John Gill and his Exposition of the Whole Bible

John Gill was an English Particular Baptist pastor, theologian, and author. He was born November 23, 1697 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, to Edward and Elizabeth Gill. His father was a deacon in the local Baptist church. There in Kettering he attended grammar school. He also helped his father in the wool trade. He was a ready scholar, mastering the Latin classics and Greek by age 11 or 12. As a dissenter, he was excluded from the bigger and better higher learning institutions of England (such as Oxford & Cambridge). He continued on his own studies of everything from logic to Hebrew, becoming a well-known well-respected Hebraist.

After relating his experience to the Baptist Church at Kettering, John Gill was baptized in November 1716. In March of 1720, he was ordained and became the pastor of the Goat Yard Church (Southwark, London). He served that church for about 51 years. Gill would be followed by John Rippon, and after a series of moves of location, Charles Haddon Spurgeon would become the pastor.[i] John Gill died October 14, 1771 and was buried at the dissenter’s burial ground, Bunhill Fields. He married Elizabeth Negus in 1718, and she preceded him in death in 1764.

Gill was an outstanding Bible scholar and doctrinal polemicist. He wrote not only in quality, but in quantity, earning the nickname “Dr. Voluminous.” He was a decided and vocal proponent of the five points commonly called Calvinism, but he has been somewhat misrepresented as a “hyper-Calvinist.” In By His Grace and For His Glory, chapter 2, Tom Nettles successfully refutes that charge.[ii]

Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible was produced over a period of almost 20 years, 1746-1763. When I was young, I heard that John Gill is the only man who ever wrote a commentary on every verse of the Bible.[iii] I know there are other “whole Bible” commentaries. Matthew Henry’s work would seem to compete with Gill’s claim to fame – except that Henry died having only gotten through the book of Acts; his commentary was finished by others. Matthew Poole’s Annotations is somewhat the same, finished by others. Some “whole Bible” commentaries cover all the books of the Bible, but unlike Gill’s, do not have comments on every verse. Some commentary sets may cover every verse, while not done by one person. Just a few years ago, Chip Thornton wrote:

“Gill is the only man who ever lived (to my knowledge) who commented on every single verse in the Bible (by age 66) and wrote a systematic theology (by age 72). Given his training in logic, the order is noteworthy: exposition, first; systematic theology, second.”

Ian Hugh Clary describes Gill as “the first person to complete a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole of Scripture in English.” I wonder whether John Gill still holds the “record” of being the only man to produce a commentary on every verse of the Bible.

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[i] I have read that it was John Gill who recommended Morgan Edwards to the Baptist church in Philadelphia.
[ii] Gill believed, for example, “The ministry of the word is for the conversion of sinners; without which churches would not be increased nor supported, and must in course fail, and come to nothing; but the hand of the Lord being with his ministers, many in every age believe and turn to the Lord, and are added to the churches; by which means they are kept up and preserved: and hence it is necessary in the ministers of the word, to set forth the lost and miserable estate and condition of men by nature, the danger they are in, the necessity of regeneration and repentance, and of a better righteousness than their own, and of faith in Christ; which things are blessed for the turning of men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” (Nettles, p. 106)
[iii] I must give the caveat that, though one who regularly checks the comments of Gill, I have not personally looked up every verse in the Bible exposition by Gill, so it might be possible he skipped over some verses. I have not had such an experience of finding nothing on any verse I have checked.

The criterion of textual criticism versus textual translation

The criterion of textual criticism versus textual translation.

A curious cumbrous thought 
Came to my mind today:
Big Eva speaks one thing
And then shucks it away.
Translators must be Christians true,
For text critics – academic’ll do.

It is my impression that in the broad category of people who consider themselves evangelical, there exists the two contrasting and contradictory views about the places of faith and scholarship regarding text and translation.[i]

1. When it comes to textual criticism, many evangelicals are not concerned about who is doing the work of text criticism. They simply must be academically qualified.

2. When it comes to Bible translation, many evangelicals are concerned about who is doing the work of translation. They feel they should be professed Christians, and that they should hold the doctrines of inspiration & inerrancy.

Steelmanning the issue; not a strawman.

