Vol 04 - LECTURE 2 - ON COMMENTING

ON COMMENTING

HAVING introduced you to the commentators, I must now press upon yoone of the most practical uses of them, namely, your own publicommenting upon the Scriptures read during divine, service. Preaching ithe olden time consisted very much more of exposition than it does now. suppose that the sermons of the primitive Christians were for the most parexpositions of lengthy passages of the Old Testament; and when copies othe gospels, and the epistles of Paul had become accessible to the churchethe chief work of the preacher would be to press home the apostolicateachings by delivering an address, the back bone of which would be complete passage of Scripture: there would probably be but faint traces odivisions, heads and points, such as we employ in modern discoursing, buthe teacher would follow the run of the passage which was open beforhim, commenting as he read. I suppose this to have been the case, becaussome of the early Christian modes of worship were founded very mucupon that of the synagogue. I say some of the modes, since I suppose thaas the Lord Jesus left his disciples free from rubrics and liturgies, eacchurch worshipped according to the working of the free Spirit amonthem; one with the open meeting of the Corinthians, and another with presiding minister, and a third with a mixture of the two methods. In thsynagogue, it was the rule of the Rabbis that never less than twenty twverses of the law should be read at one time, and the preaching consisteof notes upon a passage of that length. Such a rule would be a mersuperstition if we were slavishly bound by it, but I could almost wish thathe custom were reestablished, for the present plan of preaching from shortexts, together with the great neglect of commenting publicly upon thword is very unsatisfactory. We cannot expect to deliver much of thteaching of Holy Scripture by picking out verse by verse, and holding thesup at random. The process resembles that of showing a house by exhibitinseparate bricks. It would be an astounding absurdity if our friends used ouprivate letters in this fashion, and interpreted them by short sentencedisconnected and taken away from the context. Such expositors woulmake us out to say in every letter all we ever thought of, and a great manthings besides far enough from our minds; while the real intent of ouepistles would probably escape attention. Nowadays since expositorpreaching is not so common as it ought to be, there is the more necessitfor our commenting during the time of our reading the Scriptures. Sinctopical preaching, hortatory preaching, experimental preaching, and so o— all exceedingly useful in their way — have almost pushed propeexpository preaching out of place, there is the more need that we shoulwhen we read passages of Holy Writ, habitually give running commentupon them.

I support my opinion with this reason, that the public reading of thabstruser parts of Scripture is of exceedingly little use to the majority othe people listening. I can recollect hearing in my younger days lonpassages out of Daniel, which might have been exceedingly instructive tme if I had obtained the remotest conception of what they meant. Takagain, parts of the prophecy of Ezekiel, and ask yourselves what profit caarise from their perusal by the illiterate, “unless some man shall guidthem”? What more edification can come from a chapter in English which inot understood than from the same passage in Hebrew or Greek? The samargument which enforces translation demands exposition. If but a feexplanatory words are thrown in by a judicious reader, it is wonderful holuminous obscure portions may be made. Two or three sentences will oftereveal the drift of a whole chapter; the key of a great difficulty may bpresented to the hearer in half a score words, and thus the public readinmay be made abundantly profitable. I once saw a school of blind childreamong the charming ruins of York Abbey, and could not help pitying theiincapacity to enjoy so much beauty: how willingly would I have openetheir eyes! Are ignorant people wandering among the glories of Scripturmuch less to be pitied? Who will refuse them the light?

Abundant evidence has come before me that brief comments upoScripture in our ordinary services are most acceptable and instructive tour people. I have often heard from working men, and their wives, anfrom merchants and their families, that my own expositions have been moshelpful to them. They testify that when they read the Bible at home in thfamily, the exposition makes it doubly precious to them; and the chaptewhich they had unprofitably read in course at family prayers, when thepursue it the next time, recollecting what their minister has said upon ibecomes a real delight to them. The mass of our hearers, in London aleast, do not, to any appreciable extent, read commentaries or any othebooks which throw a light upon the Scriptures. They have neither thmoney nor the time to do so, and if they are to be instructed in the Word oGod in things which they cannot find out by mere experience, and are nolikely to have explained to them by their associates, they must get thainstruction from us, or nowhere else; nor do I see how we are to give thesuch spiritual assistance except through the regular practice of exposition.

