WORD

BIBLICAL

COMMENTARY

VOLUME 21

PSALMS 101–150, revised

LESLIE C. ALLEN

General Editors

Bruce M. Metzger

David A. Hubbard†

Glenn W. Barker†

Old Testament Editor

John D. W. Watts

New Testament Editor

Ralph P. Martin

Associate Editors

James W. Watts, Old Testament

Lynn Allan Losie, New Testament

THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS

NASHVILLE

To

my daughter, Miriam

Word Biblical Commentary

Psalms 101–150, Revised

Copyright © 2002 by Thomas Nelson, inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Main entry under title:

Word biblical commentary.

Includes bibliographies.

1. Bible—Commentaries—Collected works.

BS491.2.W67 220.7’7 81-71768

ISBN 0-7852-4773-4 (v. 21) AACR2

Scripture quotations in the body of the commentary, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946 (renewed 1973), 1956, and © 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. The author’s own translation of the text appears in italic type under the heading Translation.

Alfred A. Knopf, a Division of Random House, Inc., has generously granted permission for the use of the quotation from Original Sin by P. D. James in the Explanation for Ps 137 of this commentary.

Table of Contents

Editorial Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Main Bibliography

Introduction

Text and Commentary

Book IV of the Psalter (Pss 90–106)

The King’s Duty Done (101:1–8)

Through Tears to Praise (102:1–29)

Grace That Forgives (103:1–22)

How Great Thou Art! (104:1–35)

God’s Faithfulness (105:1–45)

Penitential Prayer (106:1–48)

Book V of the PSalter (Pss 107–50)

Manifold Mercies (107:1–43)

Old, Yet Ever New (108:1–14)

Not Guilty (109:1–31)

God’s King and Priest (110:1–7)

God at Work (111:1–10)

Godliness at Work (112:1–10)

Glory and Grace (113:1–9)

The Relevance of Sacred History (114:1–8)

A Help and Shield (115:1–18)

God Saved Me! (116:1–19)

A Thousand Tongues (117:1–2)

God-given Victory (118:1–29)

A Light for My Path (119:1–176)

Processional Songs (Pss 120–34)

The Irksomeness of Life (120:1–7)

Able to Keep (121:1–8)

Jerusalem the Golden (122:1–9)

Grace to Help (123:1–4)

The Broken Trap (124:1–8)

Immovable as the Mountains (125:1–5)

A Prayer for Full Salvation (126:1–6)

The Secret of Human Achievement (127:1–5)

God is Nobody’s Debtor (128:1–6)

The Resilience of Faith (129:1–8)

The Riches of God’s Grace (130:1–8)

Childlikeness (131:1–3)

The King’s Heritage of Blessing (132:1–18)

The Family of Faith (133:1–3)

The Circle of Blessing (134:1–3)

Sovereign Grace (135:1–21)

Ever Faithful, Ever Sure (136:1–26)

Living with the Pain of the Past (137:1–9)

God’s Hand in My Life (138:1–8)

Honest to God (139:1–24)

The Power of Prayer (140:1–14)

Temptations Within and Without (141:1–10)

Nobody Cares (142:1–8)

My Only Hope (143:1–12)

Laying Claim to Theological Traditions (144:1–15)...