Statements about Textual criticism.[ii]

The quality of the work of textual criticism does not depend on the beliefs of the text critics, but on the credibility of their scholarship. Therefore, it does not matter what they believe, or even if they are Christians at all, as long as they are good well-trained scholars who consistently apply that scholarship.

“I would like to work as a text-critic as if God didn’t exist, so to speak.” Tommy Wasserman, comment on blog post “‘First-Century Mark’ SBL Panel”

“In practice New Testament textual critics today tend to be Christians themselves, but not always. It does not matter, for the quality of their work does not depend on their faith but on their adherence to academic standards.” Jan Krans, “Why the Textus Receptus Cannot Be Accepted”

“My job as a textual critic is not to ensure that readers have an inerrant edition of the Bible in their hands.” P. J. Williams, “Inerrancy and textual criticism”

“If you understand the process of textual criticism today, if you understand how scholars examine manuscripts and examine readings today and there can be unbelievers that do it...” James White, White vs. Levesque Debate (starts at 1:04:20)

These quotes illustrate a common view that the quality of text critical work in establishing the true text of the Bible does not depend on the faith or religion of the textual critics but on their training and adherence to academic standards.

Statements about Bible translation.

I perceive there is among those called evangelicals a discrepancy and/or contradiction in their approach to textual criticism versus their approach to Bible translation. Bible translations by and for evangelicals emphasize the concern that the translators of the text of the Bible need to be orthodox Christians. So, suddenly the evangelicals decide the quality of the work indeed DOES depend on the orthodox beliefs of the translators.

“In faithfulness to God and to our readers, it was deemed appropriate that all participating scholars sign a statement affirming their belief in the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture, and in the inerrancy of the original autographs.” “Preface to the New King James Version,” The Holy Bible: New King James Version, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982 p. v

“In working toward these goals, the translators were united in their commitment to the authority and infallibility of the Bible as God’s Word in written form.” “A Word About the NIV,” The Holy Bible: New International Version, Colorado Springs, CO: Biblica, p. A14[iii]

“The ESV publishing team has included more than a hundred people…Translation Oversight Committee…Translation Review…the Advisory Council…Crossway Board of Directors. This hundred-plus-member team, shares a common commitment to the truth of God’s Word and to historic Christian orthodoxy and is international in scope, including leaders in many denominations.” “Preface,” ESV Study Bible, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011, p. 22

“The CSB is translated directly from the best available Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic source texts into English by biblical scholars who affirm the authority of Scripture as the inerrant Word of God and seek the highest level of accuracy in their translation.” Christian Standard Bible FAQs

Questioning the discrepancy; looking for answers.

Why does Average Joe Evangelical think that the scholarship of the translators and their adherence to academic standards are not sufficient to do the work of Bible translation? He thinks that way in the case of the scholarship of the text critics and their adherence to academic standards. Why, in their minds, cannot non-Christian scholars sufficiently make the same decisions about translation as orthodox Christian scholars? 

I personally believe that we need the trust of Christians who are skilled, orthodox, and honest, whether textual critics or translators of original language texts.[iv] (And more personally, I believe we already have text and translation we can trust.) However, I am trying to understand why the split thinking many evangelicals make in the two different tasks. Why is distinction of the necessity of orthodoxy made when it comes to translators? Why do they not call out for orthodox Christian text critics as well?

What’s going on?

If evangelical folks are willing to apply the mantra that the quality of the text critical work depends only on the quality of the training of the scholars, their academic credentials, and their working knowledge of the subject, why do these same evangelicals change horses when they get to the translation stream? Why wouldn’t the quality of the translators’ work also depend on the quality of the training of the scholars, their academic credentials, and their working knowledge of the subject?

I am unsure of this state of affairs. Perhaps one possibility is that most of them cannot read and do not directly use the products produced by the text critics – so that does not impact them directly (at least not in a way obvious to them). On the other hand, these evangelical Christians do read, use, and study the products produced by the translators, and can become quite disturbed when they find something that they believe is unorthodox.[v] 

Another matter involved in this may be how the different products are promoted. Evangelical-oriented Bible translations are deliberately marketed to their consumers framed in guarantees of the translation’s accuracy, reliability, and orthodoxy. Producers of original language texts (especially Greek texts) market their products in a different way, often much of the promotion addressing what great strides the scholars have made in the direction of recovering the “initial” text. A lot of that is probably foreign to the average evangelical Bible reader, even among the very educated.

