The Geneva Series

The Geneva Series of commentaries from various puritans is a welcome addition to any serious student's library. I am blessed to have these titles in the growing collection. Everything from Banner of Truth is worth reading.

Ephesians Commentary by Charles Hodge

When Paul came to Ephesus in AD 54 it claimed to be the first city of Asia. Yet today the city is gone; and on the site of the Temple of Diana, which was the rallying-point of heathenism, is a stagnant pond. Ephesus is now known principally for its connection with the Christian Church- for Paul’s visit and his subsequent letter.

The epistle to the Ephesians is in many respects the profoundest of Paul’s writings. The grandeur of pagan learning and devotion pales by comparison with the Apostle’s mighty exposition of the truth as it is in Jesus. The great theme of Ephesians is the one church, the new spiritual temple God is erecting of Jew and Gentile. Because of its profundity and scope, it is one of the most demanding of books upon which adequately to comment.

Charles Hodge, whose commentaries on 1 and 2 Corinthians were among the earlier volumes in the Geneva Series, is qualified on several grounds to write on Ephesians. Though a competent linguist, his main interest was not in the field of textual criticism. Hodge, first and foremost, was a theologian, and without a mastery of systematic theology one cannot do justice to the early chapters of Ephesians. Reference may also be made to his noted piety and graciousness, his catholic spirit and his wide vision.

The great virtue of Hodge on Ephesians is his ability constantly to communicate the sense and overall argument of a passage. A peerless teacher, his aim, with the pen as in the classroom, was ‘the simple exhibition of the truth which God had revealed’- his own description of Paul’s preaching.

Romans Commentary by Robert Haldane

Robert Haldane's Exposition of Romans, both in its contents and in the power of its influence, stands among the foremost of the many treatments of the epistle. As a commentary, Thomas Chalmers 'strongly recommended it'; Spurgeon put it in the front rank, and more recently, Martyn Lloyd-Jones owed 'much profit and pleasure to it', characterising its contents as unsurpassed in 'warmth of spirit' and 'practical application.'

Robert Haldane, a descendant of Scottish nobility, was born in London in 1764 and educated at Dundee and Edinburgh. After serving in the naval war against France (1780-1783) he returned to Edinburgh University and in 1786 settled down to a country life on his ancestral estate at Airthrey.

Colossians commentary by John Davenant

C.H. Spurgeon, in his famous work, Commenting and Commentaries, placed Davenant on Colossians in the first rank of commentaries on this Pauline epistle and approvingly quoted the words of Charles Bridges about this volume: 'I know no exposition upon a detached portion of Scripture (with the single exception of Owen on the Hebrews) that will compare with it in all parts…in depth, accuracy, and discursiveness.' 

On the title page of an old Latin edition a satisfied reader made a note of his deep appreciation for Davenant's masterpiece: 'Don't abuse this good old book: for it is an extraordinary piece, and the best Exposition on St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians that ever was published…and I am afraid there will never be a better so long as the world endures.'

 

The Methodist preacher James Hervey expressed his appreciation of this commentary in more measured terms. 'For perspicuity of style and accuracy of method; for judgment in discerning and fidelity in representing the Apostle's meaning; for strength of argument in refuting errors, and felicity of invention in deducing practical doctrines, tending both to the establishment of faith, and the cultivation of holiness, it is inferior to no writing of the kind; and richly deserves to be read, to be studied, to be imitated, by our young divines.'

 

John Davenant (c. 1576-1641), was a graduate of Cambridge. At the age of thirty-three he was awarded his D.D. and was made Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity in the University. A member of the Church of England delegation to the Synod of Dort, King James I later appointed him Bishop of Salisbury in 1621, a position he was to retain until his death in 1641.

 

1 & 2 Peter Commentary by Alexander Nisbet

 

Alexander Nisbet (1623-69) was a Covenanting minister who graduated from Edinburgh University (M.A., 1643) and was ordained to the Second Charge of Irvine, Ayrshire around 1646. He moved to the First Charge in 1650, and was ejected in 1662 when Episcopacy was re-established.

 

Alexander Nisbet's commentary on 1 & 2 Peter provides an outstanding practical treatment of his epistles. This Geneva Series of Commentaries is ideal aid for preachers, teachers, group leaders and all students or readers of the Bible. Perhaps of all the apostles, most Christians find themselves most readily drawn to Simon Peter. His failure, restoration and subsequent usefulness provide hope for those who face testing and temptation. Despite that, Peter s twin epistles are probably given less attention than many other sections of the New Testament. But they continue to speak with power and relevance.

1 John commentary by Robert Candlish

Robert Smith Candlish (1806-1873) was born in Edinburgh, the son of a medical teacher who died when his son was just five weeks old. In spite of receiving his schooling at home, Candlish graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1823, following this with studies in divinity, which he completed in 1826. His lifework well-illustrated the biblical and Reformation ideal of the pastor-theologian as both his pulpit ministry and his published works show. 

 

Candlish's exposition of 1 John was the ripe fruit of years of careful and loving study of the great themes in Johannine teaching. His aim was not so much to produce a detailed technical commentary after the fashion of much exegesis in the new German tradition, but to set on display the heights and depths of the theology of John's letter: 'it can be studied aright exegetically, only when it is studied theologically.'

Book descriptions lifted from Amazon.

Hebrews Commentary by John Brown of Edinburgh

‘A great expositor, always deep, full and overflowing…Dr. David Smith says of this work: “There is not a single instance of carelessness in investigating the true meaning of a text, or of timidity in stating the conclusion at which the author had arrived.” What more could be said in praise of any exposition?’

Charles Spurgeon

Commentaries generally belong to one of two categories. Either they aim at a devotional thoroughness which lays no great emphasis on the exact meaning of individual words, or they concentrate on such a detailed examination of the text that the spirit and power of the book is largely lost. Among the few commentators who stand between these two positions is Dr. John Brown of Edinburgh (1784-1858).

By seeking to develop a style of exposition that was both edifying to his congregation and valuable to his divinity students, he produced commentaries which, in the words of Dr. William Cunningham, ‘formed a marked era in the history of Scriptural Interpretation’. Not behind the foremost contemporary scholars in his emphasis on correct exegesis, he nevertheless sought not only that the minds of his readers might be brought ‘into immediate contact with the mind of the Spirit’ but that their whole being might be resigned to ‘the empire of the Word of God’.
Source: Banner of Truth