Pulpit Commentary Series Question

C Devin Chaulk

I am considering upgrading from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver. One of the major selling points for me (in addition to the New American Commentary Series) is the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series.

Does anybody have experience with the print or digital version of this series? How helpful are the homelies in your sermon prep? Do you recommend this commentary series?

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!

Pastor C Devin Chaulk

J.R. Miller

C Devin Chaulk said:

I am considering upgrading from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver. One of the major selling points for me (in addition to the New American Commentary Series) is the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series.

Does anybody have experience with the print or digital version of this series? How helpful are the homelies in your sermon prep? Do you recommend this commentary series?

Since I bought the series years ago, I have made good use of it over the past 6 years of preachingand teaching.  Like any large set, there is some stuff that is more useful than others, but it has been a good homiletical commentary to reference.

Blessings

 

Rich DeRuiter

C Devin Chaulk said:

I am considering upgrading from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver. One of the major selling points for me (in addition to the New American Commentary Series) is the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series.

Does anybody have experience with the print or digital version of this series? How helpful are the homelies in your sermon prep? Do you recommend this commentary series?

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!

Pastor C Devin Chaulk

Devin, I have both the Pulpit Commentary and the Preacher's Commentary. I find the Pulpit Commentary to be dated in both language and scholarship. It was first published near the end of the 19th Century (though the exact dates when these were written is missing in my Logos resources). Others find the pulpit commentary to be quite helpful, and the dated nature of the material to be a drawing factor. In many respects, this is simply a matter of personal taste.

The basic format is to deal with a chapter or pericope first in an exegetical manner, followed by a section on homiletics (lamentably, these sections can't be navigated by using the content's panel of the resource pane), this is followed by a section called Homilies by Various Authors. These latter two sections are also presented on a verse-by verse (sometimes more than one verse) basis. [BTW, it is quite frustrating that in these last two sections, if we type a scripture reference we are taken to the first instance of that reference in the book, rather than the next (this is true of some other resources as well).] Each book of the Bible is given a lengthy introduction, discussing many points of interest to scholars of that time period (many of which continue to be interesting to scholars today).

If you wish to look in more detail, I did find Psalms on Google Books, here.

Steve Shelton

I have the Pulpit Commentary in hardback and on Logos.  I have had it for about 30 years in hardback.  I have used it but not a great deal.  The sermon outlines give you some ideas  It is like all large sets, some of the commentaries are better than others within the set.  If I was buying it now, it would not be at the top of my list.  I personally like the Pillar Commentary. 

Pastor Steve Shelton

 

 

Graham Owen

C Devin Chaulk said:

the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series

I use them in Logos sometimes, they are reasonably useful but some of the practical applications are dated. The obvious benefit is the coverage of the entire Bible.

The usual argument against this series is that they are dated academically. This is not a problem for me as I am not using them to write current academic works but it is something that you might need to consider. 

I purchased these on prepub when Logos first made them available and used to use them more than I do now as I have added a few other commentary sets and acquired some on the upgrade path to platinum.

As for recommendation, personally I'd recommend the upgrade to silver anyway as I'm sure you will find the extra resources useful. For me one of the joys of each upgrade has been the unexpected extras that you get most of which I discover while searching.

Steve Johnson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195687#Comment_195687

I have the set in print and in Logos.  It is not the first ref. I read, nor the second or third.  I suppose I use it more in OT studies since that's the weakest part of my library and Pulpit covers every book.  I'll sell you my print set cheap! [6]

(Just kidding)

Dave Hooton

C Devin Chaulk said:

I am considering upgrading from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver. One of the major selling points for me (in addition to the New American Commentary Series) is the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series.

If you want the NAC then go for the Upgrade because you won't be paying for the Pulpit(!) - the price of NAC by itself ($500) is more than the cost of the Upgrade.

I went  that route mainly because of the NAC and I found the Pulpit disappointing, but it is complete!

Mark Barnes

C Devin Chaulk said:

I am considering upgrading from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver. One of the major selling points for me (in addition to the New American Commentary Series) is the 77 volume Pulpit Commentary Series.

I too haven't got all that much from Puplit, though NAC is better than I expected. To me, both the Holman NT Commentaries, Keil and Deliztsch, the early church Fathers, the apocryphal NTs and the far better original language support would all make the upgrade worthwhile.. The COED is also worth having.

Steve Johnson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195908#Comment_195908

I should have said this in my first post, above: the NAC is probably the favorite commentary in my Logos Library. I actually bought it as an separate purchase about 3 years ago because of the quality of a volume I owned in print.  Go for the upgrade and consider the Pulpit as an "Amazing Ginsu Knife" bonus: "But wait! There's more!"

PL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195963#Comment_195963

I wish someone would work on a Pulpit series for our generation, with good sermon selections from modern-day preachers.

Peter

Allen Browne

I also have the Pulpit Commentary both in print and in Logos, and use it rarely.

It's quite old now. Where I have occasionally found it useful is that it gives summaries of what people have said over the years (e.g. quote from Luther or B B Warfield.) But there are much better commentary series available now.

One of the best NT resources for sermon preparation IMHO is
The Bible Speaks Today New Testament (22 vols.)
Great value. Great content. Not too technical or critical. The only major limitation is that it doesn't cover the OT.

Bob Schlessman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195995#Comment_195995

Allen Browne said:

One of the best NT resources for sermon preparation IMHO is The Bible Speaks Today New Testament (22 vols.)
Great value. Great content. Not too technical or critical. The only major limitation is that it doesn't cover the OT.

Amen Allen. I have several volumes of TBST (Acts, Romans, John's epistles) and find them to be excellent resources. I would like to get the complete set for Logos when funds allow.

C Devin Chaulk

Thank you to everyone who has given their input. My original motivation for upgrade (from Scholar's to Scholar's Silver) was the NAC (New American Commentary) series. My hesitation really comes down to budget. The upgrade will exhaust what is remaining in my expense account. I need to think/pray about that, considering that my expense budget does not reset until the end of May.

Thanks again everyone!

Doug

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/196107#Comment_196107

It would probably be difficult to get a better value out of your expense account that this upgrade.  It is very helpful in many ways.  It could easily keep you busy until May.

Daniel Thomas Reese

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195987#Comment_195987

Speaking of the NIVAC, 

"This is the pulpit commentary for the twenty-first century."

—George K. Brushaber, president, Bethel College and Seminary

http://www.logos.com/product/5459/niv-application-commentary-new-testament

Daniel Thomas Reese

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/195987#Comment_195987

http://www.logos.com/product/5459/niv-application-commentary-new-testament