On Public Exposition and the Characters of Commentators
§ 1, It is proper to make exposition a part of worship on the Lord’s day, for the following reasons: — ‘It tends to keep a due regard for the scriptures by introducing them into worship; as, when you expound, you may read the whole or part of a chapter, even in congregations that have not been used to it, and where otherwise it might Jfiot be agreeable.
§2. It assists to draw men off from erroneous human schemes, by leading them to a scriptural religion; to which nothing is more conducive than explaining the most interdsting facts of the several books of scripture.
§ 3. It contributes much to lead them into a general acquaintance with the scripture, and a cheerful and attentive study of it.
§ 4. It is calculated to guard an audience from being seduoed into erroneous opinions by wrong interpretations of scripture, quoted merely according to the sounds of words.
§ 5. It diversifies public service; and affords opportunities of giving a great many advices, charges, admonitions, &c. without ’ offence; it being evident to every hearer that the series of scripture we are upon lead us to them; whereas if we choose such subjects unconnected with others, some may think there has been a p)ersona] regard to them.
6. I shall now propose a few general directions for the right performance of this part of ministerial duty. But, as a previous and very important direction, I recommend that you make yourselves acquainted with the liiost considerable commentators, reading them over and making extracts from them; — and since there is no set of writers in which a man is more in danger of being lo6t, if he does not make a careful choice, I shall here mention some of those which I think the most valuable.
§ 7. Commentators on the Old Testament. Patrick is the most considerable from Genesis to SoJomon’s Song; — he has made use of many former writers, some Jewish and others Christian.
§ 8. Pyle’s Paraphrase upon the Old Testament, in four vols, octavo, is an elegant and judicious contraction of the above, and vastly to be preferred to his Paraphrase on the Epis-. ties.
§ 9. LowTH* has compiled a judicious commentary on the Prophets, fcom Isaiah to MaU achi; in which there are some good critical notes, and a fine collection of parallels.
§ 10. AiNs WORTH on the Pentateuch, Psalms and Solomon’s Song, is a good bopk,^ — full of very valuable Jewish learning, — anfjT’ his translation is in many places to be preferred to our own, — especially on the Psalms.
§ 1 1. On the whole New Testament, Whit- ‘BY is preferable to any other, on account of his learning and judicious notes on those texts which are not concerned in controversy with the Arminians ;-7for to them he is evidently partial, and sometimes carries matters almost to ridiculous extremes.
* This aathor is William Laietk, the fjither of the late Bishop of London, who published a Translation of Isaiah, with notes.
88 LECTURES ON PREACHING.
12. Hahmonix is m great aikl growing reputation — there are indeed many good criticism&y but many that are much mistaken. — He finds the Cfnostics every where, which is his principal fault. — Many of Lb Glerc’s animadversions upon those places are very good, — and his edition of his book in Latin I think much preferable to the original.
13. Beza is undoubtedly the best critic on the Greek language of any commentator we have. — There is no translation, that 1 know of, equal to his; — and his remarks on Erasmus and the vulgar Latin are wrought up to the utmost degree of eniactness. — On the whole, it is an invaluable treasure, and deserves to be read with the utmost attention.
14. EiRASMus is not equally accurate with Beza, — but his Latin is fine, and he has written in a pleasant style. — He is in high reputation in the learned world. — There are many good remarks on the vulgar translation,, — some early various readings, — and some pretty large critical dissertations; — but it 19 by no means of a piece, and has many marks of haste and inaccuracy.
§ 15. Castalio is only a version; it is of* ten very elegant Latin; in several places full of affectation, and often take. — On the whole, justly exposed by Beza.
§ 16. BuRKiT has but few valuable critic cisms; — but has many schemes of old Ser-
* A late Lecturer in one of our universities used to remind his pupils, that Hammond was the giant,. and HTiitby the dwarf upon his shoulders.
Lect 14.] PUBLIC EXPOSITION. 89
inons. — His sentiments vary in diffisrent parts of his work, as the authors from whence he took his materials were orthodox or not.
17. Heinsius has some good critical il* lustrations, — but many whimsical remarks and fancied illustrations ;-^«n air of pedantry and self-sufficiency runs through all his writisgs, wtich makes them disagreeable.
§ 18. The most considerable writers upon the harmony of the Evangelists, whose works are not extremely voluminous, are Cradock, whom I shall mention afterwards. — and Lb Clerc, whose harmony is valuable on account of the view which he at once gives of what each Evangelist says.
