Welwyn Commentary Series (49 vols) on Prepub

The Welwyn Commentary series has been on pre-pub for a few months now, and needs quite a bit more interest to proceed. I wonder if that's because many of you haven't heard of this British published series.

The Welwyn series covers almost every book of the Bible, and it is a chapter-by-chapter commentary aimed at the 'ordinary' Christian. It's the Bible simply explained, with lots of application - a bit like a Wiersbe commentary, though generally they'd be longer than Wiersbe. It's written from a conservative evangelical perspective, and it's written by pastors who have preached through these books — and several of the authors I know well. They're great for personal devotions, but also useful for preachers needing some help for illustrations or application.

There's plenty of reviews of individual volumes online, but this article from one of Britain's most popular evangelical newspapers is a good place to start. Here's an extract:

Over the years I also came into contact with the Welwyn Commentaries and found them to be excellent material for use when preparing sermons — and just to read to enlarge my understanding of God’s Word. I made the decision about two years ago that by the grace of God I would read every volume of the Welwyn Commentaries. Several weeks ago I completed the thirty-sixth volume and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of new books that will complete the series. Some of my Christian friends asked why I set myself such a task — reading commentaries! A few thought that commentaries should be opened only when they needed help with some obscure text. But in my reading of the Welwyn Commentaries I have not only found a clear interpretation of Scripture portions that had previously puzzled me, but I gained insights into the Word that I had never before imagined.

Two authors in the series that may be known to those in the US are O. Palmer Robertson and Derek Thomas (Reformed Theological Seminary).

The set is currently on pre-pub at $299, which words out at just over $6 per volume. That really is a great price - even on Amazon most of these books are priced at more than double that.

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Comments

Rosie Perera

I'm in already, since April 8.

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/149759#Comment_149759

I'm in already, since April 8.

Yes, I've been looking forward to these since February 9. Looks like it will be a while yet, but it will be a valuable set to own and use.

Graham Owen

The set is currently on pre-pub at $299, which words out at just over $6 per volume. That really is a great price - even on Amazon most of these books are priced at more than double that.

It would be useful to know what the release plan is for the missing volumes and the anticipated price for them when they are released. Personally I am not ordering incomplete series these days.

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/149787#Comment_149787

Since 2/7/2009 (February) I have been in. Although I must note that two or three volume are missing from the Logos offering like the new work on Revelation by another author and some OT works. Please Logos include the missing volumes?

It would be nice to have this commentary series in Logos & thanks Mark for the write up recommending this series. Those who want a feel for the series, see below.

Ted

The character of preaching

Please read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The Corinthian church was tangled in the nasty business of exalting one preacher over another. To counter this, Paul argued first that the nature of the gospel is such that there is nothing for man to glory in. Then he argued that the nature of the believer's experience is such that there is nothing for him to glory in. Now Paul says the nature of preaching is such that there is nothing for man to glory in. Saving power is not to be found in the preacher of the Word any more than it is in the hearer of the Word. So Paul says exalting one preacher over another constitutes a complete misunderstanding of what preaching is all about.

Preaching is not intended to be something which glorifies men. It is not something to be used by men to gain the admiration and praise of their hearers. John Stott makes this painful point quite well: 'We must never show a reverence to ecclesiastical dignitaries which is due to God alone. Preachers are especially exposed to the danger of flattery. I fear that the whole frame of mind in which some Christian people go to church is wrong. They do not go to worship God or to hear God's Word. They go to hear a man. So it is not the message to which they listen, but the oratory.'

What, then, is true preaching? According to Paul it consists of three elements: having the right message, the right method and the right motive.

The message

Paul summarizes the right message in two phrases: 'the testimony of God' and 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified'. Together these phrases cover the source and content of the message.

The source of the message

'The testimony of God' reveals the divine authority behind the preacher's message. God's testimony is what he has revealed concerning himself. If our message is the testimony of God, then our trying to improve it by human wisdom and eloquence is like holding up a candle to help the sun shine.

It is not a matter of eloquence being inherently wrong. History is replete with accounts of eloquent preachers being mightily used of God. But the preacher must never allow himself to think his eloquence is sufficient to convert souls. The power to convert resides in the gospel, not in our eloquence (Rom. 1:16). If God's power resides there, so should our confidence.

Here lies the explanation for the weakness we see in our churches today. Our pulpits are filled with preachers who question the divine authority of the very message they are proclaiming. Is it any wonder our churches are filled with people who will not stand for anything and fall for everything?

Why is there is so little conviction of truth among church members in general and preachers in particular? The answer is that we, like the Corinthians, have been overly impressed with the intellectual accomplishments of our age. We seem to think the Bible is unable to compete with the latest scientific, technological knowledge. And our society is quick to detect our timidity about our message and eager to show the disdain it feels for people who still profess to believe in the truth of the Bible. They dismiss us with a knowing glance and a rueful shake of the head as though we didn't have a clue to the latest facts and, therefore, are deserving only of their pity.

In such a climate, it is all too easy to become self-conscious and embarrassed and even to think the cardinal doctrines of Christianity might be wrong. Before we know what has happened, we have succumbed to the subtle temptation to adjust our message to the so-called 'assured results of modern scholarship'. We may even find ourselves excusing our compromise of Christian truth by arguing that Paul didn't have to contend with our situation, and he would, if he were in our shoes, be in the vanguard of making Christianity acceptable and relevant.

But wait a minute. Think again of what it meant for Paul to renounce wisdom and eloquence at Corinth of all places. Corinth boasted that its institutions of learning and its philosophers excelled those of Rome and Athens. And Paul came to Corinth from Athens where his preaching of the gospel had been received with scepticism and ridicule (Acts 17:16-34). If ever there was a time for Paul to reconsider his message and adjust it to the prevailing intellectual climate, it was after he left Athens and before he arrived in Corinth. Paul knew full well if there was one place where excellency of speech and philosophy would be impressive it was at Corinth. We may even surmise that Paul spent a sleepless night wrestling with this very problem before launching his ministry there. However, when Paul began to preach in Corinth, it was without any of the appealing embellishments so popular there. It was the same old gospel he had preached everywhere else.