That is two things that may come into play. What do you think? Why this discrepancy in how evangelicals look at scholarship regarding Bible translations versus original language texts?

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[i] I understand that all evangelicals do not present a mass single view on the subject, but I perceive that there is a general common feeling and approach on this subject of which write.

[ii] Textual criticism in the biblical context is the branch of textual scholarship that attempts to establish what is the original or best possible reading of the Bible. See also HERE, HERE, and HERE.

[iii] NIV constitution statement: “Only those shall be eligible for membership on the Committee who endorse the purpose for which the Committee exists, and who are willing to subscribe to the following affirmation of faith: ‘The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written, and is therefore inerrant in the autographs’; or to the statements on Scripture in the Westminster Confession, the Belgic Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, or the creedal basis of the National Association of Evangelicals; or to some other comparable statement.”

[iv] Here is what you get when translators are untethered from Christian orthodoxy: “The Scholars Version is free of ecclesiastical and religious control, unlike other major translations into English, including the King James Version and its descendants (Protestant), the Douay-Rheims Version and its progeny (Catholic), and the New International Version (Evangelical). Since SV is not bound by the dictates of church councils, its contents and organization vary from traditional bibles…The Scholars Version is authorized by scholars.” The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. New Translation and Commentary by Robert W. Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar, New York, NY: Polebridge Press/Scribner, 1993, p. xviii.

[v] One example of this was the great uproar that was created when the Revised Standard Version changed the word “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 to “young woman.”

Mediate meetings with God

“... the preaching of the Word is by God’s appointment the prime means of grace to the church. The common objections to preaching nowadays are, first, that monologue is not the most efficient form of instruction and, second, that preachers’ ideas, no matter how sincerely held and firmly stated, cannot carry God’s authority. The first objection assumes that the purpose of preaching is to pass on information, as one would do in a lecture; the second assumes that there is no specific message from God for the preacher to deliver, so that all the preacher can ever do is relay his own best thoughts. I challenge both assumptions, the latter for reasons that this book has already made clear, and the former because the proper aim of preaching is to mediate meetings with God.”

J. I. Packer, Truth & Power: the Place of Scripture in the Christian Life, 1996, p. 158

Law and Grace Contrasted

The following hymn is Hymn 194 in The Cluster hymn book compiled by Jesse Mercer. It strikingly contrasts law and grace, and holds out the grace of God to the “poor sinner.” Where the law thunders with fire and smoke, death and despair, grace “speaks in accents mild” God’s “love to sinners now.” The hymn is not readily available in modern songbooks. It consists of five stanzas in Long Meter, Doubled (that is, eight lines of poetry instead of four). I suggest the old tune Duane Street will provide a good companion for it. Others likely will as well, but that tune immediately came to mind as I read the hymn.

CXCIV. (L. M.) Double.

Law and Grace contrasted.

1. In thunder once Jehovah spoke,
From Sinai’s top in fire and smoke; 
But now from Zion’s fair abode,
He shews himself a pard’ning God.
Hark! how he speaks in accents mild,
Speaks to the sinner as a child,
“Pardon and peace I freely give
Poor sinner look to me and live.”

2. The holy Moses quak’d with fear,
And camp-despair and death were there;
But here the God of gospel-grace,
Invites us now to see his face:
Vengeance no more be-clouds his brow,
He speaks in love to sinners now:
It is the voice of Jesus’ blood,
Calling poor wanderers home to God.

3. The thundering law, (with terrors full!)
Pronounc’d a curse on every soul;
But now from Zion’s milder throne,
The softest strain of love is known.
Hark, how from Calvary it sounds.
From the Redeemer’s bleeding wounds;
Rends temple, veil, and rocks and land,— 
Who can the force of love withstand!

4. What other arguments can move
The heart that slights a Saviour’s love?
 Yet till Almighty power constrain,
This matchless love is preach’d in vain. 
Dear Saviour, let that power be felt,
And cause each stony heart to melt;
Deeply impress upon our youth,
The light and force of gospel truth.

5. O let them in this hour begin, 
To live to thee, and die to sin,
To enter by the narrow way,
Which leads to everlasting day;
How will they else thy presence bear,
When as a judge thou shalt appear,
When slighted love to wrath will turn,
And the whole earth like Sinai burn.

