The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs — Inside the Classic

Structure: From Critical Notes to Homiletic Points

Each chapter in this commentary follows a two-part design. First, a section of “Critical Notes” addresses textual or interpretive issues—for example, clarifying the meaning of a Hebrew term or noting a variant reading. Then, the bulk of the chapter is given over to “main homiletics,” where verses are treated individually or in small groups. The homiletic sections are themselves subdivided, often with Roman numerals (I, II, III) marking distinct lines of thought. This scaffolding makes the commentary easy to navigate for a preacher preparing a sermon: the critical notes provide exegetical grounding, while the numbered points offer ready-made sermon outlines.

Within the homiletic sections, the author frequently moves from a general statement to a series of applications. For instance, in the treatment of verse 33, the point “The Hidden Made Manifest” is followed by four sub-points, each beginning with a number and a bolded claim. This layered structure recurs throughout the excerpts, suggesting a deliberate pedagogical method aimed at clarity and memorability.

Recurring Imagery: The Sea, the Vine, and the Journey

The commentary draws on a limited but powerful set of images. The sea appears repeatedly as a metaphor for life’s voyage and death’s passage. One excerpt describes a ship gliding across a calm sea toward a “lovely shore,” then applies the image to a pilgrim’s death: “a great fear tossed him for some days; but when that barrier was passed, he experienced a peace, deeper, stiller, sweeter than ever he knew before.” The image is extended with precision—the ship, the barrier of waves, the calm after—before being mapped onto the spiritual experience.

Another recurring image is the vine and its sap. In the homily on wisdom’s place in the heart, the sap of the vine is said to have its “centre and spring” in the root, just as moral wisdom has its seat in the affections. The image is used to argue that wisdom must originate in the heart to influence the whole person. These images are not isolated; they form a network of analogies that tie the commentary together across different chapters.

Movement Between Scenes: From Earthly to Eternal

A distinctive feature of the commentary is its frequent movement between earthly scenes and eternal realities. The homilist often begins with a concrete, everyday situation—a ship approaching shore, a bird in a cage, a jailor bringing prisoners out—and then shifts to a spiritual counterpart. For example, the image of Pharaoh’s jailor bringing the chief butler and chief baker out of prison is used to illustrate how death brings the wicked and the righteous to different ends: “the one to be restored to his office, the other to be led to execution.”

This technique creates a dynamic tension between the familiar and the transcendent. The reader is invited to see the ordinary world as charged with spiritual significance. The commentary does not simply explain the biblical text; it repeatedly stages a transition from the visible to the invisible, using the movement between scenes as a homiletic device. This pattern is especially pronounced in the treatment of death and judgment, where earthly journeys become types of the soul’s passage into eternity.

Voice and Expository Method

The commentary employs a distinctive expository voice that blends direct address with illustrative storytelling. The homilist often speaks in the first person plural (“we,” “our”) to include the congregation, as in “we have a trusty good Friend before us in the other world.” At other times, the voice shifts to a more analytical register, especially in the critical notes. This dual register allows the commentary to serve both as a reference work and as a resource for oral delivery.

The excerpts also show a preference for rhetorical questions and vivid contrasts. “Is the bird in worse case, when at liberty, than when confined in a cage?” is used to argue that death liberates the godly. The homilist frequently sets up a binary—dark side versus bright side, safe passage versus peril—to sharpen the moral or spiritual point. This rhetorical strategy, combined with the use of numbered points, gives the commentary a forceful, persuasive quality that would translate well into the pulpit.

Readers approaching this volume should be aware that it is a compilation of homiletic material from multiple 19th-century authors, not a single continuous commentary. The structure—critical notes followed by homiletic outlines—makes it practical for sermon preparation, but the theological perspectives vary. The excerpts show a strong emphasis on typological interpretation and vivid analogy. For best use, read a chapter’s critical notes first, then compare the homiletic points with the biblical text. A King James Version Bible is necessary, as the commentary assumes its wording.

That rainy afternoon, the commentary’s homily on death as a calm sea crossing stayed with me long after I closed it. The stillness felt tangible, like the hush before a journey. Later, rummaging for something lighter, I found A Ribband of Blue, and Other Bible Studies — Story, Setting & Ideas, whose gentle meditations on small threads of meaning felt like the same quiet water, just seen from a different shore.