St. Augustine's Interpretation Pslams

Just as the Gradual Psalms, or "songs of ascent," are a self-contained group within the Psalter, the commentaries on them form a homogeneous unit within Augustine's massive Enarrationes in Psalmos. Gerard McLarney's fresh study places this group of sermons within the narrative of Augustine's life, concluding that they were delivered in either Carthage or Hippo in the course of a single whiter between 406 and 411. McLarney's elaboration of what he terms the "hermeneutic of alignment" in the Enarrationes brings together key issues in patristic exegesis and contemporary theology, specifically the biblical sources of communal and spiritual life in the ongoing progress of the Christian community in its ascent to the heavenly Jerusalem. For McLarney, Augustine's "major interpretative strategy ... is to intersect the text and his audience within the ongoing narrative of salvation history." This elegantly written monograph will contribute much to the future study of the Enarrationes and will further enhance Augustine's reputation as a preacher. Book jacket.