Old Testament Commentary: Psalms 1-72

The book of Psalms is a veritable library, a true anthology, a comprehensive hymnbook, a precious songbook. It could even be seen as an authentic photo album, full of images that show us a series of particular places within the framework of a genuine spiritual experience.

This book, an anthology of songs for the benefit of God's people, begins and ends with a deceptively simple note. In the first of the Psalms, the righteous prosper and the wicked perish – and everything seems to be resolved appropriately. The last of them, in fact, sets the tone: 'Praise the Lord' – because everything will be fine. Michael Wilcock, however, echoes the perplexed reader who questions, but is that really the case?

The Psalms, as a whole, fulfill the purpose of providing context and development, with their corresponding dramatic charge, to the many questions we ask ourselves and which are also raised here: the conflicts, the burdens, the mysteries, the sufferings that God's people endured and continue to endure today in the midst of the adventure of faith.

Michael Wilcock has taken on the task of analyzing the Psalms one by one, the short and the long, the popular and the lesser-known, showing us their function and their authentic meaning. This first volume includes Psalms 1-72.