Besides, if you are in the habit of commenting, it will give you aopportunity of saying many things which are not of sufficient importancto become the theme of a whole sermon, and therefore would probablremain unnoticed, to the great loss of the Lord’s people and others. It iastounding what a range of truth, doctrinal, practical, and experimentaHoly Scripture brings before us; and equally worthy of admiration is thforcible manner in which that truth is advanced. Hints given in the way iwhich the word of God offers them are always wise and opportune; as, foinstance, the rebukes which the word administers might have seemed tosevere had they been made by the pastor, unsustained by the word anunsuggested by it, but arising out of the chapter they cannot be resented.

You can both censure sins and encourage virtues by dilating upon thhistories which you read in the inspired records, whereas you might nevehave touched upon them had not the chapter read brought the mattebefore you. If you want to make full proof of your ministry, and to leavno single point of revelation untouched, your easiest mode will be tcomment upon Scripture habitually. Without this much of the word will butterly unknown to many of your people. It is a very sad fact that they dnot read so much as they should at home; the ungodly, in England, scarcelread the Bible at all; and if only that part which we preach upon bexpounded to them, how little of the Bible can they ever know! If you wilmark your Bibles with lines under the texts from which you have spokeas I have always done with an old copy which I keep in my study, you wildiscover that in twelve or fourteen years very little of the book has beegone through; a very large proportion of it remains unmarked, like a fielunploughed. Try, then, by exposition to give your people a fair view of thentire compass of revelation; take them as it were to the top of Nebo, anshow them the whole land from Dan to Beersheba, and prove to them thaeverywhere it floweth with milk and honey.

Earnestly do I advocate commenting. It is unfashionable in Englanthough somewhat more usual beyond the Tweed. The practice was hardlfollowed up anywhere in England a few years ago, and it is veruncommon still. It may be pressed upon you for one other reason, namelthat in order to execute it well, the commenting minister will at first havto study twice as much as the mere preacher, because he will be calleupon to prepare both his sermons and his expositions. As a rule, I spenmuch more time over the exposition than over the discourse. Once start sermon with a great idea, and from that moment the discourse forms itselwithout much labor to the preacher, for truth naturally consolidates ancrystallizes itself around the main subject like sweet crystals around a strinhung up in syrup; but as for the exposition, you must keep to the text, yomust face the difficult points, and must search into the mind of the Spirirather than your own. You will soon reveal your ignorance as an expositoif you do not study; therefore diligent reading will be forced upon you.

Anything which compels the preacher to search the grand old Book is oimmense service to him. If any are jealous lest the labor should injure theiconstitutions, let them remember that mental work up to a certain point imost refreshing, and where the Bible is the theme toil is delight. It is onlwhen mental labor passes beyond the bounds of common sense that thmind becomes enfeebled by it, and this is not usually reached except binjudicious persons, or men engaged on topics which are unrefreshing andisagreeable; but our subject is a recreative one, and to young men likourselves the vigorous use of our faculties is a most healthy exercise.

Classics and mathematics may exhaust us, but not the volume of ouFather’s grace, the charter of our joys, the treasure of our wealth. A man to comment well should be able to read the Bible in the original.

