About John Calvin John Calvin's commentaries essentially taught protestant Christians how to read the Bible, and they were written in the midst of great need. Protestant Christians were being harshly persecuted and needed more than ever to understand the truths on which they stood. See below for some excerpts from the General Introduction to the commentaries.
We concur in the judgment of many before us that Calvin was, for various reasons, a unique and extremely illuminating commentator. His education as a humanist, his extensive knowledge of the work of other interpreters of the Bible, his classical and patristic erudition, his insights as a Reformer and churchman, and his exegetical competence and grasp of the Biblical mind -- all these make him an endlessly fresh and eye-opening interpreter.
[from CALVIN AS BIBLICAL COMMENTATOR]
It is important to remember that these lectures were delivered at the Academy, which provided education to the children of Geneva, and attracted students of theology by the hundreds from France, England, Scotland, Holland, and elsewhere. Some of the greatest Protestant theologians of the day were trained in this Academy. But the majority of those who attended his lectures went to their several countries to work, and often to suffer, for the establishment and the progress of the Reformed faith. What these men needed was clear, sure, and strong grasp of Scripture doctrine, available for the new churches or gatherings of Protestants in their own lands, surrounded by hostile forces and in constant peril. Calvin commented for the upbuilding of these people and the churches they came from and went to.
He began his lectures always with the prayer, "May the Lord grant that we study the heavenly mysteries of his wisdom, making true progress in religion to his glory and our upbuilding." The closing prayer was longer, and in it Calvin laid before the Lord the special needs of the faithful as the Scripture just studied had revealed them.
[from THE QUALITY OF THE COMMENTATOR]
[ read more at ccel.org/ccel/calvin/ ]
About Matthew Henry
Matthew Henry's Commentaries on the Whole Bible are among the most beloved of Bible commentaries because of their warmth and application. More than just an exposition of the words, this set helps us to think through the implications the scripture has for our lives. Henry states his purpose clearly in the preface to his first volume:
That which I aim at in the exposition is to give what I thought the genuine sense, and to make it as plain as I could to ordinary capacities, not troubling my readers with the different sentiments of expositors [...]. As to the practical observations, I have not obliged myself to raise doctrines out of every verse or paragraph, but only have endeavoured to mix with the exposition such hints or remarks as I thought profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, aiming in all to promote practical godliness, and carefully avoiding matters of doubtful disputation and strifes of words. It is only the prevalency of the power of religion in the hearts and lives of Christians that will redress our grievances, and turn our wilderness into a fruitful field.
[ read more at ccel.org/ccel/henry/ ]