How are we to explain such stubbornness on the part of Paul? The answer is right here in these verses. Paul was convinced his gospel was God's own testimony and, as such, it was essential for Corinth. I, for one, don't expect to see real power return to our churches until Paul's conviction returns to our pulpits!

The content of the message

Paul, then, believed in the divine authority of his message, that it had originated with none other than God himself. But what is this message? Paul summarizes it as 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified'. Paul isn't saying he preached only on the crucifixion of Christ as a historical event, but everything he did preach had Jesus' death as its point of reference. No other doctrine has any meaning apart from that because it is through Christ's death that God saves his people. The right message is the good news of salvation through the crucified Christ.

The method

One can have the right message and still not be doing true preaching. A preacher must also have the right method. In short, the Christ of Calvary must be preached in the power of Pentecost. Paul's preaching at Corinth is an example of the correct method for all preachers. It featured neither eloquent style nor philosophical content. The omission of these elements was not a mere blunder or oversight on Paul's part, but was his deliberate choice. He purposefully omitted eloquence and philosophy and came preaching 'in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling'. In other words, Paul preached with a keen sense of his own inadequacy and utter dependence upon the Lord to carry the truth of the gospel home to human hearts.

Has it ever occurred to you that Paul would never be hired to pastor most of our churches today? We have a liking for the preachers who have wit, flash, charm and eloquence. Paul wouldn't rate very highly in this day and age because he just didn't have enough going for him. But one thing Paul did have—when he preached, the power of God fell! That alone puts him miles ahead of the powerless glamour boys in most pulpits. One look at the power of God attending Paul's preaching, and we surely feel compelled to pray, 'Oh, Lord, give us an epidemic of weakness, fear and trembling!' How can we see a return to this much-needed power? The first step, as Stott suggests, is to humbly acknowledge our desperate need for it!

Then we must make living holy lives our daily priority. It has been said before, but it bears repeating—the church is looking for better methods, but God is looking for better men. Only when holiness becomes our burning passion can we legitimately expect the Spirit of God to come upon us with the power Paul knew. True preaching combines the right message, which is Christ crucified, with the right method, preaching in the power of the Spirit. But there is still more. The preacher must also have the right motive.

The motive

Paul says his motive in preaching to the Corinthians was that their faith 'should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God'. In other words, Paul was saying he purposely designed his preaching to keep his hearers from trusting in his ability as a preacher. By glorying in various preachers, the Corinthians were doing the very thing Paul was most anxious to avoid! It is easy to see why Paul was intent on their faith not resting on him. Faith that depends upon a polished preacher and a clever argument is always at the mercy of a more polished preacher and a more astute argument. But faith that rests on the power of God will never have to worry about being outmoded.

The secret of powerful preaching

We may summarize what Paul has said in the following truths. First, the way to convert people to Christ is to set forth the truth of the gospel. Secondly, the proper way to state the truth of the gospel is with a deep sense of insufficiency, realizing the success of the gospel depends, not on the skill of the preacher, but on the power of the Spirit. Thirdly, there is only one faith that converts sinners from the error of their ways and sets their feet on the path of life. That is the faith which comes to men through the power of God as the truth of God is preached.

C. H. Spurgeon captured those three lessons in these immortal words: 'The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher; otherwise men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher's learning; otherwise it would consist in the wisdom of men. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it—the Holy Ghost changing the will of man.'

Welwyn Commentary Series - Strengthening Christ's Church: The message of 1 Corinthians.

True spiritual warfare

Please read 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

The opening verses of chapter 10 mark the beginning of the final section of Paul's letter to believers in first-century Corinth. A new section has clearly begun. The tone of the apostle's language has altered. His style is more intense, more deeply personal. There is humour and sarcasm, much information about Paul not found elsewhere in the New Testament and a remarkable degree of candour. The apostle opens his heart to his readers.

In one sense, the subject of these chapters is Paul himself, but in another sense the subject is spiritual maturity, how the work of God is to be done, even the very nature of the gospel itself. Paul's ministry had come under sustained attack from a group of men who had wormed their way into the confidence of the church at Corinth. These men aimed their accusations at Paul personally. Once destroy Paul's reputation, and the church could be weaned away from him. Much more was at stake, however, than Paul's reputation. Their attack on Paul exposed a glaring difference of opinion right across the spectrum. Begin a debate on spiritual leadership, and other issues come into play: how are we to communicate the gospel? Indeed, what is the gospel anyway?

Who were Paul's opponents? There is a strong likelihood that they were professing Christians from a Jewish background. As soon as the gospel began to spread after the events of Pentecost, numbers of ethnic Jews became Christians. Many of them saw no need to abandon their Judaism and clung happily to the rites and ceremonies they had known since childhood. Jesus was Israel's Messiah, after all; they were happy to retain their traditional culture. A second group, however, took things further. It was not just that they wanted to retain familiar customs. They also insisted that these things were to be made compulsory for Gentile converts.

The first group did not concern Paul in the slightest, but he saw the second as a considerable threat, not only to the peace of the churches, but to the gospel itself. They were preaching a gospel of 'Christ plus...'. To such people, the work of Jesus on the cross is not enough of itself to save a soul: we need Christ plus circumcision, Christ plus dietary laws, and so on. This mentality was certainly at work in Corinth and it has not been eradicated even though almost twenty centuries have passed since Paul first wrote these words. It is still quite common to meet people who think that the way to God is through Christ plus churchgoing, Christ plus ceremonies and rituals, or Christ plus morality.

It also seems that another influence had been at work in Paul's day. His opponents had taken on board the style of a group of men known as the sophists. Sophists were essentially philosophy teachers who engaged in public debate. They could command enormous fees, especially if their oratorical skills were finely tuned. It was expected that the successful sophist would be a self-publicist. You had to advertise to get custom! All of this rubbed off on Paul's detractors. They assumed that a spiritual leader would naturally be someone who sought out the limelight, a person with charisma and flair. What a heady mixture—Jewish legalism and the personality cult of the sophist injected into a power struggle in the life of a first-century church!