Every minister should aim at a tolerable proficiency both in the Hebreand the Greek. These two languages will give hint a library at a smalexpense, an inexhaustible thesaurus, a mine of spiritual wealth. Really, theffort of acquiring a language is not so prodigious that brethren omoderate abilities should so frequently shrink from the attempt. A ministeought to attain enough of these tongues to be at least able to make out passage by the aid of a lexicon, so as to be sure that he is nomisrepresenting the Spirit of God in his discoursings, but is, as nearly as hcan judge, giving forth what the Lord intended to reveal by the languagemployed. Such knowledge would prevent his founding doctrines upoexpressions in our version when nothing at all analogous is to be found ithe inspired original. This has been done by preachers time out of minand they have shouted over an inference drawn from a shall, or an igathered out of the translation, with as much assurance of infallibility ansense of importance as if the same language had occurred in the wordwhich the Holy Ghost used. At such times, we have been reminded of thstory told by the late beloved Henry Craik, in his book on the Hebrelanguage. At one time, the Latin Vulgate was so constantly spoken of athe very word of God, that a Roman Catholic theologian thus commenteupon Genesis 1:10 : — ”The gathering together of the waters called hseas.” The Latin term for seas is Maria. On this ground, the writer ask“What is the gathering together of waters but the accumulation of all thgraces into one place, that is, into the Virgin Mary (Maria)? But there ithis distinction, that Maria (the seas) has the (i) short, because that whicthe seas contain is only of a transitory nature, while the gifts and graces othe blessed Virgin (Maria) shall endure for ever.” Such superlativnonsense may be indulged in if we forget that translations cannot bverbally inspired, and that to the original is the last appeal.

Fail not to be expert in the use of your Concordance. Every day I live thank God more and more for that poor half crazy Alexander Cruden. Ocourse you have read his life, which is prefixed to the concordance; iexhibits him as a man of diseased mind, once or twice the inmate of lunatic asylum, but yet for all that successfully devoting his energies tproducing a work of absolutely priceless value, which never has beeimproved upon, and probably never will be; a volume which must eveyield the greatest possible assistance to a Christian minister, being anecessary to him as a plane to the carpenter, or a plough to thhusbandman. Be sure you buy a genuine unabridged Cruden, and none othe modern substitutes; good as they may be at the price, they are delusion and a snare to ministers, and should never be tolerated in thmanse library. To consider cheapness in purchasing a concordance is folly.

You need only one: have none but the best. At the head of each notablword, Cruden gives you its meaning, and very often all its particular shadeof meaning, so that he even helps you in sermonizing. When you have reahis headings, by following out the concordance, you will observconnections in which the word occurs, which most advantageously ancorrectly fix its meaning. Thus will the word of God be its own key. good textuary is a good theologian; be then well skilled in using Cruden.

I make but small account of most reference Bibles; they would be veruseful if they were good for anything; but it is extremely easy to bring out reference Bible which has verbal and apparent references, and nothinmore. You will often turn to a reference, and will have to say, “Well, it is reference, certainly, in a way, for it contains the same word, but there is nreference in the sense that the one text will explain the other.” The usefureference cuts the diamond with a diamond, comparing spiritual things witspiritual; it is a thought reference, and not a word reference. If you meewith a really valuable reference Bible, it will be to you what I once heard countryman call “a reverence Bible”, for it will lead you to prize more anmore the sacred volume. The best reference Bible is a thoroughly gooconcordance. Get the best, keep it always on the table, use it hourly, anyou will have found your best companion.

Need I after my previous lectures commend to you the judicious reading ocommentaries! These are called “dead men’s brains” by certain knowinpeople, who claim to give us nothing in their sermons but what thepretend the Lord reveals direct to themselves. Yet these men are by nmeans original, and often their supposed inspiration is but borrowed wit.