The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems was first published around 1800 – though the oldest known existing copy was published in 1810. The compiler, Jesse Mercer (1769-1841), was the son of noted Separate Baptist minister Silas Mercer and Dorcas Green. Jesse Mercer was born December 16, 1769, in Halifax County, North Carolina. The Mercer family moved to Georgia in 1774, where Silas would later constitute several pioneer churches after his conversion to Baptist principles. In 1786 Jesse married Sabrina Chivers. He was converted and baptized in 1787, was ordained to the ministry in 1789 – all at the Phillips Mill Church organized by his father. After Sabrina’s death in 1826, he married the widow Nancy Mills Simmons in 1827. Jesse Mercer died September 06, 1841, and is buried at the Penfield Cemetery in Greene County, Georgia.

Jesse Mercer made his mark in the Baptist ministry. He also made enduring contributions to the welfare of his state as a delegate to the 1798 Georgia state constitutional convention. He became a leader in the Georgia Baptist Association, the state’s first Baptist association. He helped organize the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1822 and served as its president from that time until his death in 1841. Mercer purchased The Christian Index, a Washington, D.C.-based newspaper, in 1833. It still survives today as “the nation’s oldest continuously published religious newspaper.” He made gifts to the first two missionaries sent by the American Baptist Home Missionary Society to Texas – James Huckins and William M. Tryon. Mercer may be best remembered in modern times as the namesake of the Georgia Baptist Mercer University.

Online, see Jesse Mercer, The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns and Sacred Poems; Being Chiefly a Collection. Third Edition, Revised, Philadelphia, PA: William W. Woodward, 1823, pp. 155-156.

George C. Coles wrote the tune Duane Street. He was born in England in 1792 and was converted at age 13 under the ministry of John Wesley. He emigrated to America in 1818, and married Belinda Willson two years later. Already a minister, he began to supply the pulpit and joined the New York Conference. Coles was also a musician and a singer. He died in 1858 and is buried at the Ivandell Cemetery in Somers, Westchester County, New York, along with his wife. The version of Duane Street in The Sacred Harp was arranged by J. T. White, nephew of the compiler B. F. White. The alto was added by Anna Cooper Blackshear.

The man whose heart...

The Puritans often wrote of love and marriage in the context of God’s love for his people. Here are a few notable quotes.

Henry Smith (ca.1560–ca.1600) English Puritan minister in London.

“To honour marriage more yet, or rather to teach the married how to honour one another, it is said that the wife was made of the husband’s rib, Gen. ii. 22; not of his head, for Paul calleth the husband the wife’s head, Ephes. v. 23; not of the foot, for he must not set her at his foot. The servant is appointed to serve, and the wife to help. If she must not match with the head, nor stoop at the foot, where shall he set her then? He must set her at his heart, and therefore she which should lie in his bosom was made in his bosom, and should be as close to him as his rib, of which she was fashioned.”

“Therefore one saith, that marriage doth signify merry-age, because a play-fellow is come to make our age merry…”

“A Preparation for Marriage,” in The Works of Henry Smith: including Sermons, Treatises, Prayers, and Poems.

“Marriage doth signify merry-age” is often credited Thomas Gataker. Since Smith said one saith, he may have gotten the quote from Gataker. On the other hand, both Smith and Gataker may have gotten the quote from a previous source.

Thomas Gataker (1574–1654) English minister and member of the Westminster Assembly, who annotated the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations.

“…there is no society more near, more entire, more needful, more kindly, more delightful, more comfortable, more constant, more continual, than the society of man and wife…”

A Good Wife God’s Gift and, A Wife Indeed.

Thomas Hooker (1586–1647) Congregational minister and leading founder of the Connecticut Colony.

“The man whose heart is endeared to the woman he loves, he dreams of her in the night, hath her in his eye and apprehension when he awakes, museth on her as he sits at the table, walks with her when he travels, and parlies with her in each place where he comes.”

The Application of Redemption.

“That the Husband tenders his spouse with an endeared affection above all mortal creatures: This appears by the expressions of his respect, that all he hath, is at her command, all he can do, is wholly improved for her content and comfort, she lies in his bosom, and his heart trusts in her, which forceth all to confess, that the stream of his affection, like a mighty current, runs with full tide and strength…”

A Comment upon Christ’s Last Prayer in the Seventeenth of John.

