know how a hymn book works—each new edition drops a few songs while adding others with no loss other than if the changes involved your favorite song or not. There’s no overall theme to affect. Hamilton doesn’t want us to see the Psalms that way. I’m convinced he’s right.

More than the proclamation that the Psalms are a unity and interconnected, the details that Hamilton marshals and presents are profound. As you read, you catch yourself saying, of course that’s right! You might might disagree on a few details but there are too many to dodge. I’ve always felt this must be true of the Psalms and how I enjoyed reading the labor shown here to work it out.

There’s a second reason to love this commentary. It stands above the pack in an even more fundamentally important category. I’ve had the privilege to review many commentaries and have had occasional opportunity to declare that a particular commentary presents well-argued conservative conclusions. On a high level that’s true here too, but there’s more. I can’t recall ever reading such an impassioned exhibition in a major commentary series for the necessity of seeing Scripture as the inspired Word of God. Scholarship frowns too often on childlike faith and so even many scholars who possess such faith write as if they hear the eggshells breaking under their feet. They write in a subdued manner as if someone might show up and make them sit in the corner, or worse, call them out as not a REAL scholar. Hamilton didn’t take that defensive position. Let’s just say he was on offense and turned the discussion on its head so much so that it’s those other scholars who can take their place in the corner. What a breath of fresh air! He wasn’t brash, but he just brought the discussion back into the light of day. We hold a book in our hands that is a production of the Almighty. How can we believe less than what he shared here? How did scholarship lose sight of the big picture? I have the highest admiration for what I read here.

Everything else was on target in this commentary. The exegetical depth of the comments are as far as the parameters of the series allows and give real help. Why should I say more? You can already tell these two volumes are 5 star all the way to me.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.