Calvin's theology of the Psalms

Herman Selderhuis believes that Calvin expressed the heart of his theology when he offered the programmatic statement that God is at the center. Calvin's Theology of the Psalms demonstrates this pattern of Calvin's thought from his commentary on the Psalms. Selderhuis first investigates the relation between Calvin's biography and his theology according to his commentary on the Psalms. The main section of the book then explores Calvin's commentary on the Psalms thematically according to the thesis that Calvin's commentary is vitally interested in the First Person of the Trinity and that his doctrine of God fundamentally informs his biblical interpretation. The book is organized according to the attributes of God because Calvin stressed the need to talk about God in terms of those attributes. Calvin proposes an image of God that gives maximum consolation and assurance to humanity. Selderhuis believes Calvin's commentary on the Psalms is a pastoral variation of Calvin's Institutes. In this commentary in particular Calvin applies himself to the main themes of the Institutes and gives them form so that they are directly applicable to the practice of living in faith. Reformation and Calvin scholars as well as interested Reformed readers will value this resource.

Publisher: Baker
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780801031663

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Herman Selderhuis (Dr.Theol., Apeldoorn) is professor of church history and church polity at the Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. The author of several articles and books on the Reformation, he is also director of the Institute for Reformation Research (Apeldoorn) and is general secretary of the International Calvin Congress.

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"Busy pastors looking for a book that offers multiple cross-disciplinary benefits will enjoy in this volume a well-written story of Calvin's interaction with--his living with--the Psalms in the context of his own personal, ecclesiastical, and political struggles. They will find here a readable summary overview of Calvin's thought, in terms of its interrelationship, texture, emphases, and commonalities with other Reformers. In short, without ever getting lost in the details of theological exposition, Selderhuis uses this palette of Calvin's commentary on the Psalms to paint a fresh portrait of Calvin's theological spirituality and his spiritual theology." Nelson D. Kloosterman, Mid-America Journal of Theology