Paul refutes the charge of cowardice (10:1-2)

In verse 1, Paul describes himself as someone 'who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you'. It seems that he is consciously alluding to one of the charges levelled by his detractors. This is repeated in verse 10: '"His letters," they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."' His opponents alleged that Paul should not be an apostle at all. He was not up to the job. He had no stomach for a fight. When in Corinth he was a cringing weakling who backed down in the face of confrontation, but once he was at a safe distance, he wrote letters like salvos of heavy artillery. He was brave enough at long range!

The men who were circulating this allegation had taken as their model a style of leadership that was normal in their culture. The sophist needed presence. An impressive carriage, a haughty and confident bearing, would help him overawe both his opponents and his audience. It was all too easy to conclude that the same principle must hold good for the Christian leader too! The same mistake is still being made. In some evangelical circles it is assumed that the Spirit-filled leader is the one who exudes confidence and radiates charisma. And judged by this kind of standard, Paul was a nonentity.

The apostle's response is interesting. On the one hand, he refused to let others squeeze him into their mould. He had a better role model than the accepted style of leadership in contemporary society. He appealed to his friends 'by the meekness and gentleness of Christ' (10:1). Paul would not accept that humility and gentleness were tantamount to weakness and cowardice. Jesus had been tender and accommodating, but when occasion demanded, he was so decisive that his enemies were left reeling at his force of character. This can be seen in the way that he chased moneychangers out of the temple and denounced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The wrath of a meek man is a force to be reckoned with! In the same way, Paul did not feel the need to flaunt a 'macho' style in his dealings with his friends, but his normal mildness did not preclude the possibility of decisive action should the situation require it.

The sense of verse 2 is something like this: 'When I come to Corinth, I will have to be bold with "some" people. Don't put me in a position where I have no option but to be bold with all of you!' Evidently the church at Corinth had not distanced itself from Paul's antagonists. The apostle was now making an appeal to the majority. It was a tender and carefully worded appeal, but the stakes were high: 'You have been far too ready to give these people a hearing. The time has come to show your true colours. Repudiate them and take your stand with me!' This was no mere matter of Paul cultivating a personal following. This was not so much a clash of competing egos as of competing views of ministry, even of the gospel itself. Like Moses centuries before him, Paul was asking for an end to indecision: 'Whoever is on the Lord's side—come to me!' (Exod. 32:26).

Paul refutes the charge of being a lightweight (10:2-5)

Another charge levelled against Paul emerges in the second part of verse 2. His opponents, it seems, accused him of walking 'according to the flesh'. The apostle's choice of wording needs to be weighed carefully. The term 'flesh' has several meanings in the New Testament. Here, the meaning is quite specific. It does not refer to our physical bodies, as in 'flesh and blood'. (Paul uses it in this way in 1 Corinthians 15:39, where he observes that 'All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.') In the same way, Paul does not use the word 'flesh' here to describe our fallen human nature, as he does in Romans 8:8, when he says, '... those who are in the flesh cannot please God.' The men who were trying to oust Paul from the affections of the Corinthians believed themselves to be endued with great power. They were potent men, too weighty and substantial to be ignored. Authority and spiritual might clung to them. They were men of the spirit! Paul, by comparison, was of little account, feeble, a spent force. In other words, by saying that he walked 'according to the flesh', they meant that he was not half the man that they were; he was puny, a spiritual lightweight who relied on such 'ordinary' methods as praying and preaching. Unlike them, Paul had no spiritual 'star quality'.

The apostle's response is to admit that, in one sense, he was guilty as charged. In the opening part of verse 3, he concedes that he did 'walk in the flesh'. By this he means that he was involved with ordinary people in the ordinary world and made no great pretensions for himself. And yet, in the next breath, he begs to differ. The second part of verse 3 makes it clear that, even though he lived in the everyday world, he did not make 'war according to the flesh'; his 'weapons' (10:4) were not 'carnal', or fleshly. At this point, Paul makes use of a military analogy: the work of God is like a war, a sustained, exacting campaign against the powers of darkness.

It is important that we understand the precise nature of Paul's comparison. He does not mean that his opponents were using tangible weapons—swords and shields, or, for that matter, tanks and missiles—while he used exclusively spiritual weapons. His rivals were preachers too! Paul, however, makes the stinging accusation that these people had, none the less, borrowed weapons from the world's armoury.

The same accusation can be made against some elements on the current evangelical scene. Certain methods of evangelism in widespread use are rarely questioned. Assumptions go unchallenged, partly because asking probing questions will get you a reputation for being unloving. Nevertheless, it has to be said that much activity within modern evangelical circles cannot be justified biblically. The church has borrowed the methods which are perceived to work in secular society.

Paul explains his military analogy in verses 4-5. Spiritual warfare is primarily about bringing truth to bear on people's minds. This cannot be stressed too strongly. It is often assumed that spiritual warfare is about tussles between angels and demons, exorcisms and single combat with the powers of darkness. This outlook is fed by a growing body of literature, much of it in the form of Christianized fantasy novels. In response, we need to understand that the 'strongholds' (10:4) that Paul set out to besiege were actually value systems, world-views, habitual patterns of thought, proud castles of the mind with the banner of self floating from the ramparts.

I do not mean to imply that Satan and his minions do not exist, or that they are not active, but rather to suggest that we often miss the true theatre of their operations because things like exorcisms and deliverance ministry attract attention away from it. Think of it this way: far more souls have been lost through Satan's manipulation of the intellectual and theological fashions of the age than through his recruitment of a handful of witches, or luring people into dabbling with the occult. The mind is the seat of man's rebellion against God; it is where he asserts his desire for autonomy, his longing to answer to nothing and no one outside of himself. Paul saw the gospel as a powerful way to infiltrate the citadel of the human mind and heart. People need to be brought back to the point where they think as God thinks.

