Psalms 1-44

"""What an extraordinary study! Abraham Kuruvilla has applied himself with resolution and enthusiasm to all 150 psalms, and here he shares the results with us. He thus takes us through the entire Psalter with careful and suggestive outlines of the Psalms for preachers, and with judicious comments on their theological significance. It will be wonderful if pastors make them a resource for preaching. Indeed, any student of the Psalms will learn from them."" --John Goldingay, senior professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary ""What a delightful surprise this series of commentaries on the Psalms is. Working with proper regard for the newest academic insights, Abraham Kuruvilla makes an innovative synthesis of the meaning of each psalm, building a bridge between its theological essence and practical application of the text in various situations. This series will be extremely useful for anyone who preaches, teaches, or studies the Bible seriously."" --Philippus (Phil) J. Botha, professor emeritus of ancient and modern languages and cultures, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa ""Whenever my friend and former colleague Abe Kuruvilla speaks about preaching, I'm all ears. If you've read his books on preaching or listened to his sermons, you understand why. His hermeneutical approach is carefully crafted, producing penetrating insights and proposals worthy of consideration. This commentary is wonderful and, crafted in the crucible of Abe's personal suffering, will be immensely helpful to those who love the Psalms and the God who inspired ancient authors to compose them."" -- Robert B. Chisholm Jr., chair and senior professor of Old Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary ""Why is it that we don't hear more excellent sermons on the Psalms that engage the text in deep and serious ways? Abe Kuruvilla has written a monumental three-volume work to help address this shortcoming. He recognizes that the Psalms, as captivating as they may be, are not necessarily easy to interpret and many of their contexts and occasions remain in the shadows. Nevertheless, through close attention to each psalm, Kuruvilla shows that their theology can result in preaching that engages both the heart and the mind."" --Stanley E. Porter, president, dean, and professor of New Testament, McMaster Divinity College ""Although preaching from the Psalter was a regular practice in the early church, nowadays Christians might sing and pray the Psalms, but rarely listen to a sermon one of them. Abraham Kuruvilla's commentary skillfully reverses this trend. He takes seriously each psalm in its poetic Hebrew medium then applies its theological message, however difficult, to Christian discipleship today. No minister now has an excuse for avoiding preaching from the book of Psalms."" --Susan Gillingham, professor emeritus of Hebrew Bible, University of Oxford ""This three-volume series on preaching the Psalms is a masterful work, combining exegesis, hermeneutics, biblical theology, and homiletics. Abraham Kuruvilla astutely guides the preacher through the most difficult step of sermon development in the Psalms. In my opinion, this is the best work on preaching the Psalms that is available today, and it should be on the shelf of all preachers who aspire to proclaim the wonderful message of the Psalms to their congregations."" --J. Daniel Hays, senior professor of Old Testament, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Abraham Kuruvilla has provided the kind of theological exegesis preachers need to engage in sermon preparation. His thorough exploration draws on his own attention to the literary complexities of the text and his engagement with the best of scholarship. A literal translation, structural analysis, theological focus statement, discerning commentary, and sermon map for each psalm efficiently guide the preacher through the essential steps of sermon development. This will be my go-to commentary on the Psalms."" --Timothy S. Warren, senior professor emeritus of pastoral ministries, Dallas Theological Seminary ""In his commentary, Abe Kuruvilla approaches the Psalms with the eye and the heart of a preacher/pastor. He draws deeply from the scholarly literature, but he focuses on the needs of the expositor. His primary emphasis is upon how Christians are to align their lives to what God reveals in the various songs in the Psalter, and how the Psalms guide the people of God in their spiritual transformation toward Christlikeness. What he has written will both stretch the mind and warm the heart of the reader. I highly recommend it!"" --Daniel Estes, distinguished professor of Old Testament, Cedarville University ""Abraham Kuruvilla has produced another helpful commentary to guide faithful preaching of God's word. Although best known as a leading scholar in homiletics, he proves himself to be a competent Hebrew exegete as well. His Christiconic hermeneutic allows the Psalms to fully speak their multidimensional message for spiritual formation today."" --John W. Hilber, professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College ""This is a valuable addition to Abraham Kuruvilla's existing work on Christian preaching of Scripture. He knows the issues, provides a fresh translation of the Hebrew text to ponder, and offers theologically robust content. Though it is oriented to those who would preach the Psalms, it also has value for those who pray them."" --Walter Moberly, professor emeritus of theology and biblical interpretation, Durham University ""Abraham Kuruvilla's commentary set on the Psalter is unique and helpful. He clearly explains the text of each Psalm, laying out its meaning as well as aspects of divine demand, calling its readers to Christlikeness. I thank him for his faithful ministry in helping students bring and use God's word to push believers toward Christlikeness."" --Michael A. Grisanti, distinguished research professor of Old Testament, The Master's Seminary ""With keen appreciation for literary and rhetorical features of each psalm, Kuruvilla keeps his finger on the text. He resists a 'homiletical hermeneutic' that is driven by what one wants to preach out of the text rather than what the psalmists tried to communicate with the text. Although he is an authority on preaching, Kuruvilla does not prescribe how to preach individual psalms, but teachers of Scripture be inspired by his commentary and find the 'sermon maps' that conclude the commentary on each psalm helpful."" --Daniel I. Block, professor emeritus of Old Testament, Wheaton College"