They get a peep at Gill on the sly. The remarks which they give forth as thSpirit’s mind are very inferior in all respects to what they affect to despisnamely, the mind of good and learned men. A batch of poems was sent msome time ago for The Sword and the Trowel, which were written by person claiming to be under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit. Hinformed me that he was passive, and that what was enclosed was writteunder the direct physical and mental influence of the Spirit upon his minand hand. My bookshelves can show many poems as much superior tthese pretended inspirations as angels are to blue bottles; the miserabldoggerel bore on its face the evidence of imposture. So when I listen to thsenseless twaddle of certain wise gentlemen who are always boasting thathey alone are ministers of the Spirit, I am ashamed of their pretensions anof them. No, my dear friends, you may take it, as a rule that the Spirit oGod does not usually do for us what we can do for ourselves, and that ireligious knowledge is printed in a book, and we can read it, there is nnecessity for the Holy Ghost to make a fresh revelation of it to us in ordeto screen our laziness. Read, then, the admirable commentaries which have already introduced to you. Yet be sure you use your own minds toor the expounding will lack interest. Here I call to mind two wells in thcourtyard of the Doge’s palace at Venice, upon which I looked with mucinterest. One is filled artificially by water brought in barges from a distancand few care for its insipid contents; the other is a refreshing natural welcool and delicious, and the people contend for every drop of it. Freshnesnaturalness, life, will always attract, whereas mere borrowed learning is flaand insipid. Mr. Cecil says his plan was, when he laid a hold of a Scripturto pray over it, and get his own thoughts on it, and then, after he had sdone, to take up the ablest divines who wrote upon the subject, and sewhat their thoughts were. If you do not think and think much, you wilbecome slaves and mere copyists. The exercise of your own mind is moshealthful to you, and by perseverance, with divine help, you may expect tget at the meaning of every understandable passage. So to rely upon youown abilities as to be unwilling to learn from others is clearly folly; so tstudy others as not to judge for yourself is imbecility.

What should be the manner of your public commenting? One rule shoulbe always to point out very carefully wherever a word bears a speciasense; for rest assured in Holy Scripture the same word does not alwaymean the same thing. The Bible is a Book meant for human beings, antherefore it is written in human language; and in human language the samword may signify two or three things. For instance, “a pear fell from thtree”; “a man fell into drunken habits”. There the meaning of the seconword, “fell”, is evidently different from the first, since it is not literal, bumetaphorical. Again, “the cabman mounted the box”; “the child wapleased with his Christmas box”; “his lordship is staying at his shootinbox”. In each case there is the same word, but who does not see that theris a great difference of meaning? So it is in the word of God. You musexplain the difference between a word used in a peculiar sense, and thordinary meaning of the word, and thus you will prevent your peoplfalling into mistakes. If people will say that the same word in Scripturalways means the same thing, as I have heard some assert publicly, thewill make nonsense of the word of God, and fall into error through theiown irrational maxims. To set up canons of interpretation for the Book oGod which would be absurd if applied to other writings is egregious folly: it has a show of accuracy, but inevitably leads to confusion. The obvious literal meaning of a Scripture is not always the true one, anignorant persons are apt enough to fall into the most singulamisconceptions — a judicious remark from the pulpit will be of signaservice. Many persons have accustomed themselves to misunderstancertain texts; they have heard wrong interpretations in their youth, and wilnever know better unless the correct meaning be indicated to them.