When a person becomes a Christian, his whole mental frame of reference is turned upside down. He prays, in the words of the old hymn, 'Loving Saviour, true and kind, be the Master of my mind...' Once he proudly asserted the sovereignty of his own opinions. He himself was the supreme judge of anything that might impinge on his personal world. The idea that God might deserve a hearing was resisted with stubborn scorn. But now all that has changed. 'Every thought' has been brought 'into captivity to the obedience of Christ'. Does all this seem a bit cerebral? It is actually a very necessary emphasis. People will never change their behaviour patterns until they change the way they think.

For Paul, this had an important bearing on the question of method. If tenaciously held world-views were to be undermined, argument and persuasion were vital. When he brought the gospel to the people of Thessalonica, the apostle 'reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead...' (Acts 17:2-3). His opponents, on the other hand, believed that the battle could be won by parading themselves before an audience. To Paul, truth was everything. To his detractors, image was everything. What mattered was not so much what you said as how you came across.

This could not be more relevant. A similar battle is going on today for the soul of evangelicalism. We live in a televisual age. Mass communication is increasingly dominated not so much by words as by images. Some Christian leaders have concluded from this that we need to borrow the techniques which sell soap or elect presidents. Running parallel with this is an increasing confusion about how God speaks. Until the early 1960s, there was a consensus among all evangelicals that God speaks through his Word, but now in some Christian gatherings Bibles are conspicuous by their absence. How does the work of God get done? The old chasm between Paul and his detractors in Corinth has reopened. On the one side, there are those who seek to mount an attack on the sensations, the world of impressions and feelings. People are to be subjected to a barrage on their emotions, overawed by triumphalist displays of power and leader-figures who project sanitized versions of the charisma usually associated with big names in entertainment, sport, politics and business. On the other side, there are those who believe that all this is an attempt to fight God's battles with weapons forged in hell.

Do you desire to bring down the grim fortress that dominates the mind of each man and woman until Christ breaches the walls and the Holy Spirit enters and routs all resistance? In that case, present the truth. Do it in both formal and informal, low-key situations, one to one or to large audiences, but make the case for Christ and his gospel. Before you do it, as you do it and after it is all over, pray that God would use, not flashy personalities, but words that he will clothe with his own power, words that will worm their way in through the defences of the mind and bring the whole edifice tottering down.

Conclusion (10:6)

In verse 6 we read of Paul's readiness 'to punish all disobedience' when the 'obedience' of his supporters in Corinth was 'fulfilled'. This takes us back to the thought of verse 2 and the apostle's plea that his friends in Corinth should stand by Paul's gospel, Paul's methods and, therefore, Paul himself and, in doing so, isolate his detractors. Allow Paul's opponents their head, and they would lead the churches into something sub-Christian. Would the Corinthians see sense and repudiate the influential handful that had caused such havoc? Would they take steps to distance themselves from these men in advance of Paul's arrival?

We too live at a decisive period in the history of Christianity. The divide is not always obvious. The enemy is subtle and the battle must be fought on many fronts, but let me make a plea for Christian seriousness. At its best, the Reformed faith of our spiritual ancestors produced a tough-minded, rational, disciplined piety. It produced Christians who could think because they had surrendered their intellectual powers and thought-processes to the lordship of Christ. Over against that, I see the emergence of a kind of evangelicalism which sits lightly to the Word of God and the proclamation of truth, a kind of spirituality which is often cheerfully ready to dispense both with the Bible and with the mind.

Welwyn Commentary Series – Strength in Weakness: 2 Corinthians simply explained.

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/149821#Comment_149821

I expect that new volumes will be included by the time the commentary series is ready to be downloaded.

Christopher Powell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/149831#Comment_149831

I just want to give this series a bump as there are some EXCELLENT volumes at a good price and it would be good to see these come off pre-pub. The commentary by Eveson on Genesis is excellent and was very helpful in a recent series I preached. Solid, conservative expositional and accessible. And with lots of Reformed authors like Eveson and Olyott. Check it out!

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/157501#Comment_157501

I have pre order this too. I am a little dishearten to see it has still a 1/3 of a the way to go before it can be considered. What Logos is really missing is a strong in-depth devotional commentary. from what i have been able to read from sample pages at Christian Book Distributors this is what i am looking for, perhaps logos could increase interest in this product by putting more sample pages in place, if people could read a little more from all the volumes (or at least more volumes) I would guess more people might be interested in this series.

John Murphy

Add me to the list. Thanks for the recommendation, Mark. I profess myself guilty of never having heard of the commentary series, but it looks pretty good, and this particular approach to commentaries is what I find most profitable for my own Bible study.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/178050#Comment_178050

I have pre order this too. I am a little dishearten to see it has still a 1/3 of a the way to go before it can be considered. What Logos is really missing is a strong in-depth devotional commentary. from what i have been able to read from sample pages at Christian Book Distributors this is what i am looking for, perhaps logos could increase interest in this product by putting more sample pages in place, if people could read a little more from all the volumes (or at least more volumes) I would guess more people might be interested in this series.

Sometimes people have been able to drum up enough interest among other users to push a pre-pub resource up over the 100% mark by starting a new forum thread and talking up the benefits of the product. This is a particularly bad time to be doing that, though, because of all the new pre-pubs that are shipping in October and early November, and all the moaning people have been doing lately about having to let some of these good deals slip by because their budgets are overstretched.

Jack Caviness

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/178099#Comment_178099

Sometimes people have been able to drum up enough interest among other users to push a pre-pub resource up over the 100% mark by starting a new forum thread and talking up the benefits of the product.

I had overlooked this resource offering previously, but the recent posts caused me to read the entire thread and add my pre-pub order. Is it safe to trust Mark Barnes this much? [8-|]

Christopher Powell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/178126#Comment_178126

If it makes any difference this is the only pre-pub I'm signed up for and I have a very limited book budget, so feel free, Jack, to spread the blame.

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/178264#Comment_178264

A few sample sections via CBD.... Judges Ephesians 2 Chronicles Esther.

Christopher Powell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/181450#Comment_181450

Thanks for posting these screencaps. I think it good for us to keep this before people. I used both Olyott (Ephesians) and Eveson (Genesis) extensively in my preparation.

nicky crane

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/181483#Comment_181483

This has turned out to be an expensive thread for me. The taster of the commentary did it. I think the expense will turn out to have been a worthwhile investment!

