**//The Psalms as Christian worship : a historical commentary// / Bruce K. Waltke & James M. Houston ; with Erika Moore.** - Grand Rapids, Mich. : William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2010. xii, 626 p. ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

**A survey of Second Temple period interpretation of the Psalms**

I. Diversity in Judaism and the psalter

II. The Composition and Shape of the Psalter

III. Common Features of Second Temple Interpretation of the Psalms

IV. Distinctive Features of the Major Extant Witnesses to Second Temple Interpretation of the Psalms

V. Summary

**Historical introduction to the interpretation of the Psalms in church orthodoxy**

I. Interpretative Principles of Pre-Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

II. Augustine and Medieval Monastic Exegesis

III. Christian Hebraism and Scholasticism in the High to Late Middle Ages

IV. "The Plain Text" of reformers

V. The Beginning of Biblical Criticism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

VI. Separation of the "Literal" from the "Historical" in Biblical Studies During the Eighteenth Century

VII. Conservative German and British Scholars of the Nineteenth Century

VIII. Contemporary Form-Criticism

IX. Contemporary Trends

**History of interpretation since the Reformation : "accredited exegesis"**

I. The Approach of Historical Biblical Criticism

II. An Evaluation of HBC

III. Nineteenth-Century Division of Orthodox and Biblical Critics

IV. 1900: Form-Critical Approach

V. 1920: Cult-Functional Approach

VI. The Canonical-Messianic Approach

VII. Conclusion: Accredited Exegesis

**SECTION II**

Psalm 1 : the rewarded life

Psalm 2 : ask of me, my son

Psalm 3 : living in the borderland : morning prayer after a dark night

Psalm 4 : an evening prayer in crisis

Psalm 8 : I AM rules through "infants"

Psalm 15 : a liturgical decalogue

Psalm 16 : my body will not decay

Psalm 19 : a royal sage praises and petitions I AM

Psalm 22 : prophetic psalm of Christ's Passion

Psalm 23 : the good shepherd

Psalm 51 : "the psalm of all psalms" in penitential devotion

Psalm 110 : "sit at my right hand"

Psalm 139 : search me, God.

This collaboration by two esteemed evangelical scholars blends a verse-by-verse exposition of select psalms with a history of their interpretation in the church from the time of the apostles to the present. Bruce Waltke, who has been teaching and preaching the book of Psalms for over fifty years, skillfully establishes the meaning of the Hebrew text through the careful exegesis for which he is well known. James Houston traces the church's historical interpretation and use of these psalms, highlighting their deep spiritual significance to Christians through the ages. Waltke and Houston focus their in-depth commentary on thirteen psalms that represent various genres and perspectives or hold special significance for Christian faith and the life of the church, including Psalm 1, Psalm 23, Psalm 51, and Psalm 139. While much modern scholarship has tended to "despiritualize" the Psalms, Waltke and Houston's "sacred hermeneutic" listens closely to the two voices of the Holy Spirit heard infallibly in Scripture and edifyingly in the church's response. A masterly historical-devotional commentary, The Psalms as Christian Worship will deepen the church's worship and enrich the faith and life of contemporary Christians. - Publisher.