Christian scholars write to inspire renewed interest in actively praying, reciting, and singing the Psalms in personal and corporate times of worship, citing its biblical basis and historical emphasis.

This indispensable volume is the most comprehensive resource on the Psalms for use in Christian worship ever published. It offers a single-volume anthology of psalm use, covering the history, reception, and practice of the Psalms in Christian worship. The book contains all 150 psalms, most in multiple formats, and utilizes a wide variety of musical and spoken settings. It also provides complete musical settings for morning and evening prayer. Each psalm appears in its actual biblical text, including as responsive readings. This invaluable resource for churches of all traditions is well suited to congregational use, helping pastors, worship leaders and planners, and choirs bring the Psalms back into the heart of congregational worship.

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.

A user-friendly guide to the study and interpretation of the Psalms.

Taking his point of departure from the newest frontier of research, McCann reads the psalms in the context of their final shape and canonical form. He interprets the psalms as scripture as well as in their character as songs, prayers, and poetry from Israel's history. McCann's intent is to contribute to the church's recovery of the psalms as torah--as instruction, as a guide to prayer, praise of God, and pious living. The explicit connections which McCann draws from the psalms to the New Testament and to Christian faith and life are extensive, making his work suitable for serious study of the psalms in academic and in church settings. An appendix examines the tradition of singing the psalms and offers suggestions for the use of the psalms in worship.