We must make sure in our public expositions that obscure and involvesentences are explained. To overleap difficulties, and only expound what ialready clear, is to make commenting ridiculous. When we speak oobscure sentences, we mean such as are mostly to be found in thprophets, and are rendered dark through the translation, or the Orientalisof their structure, or through their intrinsic weight of meaning. Involvesentences most abound in the writings of Paul, whose luxuriant mind wanot to be restrained to any one line of argument. He begins a sentence, andoes not finish it perhaps until eight verses further on, and all the intersticebetween the commencement and the end of the sentence are packed full ocompressed truth, which it is not always easy to separate from the generaargument. Hints consisting of but two or three words will let your hearerknow where the reasoning breaks off, and where it is taken up again. Imany poetical parts of the Old Testament the speakers change; as iSolomen’s Song, which is mostly a dialogue. Here perfect nonsense ioften made by reading the passage as if it were all spoke, by the samperson. In Isaiah the strain often varies most suddenly, and while one versis addressed to the Jews, the next may be spoken to the Messiah or to thGentiles. Is it not always well to notify this to the congregation? If thchapters and verses had been divided with a little common sense, this mighbe of less importance, but as our version is so clumsily chopped intfragments, the preacher must insert the proper paragraphs and divisions ahe reads aloud. In fine, your business is to make the word plain. ILombardy I observed great heaps of huge stones in the fields, which habeen gathered out from the soil by diligent hands to make room for thcrops; your duty is to “gather out the stones”, and leave the fruitful field oScripture for your people to till. There are Orientalisms, metaphorpeculiar expressions, idioms, and other verbal memorabilia which arisfrom the Bible having been written in the East; all these you will do well texplain. To this end be diligent students of Oriental life. Let the geographof Palestine, its natural history, its fauna and its flora, be as familiar to yoas those of your own native village. Then as you read you will interpret thword, and your flock will be fed thereby.^F33 The chief part of your commenting, however, should consist in applyinthe truth to the hearts of your hearers, for he who merely comprehends thmeaning of the letter without understanding how it bears upon the heartand consciences of men, is like a man who causes the bellows of an orgato be blown, and then fails to place his fingers on the keys; it is of littlservice to supply men with information unless we urge upon them thpractical inferences therefrom. Look, my brethren, straight down into thsecret chambers of the human soul, and let fall the divine teaching througthe window, and thus light will be carried to the heart and conscience.

Make remarks suitable to the occasion, and applicable to the cases of thospresent. Show how a truth which was first heard in the days of David istill forcible and pertinent in these modern times, and you will thus endeathe Scriptures to the minds of your people, who prize your remarks mucmore than you imagine. Clean the grand old pictures of the divine masterhang them up in new frames; fix them on the walls of your people’memories, and their well instructed hearts shall bless you. Is a caution needed amongst intelligent men? Yes, it must be given. Be surto avoid prosiness. Avoid it everywhere, but especially in this. Do not blong in your notes. If you are supremely gifted do not be long; people dnot appreciate too much of a good thing; and if your comments are onlsecond rate, why, then be shorter still, for men soon weary of inferiotalking. Very little time in the service can be afforded for reading thlessons; do not rob the prayer and the sermon for the sake of commenting. This robbing Peter to pay Paul is senseless. Do not repeat commonplacthings which must have occurred even to a Sunday School child. Do noremind your hearers of what they could not possibly have forgotten. Givthem something weighty if not new, so that an intelligent listener may feewhen the service is over that he has learned at least a little.

Again, avoid all pedantry. As a general rule, it may be observed that thosgentlemen who know the least Greek are the most sure to air their rags olearning in the pulpit; they miss no chance of saying, “The Greek is so anso.” It makes a man an inch and a half taller by a foolometer, if heverlastingly lets fall bits of Greek and Hebrew, and even tells the peoplthe tense of the verb and the case of the noun, as I have known some do.

Those who have no learning usually make a point of displaying the pegs owhich learning ought to hang. Brethren, the whole process of interpretatiois to be carried on in your study; you are not to show your congregatiothe process, but to give them the result; like a good cook who would nevethink of bringing up dishes, and pans, and rolling pin, and spice box intthe dining hall, but without ostentation sends up the feast.

Never strain passages when you are expounding. Be thoroughly honeswith the word: even if the Scriptures were the writing of mere meconscience would demand fairness of you; but when it is the Lord’s owword, be careful not to pervert it even in the smallest degree. Let it be saiof you, as I have heard a venerable hearer of Mr. Simeon say of him, “Sihe was very Calvinistic when the text was so, and people thought him aArminian when the text was that way, for he always stuck to its plaisense.” A very sound neighbor of ours once said, by way of depreciatinthe grand old reformer, “John Calvin was not half a Calvinist”, and thremark was correct as to his expositions, for in them, as we have seen, halways gave his Lord’s mind and not his own. In the church of St. Zeno, iVerona, I saw ancient frescoes which had been plastered over, and thecovered with other designs; I fear many do this with Scripture, daubing thtext with their own glosses, and laying on their own conceits. There arenough of these plasterers abroad, let us leave the evil trade to them anfollow all honest calling. Remember Cowper’s lines —

“A critic on the sacred text should bCandid and learn’d, dispassionate and freFree from the wayward bias bigots feeFrom fancy’s influence and intemperate zeaFor of all arts sagacious dupes invenTo cheat themselves and gain the world’s assenThe worst is — Scripture warped from its intent.”

