Generosity, particularly in the form of almsgiving, has traditionally been viewed as a virtue and a necessary spiritual discipline in the life of the believer. As German Reformed theologian Konrad Pellikan (1478-1556) argues in this excerpt from his commentary on the entire Bible, this practice is particularly for those who have means to care for…

Throughout the history of the church, fasting has been seen as a foundational spiritual discipline, but its proper occasion, practice, and meaning have been open to various interpretations. In looking to David in Psalm 35, John Calvin (1509-1564) elaborates from this example a meaning and application of the practice for the church. He argues that…

As part of our continued partnership with IVP Academic and the Reformation Commentary on Scripture series, we’re pleased to publish this interview with Reformation scholar Herman J. Selderhuis. He was the editor of both volumes on the Psalms in the series, and we are grateful to him for allowing us to wrap up our series…

Wolfgang Musculus’s (1497-1563) Christological interpretation of Psalm 114 demonstrates an interesting interpretive strategy. As the psalmist appropriates the exodus as a story of God’s deliverance within his own context, Musculus extends this hermeneutic and adopts the exodus as an illustration of God’s ultimate act of redemption through Christ. God’s People Always Have an Exit “When…

As with most Reformation commentators, Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) finds Psalm 110 to be a prophesy about Christ’s eschatological kingdom. In his interpretation, he draws an interesting doctrinal inference, noting that Christ’s succession of David is different than earthly succession, pointing to the eternality of his roles as king and priest, which draw attention to his…

While our Reformation commentators readily found Christological meaning in the Psalms, whether typologically or more immediately, considerable care was nevertheless taken to understand the historical context of the text as well. In his interpretation of Psalm 98, English pastor and theologian John Downame (1571-1652) demonstrates this concern, as he sets forth both the historical and…

Messianic expectation is a central aspect of Jewish eschatology, and throughout Jewish history, Psalm 95 has been seen as looking toward the reign of the coming king. It is not surprising, then, that Christian interpreters of the sixteenth century read these texts as clear references to Christ. Konrad Pellikan (1478-1556) argues here in reference to…

Reformed commentators tend to find Christ in the Psalms typologically, and that approach to the text is demonstrated in John Calvin’s (1509-1564) interpretation of Psalm 41:9. While Christ applied this text to Judas, Calvin finds a broader correspondence between David and Christ. David’s words concerning his own situation, Calvin argues, are representative of Christ, and…

While Catholic and Lutheran commentators tend to find Christ more immediately in the Psalms, Reformed commentators generally prefer to use the language of typology. We can see this in Wolfgang Musculus’s (1497-1563) exegesis of Psalm 21. Reading this royal psalm, he argues that the text looks beyond its historical context and that through the lens…

When modern interpreters imagine the literal sense of Scripture, they tend to conceive it in terms of the historical, grammatical, and literary elements of the text. For sixteenth-century commentators, however, to observe this narrow definition would be to sever the letter of Scripture from the Spirit, its divine author. While Cardinal Cajetan’s (1469-1534) interpretation of…

For Martin Luther (1483-1546), as for most exegetes of the sixteenth century, the significance of the Psalms extends far beyond the historical events that occasioned their writing. While modern exegetes quibble over the extent of their prophetic meaning, in his preface to the Psalms, Luther shows no such hesitation. The Psalter, he states, is in…

In the prayer for deliverance in Psalm 122, Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563), a reformer in Strasbourg, Augsburg, and Bern, finds much material for reflection. Pausing on verse 22, he looks towards the future age, where all of God’s people are gathered together to worship the Lord, all kingdoms and churches in perfect union. The Unity of…