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/181483#Comment_181483

I am not going to do anything rash, but I am happy to say that if buy Spring this product isn't under development, It can be purchased from Word Search, less the latest Commentary on Revelations and strangely the commentary on Ecclesiaties / Song of Solomon Missing.

I am still hoping Logos will publish it, but with it out by a competitor it's a two edged sword, on the one hand it shows there is a market for it, but have all those wanting it purchased it in that format already. With no offence to the wordsearch people, their program compared to Logos is like comparing a go cart to a luxury car. Both may carry you to the same destination but the trips will be far different experiences.

I know Logos must be run as a business but sometimes one can wish they would act on faith with a product this good.

-dan

PS:I do know Logos is faith based and does step out in faith many times, like it's bold rescue of the ECC project.

PPS:OUT OF CURIOSITY LOGOS STAFF, HOW MAY MORE PRE ORDERS ARE NEEDED TO GET THIS PRODUCT GOING AHEAD????

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/181707#Comment_181707

SONG of SONGS SAMPLE

Chapter 1.
Clarifications: A basic introduction

Please read Song of Songs 1:1

'In all the world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.' Even allowing for hyperbole, Rabbi Aqiba's second-century statement contrasts sharply with the attitude of some Christians today, who apparently have little place for this book in their thinking or practice. They hardly ever quote it, read it or reflect on it. It has suffered what a modern writer calls 'functional decanonization'.

Such extremes remind us that the book has sometimes been controversial. Over the years, there have been both Jewish and Christian observers who have questioned its place in Scripture. From ancient times until the present day, however, I hasten to add, its divine inspiration has never been in any serious or lasting doubt.

Its location in Scripture

In Hebrew Bibles, the Song is the fourth book (after Psalms, Proverbs and Job) in the third and final main section, the Sacred Writings. This diverse collection is mostly found between 1 Chronicles and the Song of Songs in English Bibles. Five books (the Song, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther and Lamentations) are traditionally referred to as the Megilloth or scrolls. Modest, apparently insignificant works, they are given prominence at Jewish festivals, with the Song being read at the end of Passover.

Following the Greek translation known as the Septuagint, English Bibles place the book after Ecclesiastes. Some like that order, saying that Ecclesiastes does a negative, preparatory, convicting work ('Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again', John 4:13) while the Song is more positive, complete and edifying ('...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst', John 4:14). These two, with Job, Proverbs and certain psalms, are often spoken of as Wisdom Literature, a genre dealing chiefly with how to apply truth to daily life. Duane Garrett says that its wisdom is obvious. It prepares the reader 'for the joy as well as the trauma of love'.

Like other Wisdom Literature, the Song is poetry. It uses terse sentences and devices such as parallelism (developing ideas through near repetition), assonance and alliteration (repeating consonants or vowels), simile or metaphor (rhetorical picture language) and refrain. As with most poetry, especially love poetry, the writing is highly imaginative and artistic ('perhaps the largest concentration of imagery anywhere in the Bible' according to Tremper Longman III). These factors can make for difficulties in interpretation.

Critical interpretation of the Song

More than one scholar has called the Song of Songs the most difficult book to interpret in the Old Testament. Augustine found it a puzzle. Tenth-century rabbi Saadia ben Joseph spoke of the key to its locks being lost. Matthew Henry said, 'It seems as hard as any scripture to be made a "savour of life unto life".' In 1683 a gentleman called Richard Coore issued a book expounding 'the most difficult texts' in Scripture. It included work on 'the two mystical books of canticles and the revelations'. A modern preacher speaks candidly of 'much furious thought and casting about in my mind to make something of it, and another of being 'stark-raving bonkers' to take it on. Misgivings about its place in Scripture have sprung chiefly from wrestling with these problems.

A key question to consider before we begin, then, is the correct hermeneutical approach. At one extreme are those who want to take it in an entirely spiritual way. It deals exclusively, they say, with the love between God and his people. At the other extreme are those who want to take it in an entirely natural way. For them, it is all about the love between a woman and her lover, and no more. Across this spectrum there are several schools of thought. Some of these are outlined in the appendix.

In his Introduction to the Old Testament, Professor E. J. Young cites Church Father Theodore of Mopsuestia as one who took the Song literally. This led him to reject it from the canon, for which he was condemned in A.D. 533 at Constantinople. (In 1544 Calvin condemned Sebastian Castillio for a development of this same view. Castillio claimed the book was 'lascivious and obscene'.) Without condoning such radicalism, Young agrees with this broad approach. It reminds us, he says, 'in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble true love is'. Like others, he then wants to extend the application beyond the purity of human love to include something higher, seeing here not an allegory, or even a type of Christ and his church, but a subject with a higher meaning.

The various interpretations probably all shed some light on the book. Without necessarily using Young's word 'parable' to denote the view, it is basically his approach that I adopt in this commentary. It cuts the Gordian knot and is the approach that in my opinion provides the best interpretative framework. I believe that, when he wrote, the author had in mind both a natural and a spiritual understanding, and that those who originally received it as Scripture understood it both in terms of human love and intimacy and as a portrait of the loving relationship between God and his people.

Raewynne Whiteley puts it like this: 'Song of Songs could be understood as a superb love poem, evocative and rich in imagery. As such it sets forth a high standard for mutual love and encourages the celebration of love and beauty. However, as we understand the further dimension of God's love, it becomes an intimate invitation into relationship with God, celebrating the goodness of love, the beauty of passion and the tenderness of God.' But on what basis do we take this view? When we look at Proverbs, another book closely connected with Solomon, we find references to the women Wisdom and Folly and to the wiles of the adulteress. It is commonly accepted that such references teach us both about fidelity in marriage and in God's covenant with his people. In a similar way, the Song works on two levels. Passages such as Psalm 45; Isaiah 62:4-5; Hosea 1-3 and Malachi 2:14 seem to do the same.

When Paul speaks to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22-25, we recall how he immediately moves to the subject of Christ and his church: 'Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy...' He adds, 'This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband' (Eph. 5:32-33).

