"As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo."--Publisher's website.

Essential Expositions of the Psalms is a collection distilled from the 6-volume set in the Works of Saint Augustine. As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo.

In addition to Fisher's commentaries, this book includes an introduction to Fisher's life and writings by the translator, Anne Barbeau Gardiner.

Recent research has explored how past interpretation can help contextualize current interpretation as well as provide a more colorful and theologically meaningful understanding of scripture. In St. Augustine's Interpretation of the Psalms of Ascent, Gerald McLarney examines Augustine of Hippo's (d. 430) interpretation of the ascent motif in sermons on Psalms 119-133. He looks at the delivery, transmission, and broader context of the sermons, as well as examining the sermons as they stand.

Although more than six hundred commentators have written on the Psalms, it has long been difficult to find a comprehensive treatment of this book of Scripture in one volume. Some expositions have excelled in scholarship, but, unlike the Psalter, in instructing the mind they have failed to exercise the heart. Dr Plumer's Commentary avoids this defect, the author believing that from the Psalms 'piety has derived more nourishment than from any other source,' and that his work should serve that same purpose. In 1211 pages he gives both exposition and doctrinal and practical remarks and presents in readable form a great wealth of material drawn from all the leading commentators who had gone before him. In the opinion of Dr John Macleod of Edinburgh, he succeeded in producing the best single volume on this book of Scripture.