Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

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Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

psalm for every season, circumstance, or emotion in life; and (3) the Psalms ultimately point forward to Jesus as the Messiah. ***

Outline • §§1–2: The Psalms’ Place within the Bible

• §§3–9: The Psalms as a Microcosm of Scripture • §§10–13: The Psalms and the Rest of Scripture • §§14–26: A Psalm for Every Occasion • §§27–33: Misunderstandings of the Psalms

§1 – All Scripture Is Necessary for the Christian Life, Especially the Psalms

I am amazed at your resolve in Christ, beloved Marcellinus. For both in terms of your present trial, and indeed the many things you have endured in it, you have borne them well—and without neglecting the ascesis. 2 For learning from the bearer of your letter how you are managing with your ongoing illness, I found out that while you have had leisure to look at the entire divine Scripture, you have focused in on the most excellent book of the Psalms, and that you are eager to get at the meaning that is in each psalm. And for this reason, above all else, I approve of what you’re doing since I have fallen in love with this book as well, even as I have with all the Scripture. In fact, I once had a conversation with a certain learned old man who had devoted a great deal to the study of the Psalter. And so I 2 Ascesis – Disciplined spiritual training or self-denial aimed at achieving greater holiness, purity, and union with God. The Greek word is based on the idea of athletic training which Christians appropriated for disciplining both body and soul..