Here is a clue to the full understanding of the Song. It speaks not only about the important matter of human love between a man and his bride, but also the mysterious intimacy that exists, and that is to be cultivated, between true believers and their Lord and Saviour, Christ. Surely it is the sort of thing that we find in the Song that Paul has in mind when he writes, for example, 'I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him' (2 Cor. 11:2).

Other New Testament Scriptures that may relate back to the Song are references to Christ as the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15; Luke 5:35; John 3:29; Rev. 19:7; 21:9; 22:17).

Contemporary application of the Song

In our own day a study of this ancient book is crucially needed in both these areas.

Firstly, because in this modern world of mass media, through advertising, cinema, television and the World Wide Web, we are inundated with false images of love, sex and marriage. We are bombarded with misleading ideas and, even if we keep our minds as pure as we ought, it is still very easy for inaccurate concepts to worm their way in and have their debilitating effect on us. In 2003Being Human, a report by the Church of England's Doctrine Commission, spoke of 'saturation of virtually all channels of communication by sexual imagery of an increasingly explicit kind'. All of us-virgins or not, single, married, divorced or widowed, celibate or sexually active, young or old, male or female-need to be crystal clear on this vital subject.

Then, secondly, there is the vital issue of intimacy with Jesus Christ. Someone may be reading this who is not a believer. One of the purposes of this commentary is to help you to see how lovely the Lord Jesus is, how attractive, how appealing. I want you to fall for him and fall before him. As for believers, I truly hope that this book will help revive and rekindle our first love for him, where such a renaissance is needed. The aim is for us to see again something of Christ's beauty and glory, his comeliness and splendour, and so to be drawn to him. The Song of Songs can be of tremendous help to us in this direction.

The title of the Song

The book's title, or superscription, as found in our Bibles, is 'Solomon's Song of Songs'. This catchy title reflects something of the poetry of the original Hebrew. How old the details on this 'title page' are we do not know for sure. However, it seems to be authentic. It tells us three things.

1. Solomon

This is a book by or about Solomon, or at least it has something to do with him. Is it simply dedicated to him, or in his style, or one that was his favourite? It is difficult to be totally sure who the author was, but there is no reason to reject out of hand the tradition that it was Solomon. Also called Jedidiah, 'beloved of the Lord' (2 Sam. 12:25), Solomon has sometimes been regarded as an Old Testament parallel to the apostle John. Some see the references to him within the book as peripheral, but his name is mentioned seven times (1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12). There are also references to 'the king' (1:4, 12; 7:5). The book seems to come from a time when Israel was peaceful and united. Note references to Jerusalem, Carmel, Hermon, etc. It is worth remembering that in Hebrew the name Solomon is similar to the word Shalom, peace, as is Shulammite (the term used to refer to the woman in 6:13). At the start of the book the idea of peace and fulfilment is in the background.

There is something attractive about the ancient Jewish view that the Song of Songs, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are the works, respectively, of Solomon's earlier, middle and later years. Henry Morris is one modern writer who takes this view. He argues that here Solomon has in mind his first love and bride, Naamah, an Ammonitess, mother of Rehoboam (2 Chr. 12:13), whom Solomon must have married in his late teens. Morris backs up this speculation by noting the reference to Engedi (1:14), just across the Dead Sea from Ammon, and the use of the word 'pleasant', possibly a diminutive of Naamah, in 1:16. The fact that Solomon later went astray in the very area of human and divine intimacy, with his many wives and his idolatrous ways, does not of itself undermine the book's value. Indeed, this factor acts as a warning sign discouraging the idea that there is any easy way to escape such temptations.

If we accept that Solomon is the author, the book dates from somewhere in the middle of the tenth century B.C. Many who deny this view, on linguistic or other grounds, want to give it a much later date.

2. Song

It is a song-here a pleasant and joyful thing, as songs usually are, 'to stir up the affections and to heat them', as Matthew Henry puts it. It is poetry, which is good for stirring the emotions but can also be useful for didactic ends. We all know what it is to have the words of a song in our heads-whether we want it there or not. In English, the book is sometimes known as 'The Song' and sometimes, slightly inaccurately, as 'Canticles' (from the Latin Vulgate's Canticum Canticorum, The Song of Songs).

3. Song of songs

'Song of songs' could mean a song made up of different songs, a collection, a 'best of compilation even. Although one song, it has various parts. However, the phrase probably means 'the best of songs' and is similar to biblical phrases such as 'vanity of vanities', 'King of kings' and 'Holy of holies' (hence the penchant for this term for the Song among older writers). The Aramaic Targum says that out of ten songs, including those of Moses, Deborah and Hannah, this is Scripture's ninth and best song. We learn that Solomon 'spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five' (1 Kings 4:32). Here we have the very best of them, the most beautiful. Nick Hornby has written of popular music that 'In the end it's songs about love that endure the best.' This is certainly a song about love. It is not only Solomon's best song but inspired Scripture, and so doubly worthy of careful and diligent study. It also has, as has been suggested above, the greatest theme of all-Jesus Christ, the one who is love personified. Puritan James Durham says it deals with the best subject (Christ and his church), in its most glorious aspect (their mutual love), is an excellent composition with a captivating style, and comprehensively provides 'an armoury and storehouse of songs' suitable 'for every case' and 'for all sorts of believers'.

An outline of its construction

Some see the Song as a collection rather than as a single literary unit, identifying as few as six, or as many as over thirty, different poems here. Others argue for a greater unity. The Song may lack the plot one expects from a story, but it forms a coherent totality that is the result of more than merely assembling an anthology. However the Song was put together, there is a definite cohesion, with the same characters, recurrent phrases and ideas, and similar language throughout.

Some writers reject the idea of linear development through the book but, while there is no consensus on details, there is some agreement on the broad narrative structure. The order is: first, a courtship period, which probably includes formal betrothal (1:1-3:5); second, the wedding (3:6-5:1); and third, married life (5:2-8:14). S. Craig Glickman states that all commentators accept that 'the wedding procession' (3:6-11) forms a unit. He believes that the lovemaking sections (4:1-5:1; 7:1-10), are almost as clear-cut. As 4:1-5:1 follows the wedding procession, has the beloved being addressed for the first time as a bride and sees her wearing a veil, it is reasonable to understand it as a wedding-night scene.