Use your judgment more than your fancy. Flowers are well enough, buhungry souls prefer bread. To allegorize with Origen may make men starat you, but your work is to fill men’s mouths with truth, not to open thewith wonder. Do not be carried away with new meanings. Plymouth Brethren delight tfish up some hitherto undiscovered tadpole of interpretation, and cry iround the town as a rare dainty; let us be content with more ordinary anmore wholesome fishery. No one text is to be exalted above the plaianalogy of faith; and no solitary expression is to shape our theology for us.

Other men and wiser men have expounded before us, and anythinundiscovered by them it were well to put to test and trial before we boastoo loudly of the treasure trove. Do not needlessly amend our authorized version. It is faulty in manplaces, but still it is a grand work taking it for all in all, and it is unwise tbe making every old lady distrust the only Bible she can get at, or what imore likely, mistrust you for falling out with her cherished treasure.

Correct where correction must be for truth’s sake, but never for thvainglorious display of your critical ability. When reading short psalms, oconnected passages of the other books, do not split up the authorutterances by interjecting your notes. Read the paragraph through, anthen go over it again with your explanations; breaking it up as you mathink fit at the second reading. No one would dream of dividing a stanza oa poet with an explanatory remark; it would be treason to common sensto do so: sound judgment will forbid your thus marring the word of God.

Better far never to comment than to cut and carve the utterances oinspiration, and obscure their meaning by impertinently thrusting iuntimely remarks of your own. Upon many passages comments would bgross folly: never think of painting the lily or gilding refined gold; leave thsublime sentences alone in their glory. I speak as unto wise men; provyour wisdom in this thing also.

If I were bound to deliver a sermon upon the subject in hand, I could nodesire a better text than Nehemiah 8:8 : “So they read in the book in the laof God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand threading.” Here is a hint for the reader as to his reading. Let it always bdistinct. Aim to be good readers, and be the more anxious about it becausfew men are so, and all preachers ought to be so. It is as good as a sermoto hear our best men read the Scriptures; they bring out the meaning btheir correct emphasis and tone. Never fall into the idea that the merutterance of the words before you is all that is required of you in readingood reading is: a high, but rare attainment. Even if you do not commenyet read the chapter previously, and become familiar with it; it iinexcusable for a man to betray the fact that he is out of his latitude in threading, traversing untrodden ground, floundering and picking his waacross country, like a huntsman who has lost his bearings. Never open thBible in the pulpit to read the chapter for the first time, but go to thfamiliar page after many rehearsals. You will be doubly useful if in additioto this you “gave the sense.” You will then, by God’s blessing, be thpastor of an intelligent, Bible loving people. You will hear in your meetinhouse that delightful rustle of Bible leaves which is so dear to the lover othe Word; your people will open their Bibles, looking for a feast. ThWord will become increasingly precious to yourself, your knowledge wilenlarge, and your aptness to teach will become every day more apparent.

Try it, my brethren, for even if you should see cause to discontinue it, aleast no harm will come of the attempt. In all that I have said I have given you another reason for seeking the aid othe Holy Spirit. If you do not understand a book by a departed writer yoare unable to ask him his meaning, but the Spirit, who inspired HolScripture, lives forever, and he delights to open up the Word to those whseek his instruction. He is always accessible: “He dwelleth with you anshall be in you.” Go to him for yourselves and cry, “Open thou mine eyethat I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”; and, this being granteyou, entreat him to send forth his light and power with the Word when yoexpound it, that your hearers also may be led into all truth. Commentarieexpositions, interpretations, are all mere scaffolding; the Holy Ghoshimself must edify you and help you to build up the church of the livinGod.