^19. Whiston and Wells are both much mistaken in ranging many of their facts; — and, upon the whole, I prefer Garth waite as the most Valuable I have ever seen for stat-^ ing the order of the story. — This was publish ed by Locke, with his name prefixed.
^:20.’ Dr. Clarke’s Pdraphrase-ontheEvangelists deserves an attentive reading. — He imrrates a story in handsome language, and connects the parts well together; — but fails much in emphasis, and seems to- mistake the order of the histories.
§ 21. On the Epistles. — Locke, Pearcb and Benson make up a complete commentary on the Epistles; and are indeed all in the number of the most ingenious commentators I have ever read. — ^I’hey plainly thought very closely, and attended much to connection, which they have often set in a most clear view.
But they all err in too great a fondness for new interpretations ;-^and in supposing the design of the apostles less general than it seems to have been. — It must be allowed that Benson illustrates the spirit of Paul sometimes in an admirable manner, even beyond any former writer. — See especially his Epis*
tie to Philemon. His vast fondness for
Lord Barrington’s’’’^ notions has often proved a snare to him, both here and in his work on the Acts, — which however is a. very useful piece.
§22. Fell on the Epistles is very short, — but most of his notes are worthy of remark. — The collection of parallel scriptures is jup dicious, and the translatioi in some places altered much for the better.
§ 23. Upon the tohole Scripture the most valuable are — Grotius, — who has done more to illustrate scripture by what is generally called profane learning, than perhaps almost all the other commentators put together. — Nevertheless, he too often gives up prophecies which in their original sense relate to the Messiah. -7-H is notes on some texts are large and learned dissertations, which might have profitably been published by themselves.
§ 24. Brennius. — His notes are exceeding short but very important. And there was reason to say of him, Ubi bene, nemo melius,
* See Family Expositor on Acts xxvi. 17. Note
See also Led. xv. § 12.
25. Wells’s, book is more despised than it ought to be. — The character of the author was deservedly low, and his style sometimes is intolerably bad; — but his method of division, is very clear. — He has plundered a. great many excellent writers, — brought together their spoils in a little room, — added here and there some very good notes of his own, — and he has well corrected the common version.
§ 26. Craoocil’s three volumes are very V valuable; — though I think, contrary to most others, that the two last on the New Testament are much better than the first on the Old. — His extracts in the margin from Ham-MONn, LioHTFooT and Grotius, are very judicious: — and I think on the whole I never read any one author that assisted me more in what relates to the NeW Testament.-’ — His schemes of the Epistles are generally more just than those of the ingenious writers mentioned above; because he takes the design of the apostles to be, as it certainly was, more general than they suppose. — The cheapness of the book is to me a great wonder, but to students a great advantage.
§ 27. Robertson is in rather too pedantic a form, — but, upon the whole, the analysis is very good, — and perhaps those who have studied their Bibles closest, and know where difficulties of the connection lie, will approve it most; especially on the Old Testament, which far exceeds the New.
Henry is perhaps the only commentator so large that ‘deserves to be entirely and attenr tively read through. — The remarkable ptas* sages, I think, should be marked. — There tat much to be learned in this work in a specula* five, and still more in a practical way. — The last Tolume is not on the whole equal to the rest; though the Exposition on the Romans, begun by Henry and finished by Dr. Evanb is the best I ever saw.
§29. Hall, besides his contemplations, which are excellent, has written notes on se* lect passages of the Old and New Testament, — which are extremely scarce, and so far as I can judge from a little specimen, very valuable; — especially for shewing the spirit and force of many expressions that occur. — I do not, however, apprehend that there is much learned criticism in them.
§ 30. Poole’s Synopsis, is very useful, es* pecially on account of the short view it gives of various translations, some of which are ver ry scarce. — It in part supersedes the neces* sity of having, what yet is desirable, a Poly* glot Bible, — The first volume of bis English Annotations, which were written by himself afler his synopsis, is incomparably good.
§31. Calvin has a multitude of judicious thoughts; but they are generally interminigled with a great many Uiat are little to the purpose. — His worst volume, which is that on Job, is most scarce. — His two best are, I think, that on the Pentateuch, and on the harmony of the Evangelists. — On the former of these Le Clerc is famous, but I have not yet had an opportunity of perusing him.
32. Lee on the New Testament, is a collection of notes chiefly from others, which the author gathered in the course of his reading 9 — they are not very judiciously chosen, but there are some particulars in them which are to be met with no where else; — or at least in authors we shall never consult; — and therefore are worthy the little money they cost.