The section 7:1-10 has its corollary in 7:11-8:3. The section that links 3:6-5:1 and 7:1-8:3 is 5:2-6:13. This is a 'conflict and solution narrative' that can be seen as bridging the gap between the lovemaking of 4:1-5:1 and its more intense parallel in 7:1-10. That leaves the opening and closing sections, 1:1-3:5 and 8:4-14. The first of these is probably a courtship section rather than a flashback, the only such scene occurring near the end of the book, where the climax and resolution appear. The courtship can be split after 2:3, where there is increased intensity. Glickman thus ends up with seven or eight sections: 1:1-2:3; 2:4-3:5; 3:6-11; 4:1-5:1; 5:2-6:13; 7:1-8:4; 8:5-14 (or 8:5-9; 8:10-14).

Some writers are uneasy about the idea that the pair marry before the end. Those who take a 'spiritual' view rightly point out that the relationship between Christ and his church is most often seen in terms of betrothal here on earth and marriage in the world to come. However, back in the seventeenth century, Puritan Edward Pearse wrote of there being a threefold marriage between Christ and his people. He denotes these as personal, mystical and heavenly.

By 'personal' he means Christ 'the Word made flesh', what theologians call the hypostatic union. This is foundational. By 'mystical' he means 'being joined to the Lord and being one spirit with him'. This is our initial participation in Christ. By 'heavenly' he means the glorious union in heaven, the consummation to come. This involves full possession and enjoyment for ever. Here in the Song of Songs it is this 'mystical' marriage that is in mind.

Because of these and other issues, different writers have different outlines for the contents of the Song. In this book we shall use the following plan:

1:1	Clarifications: A basic introduction
1:2-4	Craving: What people rightly want and why
1:5-8	Courtship: Self-perceptions and desires-getting it right
1:9-2:2	Commitment: Models of care, devotion and fellowship
2:3-17	Coming together: The nature of true love
3:1-5	Crisis: A lover lost, a lover sought, a lover found
3:6-11	Ceremony: Two lovers married-a wedding procession
4:1-5:1	Consummation: Praising, wooing and loving
5:2-8	Coldness: The loss of close covenant communion
5:9-6:12	Captivation: True beauty and where is it found
6:13-8:4	Completeness: The nature of true love in its maturity

8:5-14

Continuing: How to continue, commence and complete a loving covenant relationship

As has already been stated, some deny that events are presented in a largely sequential way. Others posit many dream sequences, flashbacks and reminiscences. Some do this from a quite proper concern to avoid suggesting any premarital sexual encounters in the book. There is, however, no need to resort to such devices in order to maintain this position.

We should also note that the Song is constructed with two main characters and a sort of chorus.

1. The beloved-the woman, the 'beloved' (NIV), the Shulammite

She appears to be a young country girl, possibly from Shunem in Lower Galilee (see 6:13), possibly Naaman the Ammonitess. She is betrothed to her lover and marries him. For over half the time she is the one who speaks (fifty-five out of 117 verses). She is an active initiator. She corresponds to the woman in betrothal and marriage and to God's people in 'spiritual' terms.

2. The lover -the man, King Solomon, her 'lover' (NIV)

His speeches take up just under forty per cent of the book. He exemplifies the role of the man in a male-female relationship and illustrates Christ's love for his people.

3. The friends

From time to time we also have comments from 'the friends, the daughters of Jerusalem'. Their contribution is small, just over five per cent, although they also act as an audience at some points, a sort of sounding board for the woman's ideas. Who exactly they are is disputed. Are they ladies-in-waiting at Solomon's court, friends of the woman, or general onlookers? They act as observers and serve to draw the woman out.

The nature of Hebrew is such that, although there is sometimes a doubt, it is usually clear whether a male or a female, a single person or more than one, is speaking.

There is something here, then, not only for men and for women on the matter of courtship, love and marriage, but also for all who look on and see such things happening.

A summary of the narrative

It is useful, finally, to have an idea of the storyline that, I believe, underlies the unfolding of the book. Perhaps 'storyline' is too strong a term-this is a song, not a novel or a play. Despite the denials of some, however, a plot is detectable. We can debate details, but it seems that the beloved was part of a family where the father had died, or was no longer on the scene for some other reason, and where she was under the authority of her half-brothers. Naturally beautiful, she was a somewhat neglected soul, forced by her guardians to work long hours under a hot sun in the vineyards and in other agricultural pursuits.

One day a handsome stranger appears and shows interest in her. This man, it turns out, is King Solomon. He sees her hidden beauty, wins her heart, betroths her to him, marries her and takes her into his palace. Although there comes a time when she takes his love for granted, and so drives him away, they are reconciled and come to a mature love that goes on into the future with no sign of ending.

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/182468#Comment_182468

Sample from Daniel

Chapter 1.

Setting The Scene

The historical background

Long ago God chose one man-Abraham-and promised that through him and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.

The one man became a family, and the family became a nation. At last the nation went down to Egypt, where it remained for four hundred years.

Then it came out. You will have heard of the plagues, and the Passover, and the coming through the Red Sea. For forty years the nation, led by Moses, wandered in the wilderness, where it received God's law and instructions concerning the tabernacle, sacrifices and priesthood. When the wilderness wanderings were over, the nation came into the promised land, under the leadership of Joshua. Before he died the land had been largely conquered and divided among the twelve tribes.

This was followed by the period of the judges-men whom God raised up to deliver the nation from successive conquerors. Then came the period of the kings. The first king was Saul, who was followed in turn by David, Solomon and Rehoboam. All of these ruled over a united kingdom of twelve tribes.

Shortly after Rehoboam's reign began, the nation split into two. In the north was the kingdom of Israel (or Ephraim), and in the south the kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom was composed of ten tribes and its capital was Samaria. The southern kingdom was composed of two tribes and its capital was Jerusalem. At first the two kingdoms were enemies. This was followed by a period of friendship, but eventually they were sworn enemies once more.

