Samuel Eyles Pierce, The Book of Psalms, an Epitome of the Old Testament Scripture Opened. In which ... the Whole Set Forth as Prophetic of Christ, and His Church, 2 vols., London, 1817, exemplifies such extreme readings of the Psalms as records of Christ speaking through David. In Pierce's view, large portions of the Psalms make sense only if David's words are understood to apply directly to Christ as if Christ himself were speaking. On Psalms 40:7, for example, Pierce writes: "Here we have the great Mediator speaking out, and declaring his willingness to leave his Father's bosom, to descend to earth, to become incarnate, and fulfil all his covenant engagements ... This is a wonderful Lo! or Behold! It sets before us the very heart of Christ; how his whole soul rejoiced in doing the Father's will" (Vol. II, p. 384). See also John Morison, An Exposition of the Book of Psalms, Explanatory, Critical, and Devotional, 3 vols., London, 1832, I, 472-81; and Charles Hadden Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (1st ed. 1869), 3 vols., Grand Rapids, 1966, I, 246-47. This last work, a compilation of Psalm commentaries by one of the most popular Victorian preachers, contains a wide range of readings of nineteenth-century and earlier exegetes.

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Last modified December 2001