Commentary on Psalms 1-41 by A.F. Kirkpatrick

This is the first part of the Rev A.F. Kirkpatrick’s Commentary on Psalms in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges series.

My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this public domain title for digitisation.

Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick [1849-1940.], ed., The Book of Psalms with Introduction and Notes. Books I. Psalms I-XLI. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1892. Hbk. pp.227. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain]

Table of Contents

Preface by the General Editor J.J.S. Perowne, D.D.

I. Introduction:

1. The Book of Psalms
2. The Position, Names, Numbering, and Divisions of the Psalter
3. The Titles of the Psalms
4. The Authorship and Age of the Psalms
5. The Collection and Growth of the Psalter
6. The Form of Hebrew Poetry
7. The Hebrew Text, the Ancient Versions, and the English Versions
8. The Messianic Hope
9. On some points in the Theology of the Psalms
   

II. Text and Notes

III. Appendices

Index

Chapter 1

Lyric poetry is the most ancient kind of poetry, and Hebrew poetry is mainly lyric. Neither epic nor dramatic poetry flourished in ancient Israel. Some indeed of the historical Psalms may be said to have an epic colouring, but they belong to the class of didactic narrative: Job and the Song of Songs may be called in a sense dramatic, but they do not appear to have been intended for performance on the stage. The only independent branch of poetry in Israel was Gnomic or Proverbial poetry, which in the hands of the ‘Wise Men’ attained to a rich development, and must have exercised an important influence on the education of the people.

The Old Testament is the religious history of Israel, and the poetry preserved in the Book of Psalms is, as might be expected, religious poetry. Secular poetry no doubt existed, but it has not come down to us….