Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) [Hardcover]

Quentin F. Wesselschmidt (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture | Publication Date: November 26, 2007

The Psalms have long served a vital role in the individual and corporate lives of Christians, expressing the full range of human emotions, including some that we are ashamed to admit. The Psalms reverberate with joy, groan in pain, whimper with sadness, grumble in disappointment and rage with anger. 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 as Messiah. They also employed the Psalms widely as support for other New Testament teachings, as counsel on morals and as forms for prayer. Especially noteworthy was their use of Psalms in the great doctrinal controversies. The Psalms were used to oppose subordinationism, modalism, Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism and Monophysitism, among others. More than fifty church fathers are cited here from Ambrose to Zephyrinus. From the British Isles, Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula, we find Hilary of Poitiers, Prudentius, John Cassian, Valerian of Cimiez, Salvian the Presbyter, Caesarius of Arles, Martin of Bruga, Braulio of Saragossa and Bede. From Rome and Italy, we find Clement, Justin Martyr, Callistus, Hippolytus, Novatian, Rufinus, Maximus of Turin, Peter Chrysologus, Leo the Great, Cassiodorus and Gregory the Great. Carthage and North Africa are represented by Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine and Fulgentius. Fathers from Alexandria and Egypt include Clement, Origen, Dionysius, Pachomius, Athanasius, Cyril and Poemen. Constantinople and Asia Minor supply the Great Cappadocians--Basil the Great and the two Gregorys, from Nazianzus and Nyssa--plus Evagrius of Pontus and Nicetas of Remesiana. From Antioch and Syria we find Ephrem, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyr, Philoxenus of Mabbug, Sahdona and John of Damascus. Finally, Jerusalem, Palestine and Mesopotamia are represented by Eusebius of Caesarea, Aphrahat, Cyril, Jacob of Sarug, Jerome and Isaac of Nineveh. Readers of these selections, some appearing in English for the first time, will glean from a rich treasury of deep devotion and profound theological reflection.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Quentin F. Wesselschmidt (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is a professor of historical theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 523 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (November 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830814787
• ISBN-13: 978-0830814787
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas C. Oden (Ph.D., Yale University) recently retired as Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology at The Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He is general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and author of numerous theological works, including a three-volume systematic theology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Commentary, March 9, 2008

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BookBargainsandPreviews.com "www.bookbargains... (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) (Hardcover)

This was an excellent commentary on the Psalms, Chapters 51-50. The foundation of this volume is early Christian thought, based on the writings of the Church Fathers. The great men of faith used the Psalms to fight heresy in the early church and the editors share their thoughts here in the appropriate chapters.
The Psalms are rich with treasures waiting to be uncovered and this book will help you do just that.
Another one for your library!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Orthodox May Need To Stay Away From This, July 27, 2011

By 

Misha Kolitwenzoo (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) (Hardcover)

I bought this book by Intervarsity Press, hoping that it would be a comprehensive commentary on the book of Psalms.

When I first opened the back of the book and saw the biography of Origen of Alexandria, I was horrified. Firstly, since this book was created and put together by non-orthodox (protestants), the writers of the book decided to say that Origen of Alexandria, in the Church Fathers biographies was, "Perhaps unfairly excommunicated" from the Church when speaking of his excommunication for his heresies. This was a serious error on the part of the publishers. I was outraged and wanted to return the book to the bookstore I got it from. One of the worst things about this was that the bookstore was, to my dismay, an Orthodox Christian store. To my dismay again, I was not able to return the book because it was "damaged".

That's probably the worst thing about this series (InterVarsity Press Ancient Christian Commentaries).
But the second worst thing would probably be the lack of comments for the book of Psalms themselves. They skip so many verses of the chapters that its not even funny. This is the most un-comprehensive commentary book ever. Its like a sham commentary.

This book shouldn't even be considered a commentary, but an introduction to comments of Church Fathers on Holy Scriptures.

The third worst thing about this book is that they have the ignorance to include heretical writers such as Origen, Theodore of Mopsuesia, and a great host of many others.


The lack of commentary is what is really shabby. They though they could put sufficient commentaries for 100 Psalms in 300 pages? They're joking. This is why they skip so many verses, because its just too many Psalms. This is one of the most outrageous errors of the whole series.


But I do recommend their commentary on the book of Revelation, because in this book, they actually were able to comment on almost all of the verses. Its very comprehensive... BUT, whenever you see the books which try to compact the books and the commentaries together (like putting 100 Psalm commentaries in a 300 page book), do NOT buy it, because you will just receive a sham commentary, with NO comprehensibility.



On the plus side, from reading other books in this series via computer CD (you can buy a CD from InterVarsity with the books on them), there are many quotes in this series (Ancient Christian Commentaries) which are true gems. Sometimes even from Desert Fathers, St Dorotheos of Gaza, and great commentators like St Theophlact of Bulgaria (who isn't even ancient but from the 11 century).



I give it 5 stars for the gems you will find in them, but 2 and 1/2 for the lack of comments in the book, and for the heretics.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Commentary, January 7, 2010

By 

Betty Southard "Betty Southard" (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) (Hardcover)

My son-in-law seems to be pleased with this book. It is second in a series that he wanted.