What’s on Archive and Google

On Archive.Org:

Alexander Campbell and His New Version by Cecil K. Thomas (St. Louis, MO: The Bethany Press, 1958)

This is an extended treatment of a Bible version created by Restoration movement leader Alexander Campbell. It is a generally favorable treatment that seems to find it more important than it was. It also has a bit of feel of promoting the Revised Standard Version. Thomas writes about “the striking way in which Alexander Campbell anticipated, by some one hundred twenty-five years, many of the most striking features of the Revised Standard Version” (p. 10). It appears a few years after the RSV. The “Introduction” was written by Luther A. Weigle, the chair of the RSV translation committee. He writes that “there is so large a degree of likeness between Campell’s translation and the Revised Standard Version of our own day” (p. 13).

Speaking of Alexander Campbell, Google Books has Volume 1, 1830, of his periodical The Millennial Harbinger (as well as some other volumes).

The Progress of Faith and Practice in the Book of Acts

The progress of faith and practice in the book of Acts

• Jerusalem - Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
• Jerusalem - Acts 2:47 praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
• Jerusalem - Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
• Jerusalem - Acts 5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.
• Jerusalem - Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
• Jerusalem - Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 
• Samaria - Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
• Judæa, Galilee, and Samaria - Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
• Joppa - Acts 9:42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
• Antioch in Syria - Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
• Antioch in Syria - Acts 11:24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
• Cæsarea (or a general statement) - Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
• Antioch in Pisidia - Acts 13:48-49 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
• Iconium - Acts 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
• Derbe, Lystra, and other cities - Acts 16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
• Thessalonica - Acts 17:4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
• Berea - Acts 17:11-12 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
• Corinth - Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
• Ephesus - Acts 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
• Jerusalem - Acts 21:20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
• Rome - Acts 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

William Tyndale Quotes

Quotes extracted from the great English Bible translator and faithful martyr, William Tyndale.

“God is that only which he testifieth of himself; and to imagine any other thing of God than that, is damnable idolatry. Therefore saith the hundred and eighteenth psalm, ‘Happy are they which search the testimonies of the Lord;’ that is to say, that which God testifieth and witnesseth unto us.”

“God’s word should rule only; and not bishops’ decrees, or the pope’s pleasure.”

“First, the merits of the saints did not save themselves, but were saved by Christ’s merits only. Secondarily, God hath promised Christ’s merits unto all that repent; so that whosoever repenteth, is immediately heir of all Christ’s merits, and beloved of God as Christ is. How then came this foul monster to be lord over Christ’s merits, so that he hath power to sell that which God giveth freely?”

“O dreamers! yea, O devils, and O venomous scorpions, what poison have ye in your tails! O pestilent leaven, that so turneth the sweet bread of Christ’s doctrine into the bitterness of gall!”

“…nothing bringeth the wrath of God so soon and so sore on a man, as the idolatry of his own imagination.”

“If any question arose about the faith of the scripture, that let them judge by the manifest and open scriptures, not excluding the lay-men: for there are many found among the lay-men, which are as wise as the officers. Or else, when the officer dieth, how could we put another in his room? Wilt thou so teach twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years, that no man shall have knowledge or judgment in God’s word save thou only? Is it not a shame that we Christians come so oft to church in vain, when he of fourscore years old knoweth no more than he that was born yesterday?”

“Christ commandeth to search the scriptures. John 5. Though that miracles bare record unto his doctrine, yet desired he no faith to be given either to his doctrine, or to his miracles, without record of the scripture.”

“John biddeth judge the spirits. Whereby shall we judge them, but by the scriptures? How shalt thou know whether the prophet be true or false, or whether he speak God’s word, or of his own head, if thou wilt not see the scriptures?”

“...as they came by the Holy Ghost, , so must they be expounded and understood by the Holy Ghost. The scripture is that wherewith God draweth us unto him, and not where with we should be led from him. The scriptures spring out of God, and flow unto Christ, and were given to lead us to Christ. Thou must therefore go along by the scripture as by a line, until thou come at Christ, which is the way’s end and resting-place.”

Extra, non-Tyndale quote:

“I am willing to believe all that God desires, but that the Pope should have authority to teach what is contrary to Scripture I never will believe.” Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham; an English Christian martyr