John Eaton lectured in Old Testament at the University of Birmingham until his retirement. He is the author of many notable books on the Psalms and the Old Testament.

• Preface; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1 The Importance of the Psalms; 1a Words from worship; 1b Antiquity and integrity of the Psalms; 2 The Authors; 2a Relevance of headings; 2b David; 2c Female psalmists; 3 Psalm music; 3a The singing; 3b The instruments; 3c The character of the music; 3d The significance of the music; 4 The Poetry of the Psalms; 4a Patterns of thought: parallelism; 4b Stanzas and metre; 4c Types and forms; 4d Types and forms; 4e Alphabetic psalms; 5 The Ancient Situations of Psalmody; 5a Contexts in history; 5b Contexts in worship; 6 The experience of the Holy; 6a The unique God; 6b The name 'Yahweh'; 6c Other divine names and titles; 6d The fountain of life and the face of God; 6e Turning aside to God; 6f Zion and the house of the Lord; 6g The mystery of God's new reign; 6h The Lord's royal Servant as channel of salvation; 6i Bringing sufferings to God; 6j Lament turning to praise; 6k Prayer against enemies; 6l Counsel and encouragement; 6m Knowing God through his tora or word; 6n Discovering God in perplexity; 6o The question of life after death; 6p Community and world before God; 7 The Psalms down the Ages; 7a The headings; 7b Division and order; 7c Ancient translations; 7d The Dead Sea Scrolls; 7e Midrash and synagogue; 7f The New Testament; 7g Early Christian worship and exposition; 7h Mediaeval use; 7i The Reformation; 7j Eighteenth century foundations of criticism; 7k The nineteenth century; 7l The twentieth century and beyond; Commentary: Psalms 1-150; Bibliography; Index.

"'Eaton's mastery of Psalms scholarship is apparent on every page but the material is presented in an attractive and readable manner, accessible to the general reader.... Eaton is to be commended for distilling a lifetime's work into the production of a commentary which should help increase appreciation of the riches of the Psalter among a wide audience.' John Day, The Exposltory Times"