Synopses & Reviews
"Lewis's words appear often in my Mitford series---where would the Christian thinker be without Lewis? He is pivotal."--Jan Karon "Illuminating and rewarding reading."--
Christian Herald In one of his most enlightening works, C.S. Lewis shares his ruminations on both the form and the meaning of selected Psalms. In the introduction he explains, "I write for the unlearned about things in which I am unlearned myself," so from neither a scholar's nor an apologist's stance, Lewis takes on a tone of thoughtful collegiality as he writes on one of the Bible's most elusive books. Characteristically graceful and lucid, Lewis cautions that the Psalms were originally written as songs that should now be read in the spirit of lyric poetry rather than as doctrinal treatises or sermons. Drawing from daily life as well as the literary world, Lewis begins to reveal the mystery that often shrouds the Psalms. This book also includes an appendix featuring the full text of selected Psalms and a listing of all the Psalms mentioned and discussed. "For the last thirty years of his life no other Christian writer in this country had such an influence on the general reading public as C.S. Lewis."--
The Times Literary Supplement (London) C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) gained international renown for an impressive array of beloved works both popular and scholarly: literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and numerous books on theology. Among his most celebrated achievements are
Out of the Silent Planet, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, The Four Loves, and
Surprised by Joy.
Review
"A detailed attempt to find the inner meaning and values of one limited part of the Bible." Chad Walsh, New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
In one of his most enlightening books, C. S. Lewis assumes neither a didact's nor an apologist's stance but takes instead a tone of thoughtful collegiality as he rites on the Psalms. Lewis cautions his readers that the Psalms were written as songs and should be read in spirit of lyric poetry rather than as doctrinal treatises or sermons. The author then shares, with his characteristic grace and lucidity, reflections on both the form and meaning of select passages. The book includes an appendix with the text of particular Psalms and a listing of all the Psalms discussed.
Synopsis
Lewis writes here about the difficulties he has met or the joys he has gained in reading the Psalms. He points out that the Psalms are poems, intended to be sung, not doctrinal treatises or sermons. Proceeding with his characteristic grace, he guides readers through both the form and the meaning of these beloved passages in the Bible.
Synopsis
“We delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.”The Psalms were written as songs; we should read them as poetry, in the spirit of lyric, not as sermons or instructions. But they are also shrouded in mystery, and in this careful reading from one of our most trusted fellow travelers, C.S. Lewis helps us begin to reveal their meaning in our daily lives and in the world. Reflecting again and anew on these beloved passages, we can find both joy and difficulty, but also, always, real enlightenment and moments of transcendent grace.
"This book may not tell the reader all he would like to know about the Psalms, but it will tell him a good deal he will not like to know about himself." —Times Literary Supplement
"[Lewis] . . . displays in this volume the same keen insight and gifted tongue that have made him one of the most highly respected essayists using the English language." —Chicago Sunday Tribune
"Full of illuminating observations." —New York Times
About the Author
C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis (1898-1963), one of the great writers of the twentieth century, also continues to be one of our most influential Christian thinkers. A Fellow and tutor at Oxford until 1954, he spent the rest of his career as Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge. He wrote more than thirty books, both popular and scholarly, inlcuding The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Screwtape Letters, The Four Loves, Mere Christianity and Surprised by Joy.