_Commentary on the Psalms From Primitive and Medieval Sources_ J. M. Neale and R. F. Littledale, eds.
A review by the Rev. Ben Jeffries, ‘14
This commentary is an invaluable example of scholarship and piety working in perfect harmony. The Anglo-Catholic hymnographer John Mason Neale (1818-1866) spent eighteen years working on it, and it only reached final completion after his death, when his colleague R.F. Littledale got the final pages ready for the press.
It contains the very best of patristic and medieval commentary on the Psalms, synthesized in a running-commentary format, with sources indicated alongside the text by abbreviations in the margins.
All 2,461 verses of the Psalms are addressed, and reference is made on the notable features of different versions of the text (MT, LXX, Vulgate, BCP, and KJV). The full riches of Christological reading are teased out, and the depths of meaning in every detail of this book of books, the bible within the Bible, the book from which all can be learned - according to Richard Hooker - are on full display. This commentary is without peer.
It also contains several most edifying "dissertations" (essays) by Neale in the midst: one on the use of the Psalter in the history of the Church, which is full of fascinating details and anecdotes (like the time in the Middle Ages when a cleric was assigned three whole psalters as penance, which he completed in 18 hours straight!).
Another maps the Psalms onto the life of David. Another offers an extended rationale for why the typological reading is the best reading, not to be dismissed in favor of modern critical reads.
Historically, this work has existed in four volumes, each of about 550 pages, so the total work is a little over 2,200 pages. In this edition, the pages are presented four-to-a-page, so the total page count is only 550, and the book is a jumbo print, printed on A4-size paper (a little longer than American letterhead). It is also bound here in a case-wrap hardback, for portability and durability of such a large volume. The type size is smaller than an average book, but perfectly legible.
As Anglicans who pray the Psalms continuously in the Daily Office, this commentary is sure to facilitate a deeper understanding and a deeper joy in our prayers, as well as a harmony of mind with the countless saints who have gone before us whose lives have been shaped and formed by the immortal songs of David.
The Rev. Ben Jefferies, '14, is the first rector of The Good Shepherd Anglican Church, Opelika, Alabama, co-founder of the Cellar of St. Gambrinus and an honorary member of the Society of St. Moses the Jacked. He is married to Carrie, and they have three adorable daughters. His heroes are E.B. Pusey and The Rev. Lars Skoglund, ’14.