Commentary on the Psalms

“I spent any time I could spare, especially in the quiet of the night, in meditating on the Psalms of David . . . My object was to try to be brief and clear . . . and to provide for the spiritual reflection and devotion of the reader.”

Few portions of Scripture have been more central to the Church’s prayer, and less understood by the faithful, than the Psalms of David.

St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, met this difficulty with rare clarity. Born at Montepulciano in 1542 and nephew of Pope Marcellus II, he entered the Society of Jesus at eighteen. His lectures at Louvain drew Protestant hearers from Holland and England. Later, as Cardinal and Archbishop of Capua, he applied a third of his revenues to the poor while continuing his scholarly work. The present commentary was composed in the night hours, amid the demands of public office, with the deliberate purpose of offering spiritual nourishment rather than technical display.

Bellarmine’s exposition is marked by economy and precision. He unfolds the literal sense of each Psalm and its application to Christ and the Church, enabling the reader to pray with both understanding and devotion. This edition presents Bellarmine’s full commentary, which remains one of the most reliable and spiritually profitable guides to the Psalter available to clergy and laity.

601 pages  |  9in x 6in  |  Paperback