Barnes' Notes: Psalms, vol. 2

by Albert Barnes

Publisher:

Blackie & Son

, 1870–1872

Overview

Albert Barnes and James Murphy wrote this verse-by-verse commentary on Psalms. Published in the 1800s, it is still well-loved and well-read by evangelicals who appreciate Barnes' pastoral insights into the Scripture. It is not a technical work, but provides informative observations on the text, intended to be helpful to those teaching Sunday School. Today, it is ideally suited to anyone teaching or preaching the Word of God, whether a professional minister or layperson.

Contents

Top Highlights

“He pours forth his earnest prayer that he might be permitted thus to approach God” (Page 339)

“The main thought of the psalm—the central idea in it—is, that, amidst these general and far-spreading agitations and convulsions among the nations of the earth, the people of God were safe.” (Page 39)

“It was evidently when the writer was deprived, for some cause now unknown, of the privileges of the sanctuary” (Page 338)

“He describes the happiness of those who are on the way” (Page 339)

“The word strength implies that God is the source of strength to those who are weak and defenceless; or that we may rely on his strength as if it were our own; or that we may feel as safe in his strength as though we had that strength ourselves. We may make it the basis of our confidence as really as though the strength resided in our own arm.” (Page 40)

Product Details

• Title: Barnes' Notes: Psalms, vol. 2
• Authors: Albert Barnes and James Murphy
• Publisher: Blackie & Son
• Publication Date: 1870–1872
• Pages: 450

About Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1820, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1823. Barnes was ordained as a Presbyterian minister by the presbytery of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1825, and was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey (1825–1830), and of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1867).

He held a prominent place in the New School branch of the Presbyterians during the Old School-New School Controversy, to which he adhered on the division of the denomination in 1837. In 1836, he had been tried (but not convicted) for heresy, mostly due to the views he expressed in Notes on Romans of the imputation of the sin of Adam, original sin and the atonement; the bitterness stirred up by this trial contributed towards widening the breach between the conservative and the progressive elements in the church. He was an eloquent preacher, but his reputation rests chiefly on his expository works, which are said to have had a larger circulation both in Europe and America than any others of their class. Of the well-known Notes on the New Testament, it is said that more than a million volumes had been issued by 1870. The Notes on Job, the Psalms, Isaiah and Daniel were also popularly distributed. The popularity of these works rested on how Barnes simplified Biblical criticism so that new developments in the field were made accessible to the general public.