Commentary on the Book of Psalms

2008 382p (from 1866 edition) with ribbon & dj / hardback cloth cover / tr. by Fr John O'Sullivan. Book Condition: New. #55670 $44

In 1611, St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) published a priceless commentary on each of the 150 Psalms. Most of the Psalms of David, he said, read like a compendium of the whole of the Old Testament, a summation in poetic capsule. The Bellarmine Commentary remains to this day an indispensable work for understanding not only the Book of Psalms and the Old Testament, but also the Catholic liturgy, as the Psalms are at the heart of liturgical prayer. In 1999 Preserving Christian Publications scanned and reprinted the 1866 English translation of Archdeacon John O'Sullivan. He edited this work in part to make it more of a devotional work rather than a polemical or scholarly treatment of these prayers. In the original Latin St. Robert Bellarmine defends the Vulgate Psalter by introducing the reason for the Latin translations based on the Hebrew and Greek readings of various texts. For the scholar this is highly useful, but as a devotional work, the translator, Archdeacon O'Sullivan, sought to remove those scholarly discussions to make it more appealing to both laity and clergy alike. After our 1999 edition was sold out, we then reprinted it in 2003 and 2008. The book is rather large, measuring 11.75" x 9.5". Our first printing was a sewn paperback edition. This printing is a sewn hardback edition with an attractive dust jacket and a useful marking ribbon. Each copy of our reprinted edition is in a shrink wrap protective cover. 382 pages make up the commentary with the layout of the text in two columns, such as found in many Bibles, Breviaries or other books of this kind. St. Robert Bellarmine gives a verse-by-verse commentary on the Psalms as they are in the Vulgate, now rendered in English using the Douay-Rheims Bible and explains the literal meaning of the words as well as their spiritual significance. St. Robert Bellarmine is known as a great Jesuit apologist, theologian, confessor, cardinal, advisor to popes, doctor of the Church, saint and spiritual master of his day. His commentary therefore should be esteemed by all who cherish the Psalms and the interior life, since it feeds the soul and illuminates the mind. Product #55670.