Lectures on the Psalms

'The Lord shepherds me, and nothing will be lacking for me. In a place of tender grass, there he causes me to encamp.' In his reading of Psalm 23, early Christian theologian Didymus the Blind perceived the comfort that is provided only by Christ, the good shepherd: 'The disciples of Christ who have become perfect in his instruction . . . do not simply hear a voice, but they are familiar with the teacher himself.' Born around the year when the Edict of Milan legalized Christianity, Didymus the Blind (ca. 313-398) lost his sight due to an illness at a young age. He nevertheless excelled at learning and became a defender of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism. Over the course of his career, he wrote numerous theological treatises and exegetical works. Though some of his theological speculations would later earn the ire of the Second Council of Constantinople, Didymus was also a careful exegete of Scripture. This Ancient Christian Texts volume presents Didymus's lectures on portions of the Psalms as they were originally presented to his students. Here readers can learn at the feet of this early Christian teacher and find comfort in the Word of God. Ancient Christian Texts are new English translations of full-length commentaries or sermon series from ancient Christian authors that allow you to study key writings of the early church fathers in a fresh way.

Jonathan Douglas Hicks (PhD, University of Otago) is an independent scholar who previously taught at Trinity School for Theology and Ministry in the Solomon Islands. He is the author of Trinity, Economy, and Scripture: Recovering Didymus the Blind.