Psalms 1-50

The church fathers employed the Psalms widely. In liturgy they used them both as hymns and as Scripture readings. Within them they found pointers to Jesus both as Son of God and Messiah. They also employed the Psalms widely as support for other New Testament teachings, as counsel on morals and as forms of prayer. But the church fathers found more than pastoral insight in the Psalms. They found apologetic and doctrinal insight as well, as is attested by the more than 65 authors and more than 160 works excerpted in this commentary. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series is an ecumenical project, promoting a vital link of communication between the varied Christian traditions of today and their common ancient ancestors in the faith. On this shared ground we listen as leading pastoral theologians of six centuries gather around the text of Scripture and offer their best theological, spiritual and pastoral insights. With the aid of computer technology, the vast array of writings from the church fathers-- including much that is available only in the ancient languages-- have been searched for their comment on Scripture, then hand-selected by scholars who then shaped and annotated the materials to introduce it to today's readers. Each portion of commentary has been chosen for its salient insight, its rhetorical power and its faithful representation of the consensual exegesis of the early church.--Book jacket and publisher's website.