There were a number of different dynasties in the north, but no godly monarch ever sat on its throne. At last God moved to judge the nation, against whose apostasy He had often spoken by His prophets. The armies of mighty Assyria swept in from the north, and in 722 B.C. Samaria fell. The ten tribes of Israel were taken into captivity and disappeared from the face of the earth.

The southern kingdom continued for a further one hundred years. All its kings were of one dynasty and were descendants of David. The nation's life was one of increasing apostasy, and yet some of the kings were truly godly, and there were several periods of widespread spiritual awakening. In 609 B.C. Jehoiakim mounted the throne. His reign did nothing to arrest the prevailing idolatry and immorality, but rather increased it. The prophets warned that unless there was repentance there would be judgement, but their warnings went unheeded.

Over the horizon, in 605 B.C., came Nebuchadnezzar. Over the next twenty-three years, in four successive stages, he transported almost all the people of Judah to his native Babylon. By the rivers of Babylon they sat down and wept when they remembered Zion, and asked how they could sing the Lord's song in a strange land (Psalm 137:1,4).

The nation had turned a deaf ear to the warnings of God, and was now being left to the mercy of its enemies. However, within the apostate nation there remained a very small number of individuals who continued to be true to God, just as the prophets had predicted. This tiny remnant loved Him, and lived to please Him, even in distant Babylon. Such a remnant existed throughout the seventy years of exile. It is true that the nation as a whole wept idolatry out of its system. But loving allegiance to Jehovah was never the experience of more than a few. After the exile the remnant became smaller and smaller. The time came when it consisted (as far as we know) of no more than Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, and a handful of shepherds. Nobody else in Judea was ready to welcome Abraham's promised Seed into the world. Nobody else recognized the Light who had come to lighten the Gentiles, the Glory of God's people, Israel.

In the days of the Babylonian exile this remnant was represented by Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Daniel 1:6). Just four candles, and a few more, shone in the godless darkness of those times. Only a handful of lives remained true to God. At a time when nobody else cared, God and His Word continued to matter to this small group.

God is not much interested in numbers, but He is insistent that He will never leave Himself without witnesses. True religion continues uninterrupted in the world, but its adherents are seldom numbered in more than handfuls. In Babylon God was content that His true Israel should be whittled down to single figures. The first six chapters of Daniel tell us how this little remnant remained true to God in a hostile environment.

The main lesson

The previous sentence brings us to the main lesson of this book. Daniel tells us how to remain true to God in a hostile environment. It shows us how to live for Him when everything is against us. From its pages we learn how to sing the Lord's song in a strange land. Daniel and his three companions managed it. So can we.

It is possible for a person to live for God when there is nothing on his side. Noah, Abraham, Moses and David were all godly men, yet God's Word records that each of them fell, at some time, into a serious fault. Each of them has at least one blemish on his character, and some of them more than one. The Bible does not whitewash its leading characters, or pretend that they were something other than what they really were. But the same book does not record any blemish in the life of Daniel. Spirituality and integrity of character do not require ideal conditions in which to develop. They are not plants that thrive in the protection of the greenhouse, but grow best when exposed to snow, wind and hail, to drought and burning sun.

Think of it! A fourteen-year-old boy (that is all he was) was taken from his home, family and friends, and forcibly marched to a strange land. There he was subjected to a powerful and subtle form of indoctrination, which we shall read about shortly. In later years he was surrounded by jealous enemies who plotted against his life. At no time was he free from the temptation to pursue material prosperity and personal advancement at the expense of everything else. He was surrounded by evil in youth, middle years and old age. There is hardly a temptation known to any of us that he did not have to face. And yet the Scriptures do not record a single blemish in his character! He purposed in his heart to please God, and never moved from that resolve. It is possible to live for God in a hostile world. Godliness can, and does thrive where there are no ideal circumstances.

Very few (if any) of us have faced the difficulties that Daniel faced. When we think of difficulties, we usually think only of our own. We persuade ourselves that everyone else has it easy, and that we would make more spiritual progress if we were in some other situation. The factory worker thinks that it is easier to live the Christian life in the office, while the office worker is convinced that it is easier to be a Christian housewife at home. The housewife is not aware of the difficulties of living for Christ at school, and the school student looks forward to the day when he will face the comparatively easier challenge of the factory floor. And so the circle goes on. We each imagine that nobody has difficulties as great as our own. We excuse our poor standard of Christian living by pointing to the circumstances in which we are found. The book of Daniel exposes us completely. It proves that true spirituality never depended upon things being easy.

What was Daniel's secret?

It is simple. Before he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, what did he do? He prayed (2:17-19). When he was plotted against, and then thrown into a den of lions, what was he doing? He was praying (6:10). What is chapter 9 about? It is Daniel at prayer. He was a man of prayer. A proper prayer life is half the secret of remaining true to God in a hostile world.

The other half of the secret is just as simple. In 9:2 we shall read of Daniel examining 'books' and understanding them. What books were those? They were the prophetical books of the Old Testament that had been written by that date. In 9:11 and 9:13 we shall read of him referring to 'the law of Moses'. Daniel read, and knew his Bible. His secret is easy to define, even if not always easy to implement. He stood firm for God in a hostile world because he read his Bible and said his prayers!

These undramatic disciplines need stressing today. It is often thought that the secret of Christian living lies in our having some new and exceptional experience of God. Different terms are used by different people, but the idea is usually very much the same. It is taught that a new experience of God will lead me on to a higher plane than where I am now living. If I can only have this new experience I will never be the same again. All my energies must be devoted to seeking entry to this higher life, and I must not rest until the new experience that I seek is truly mine.

Daniel had wonderful experiences of the Lord, but he did not seek them. He sought God for His own sake and not for what He might do for him. He enjoyed being with Him, discerning His will from His Word, and communing with Him in prayer. We underline it again. His secret was too simple to miss: he read his Bible and said his prayers.

This, too, was the secret of the early Christian martyrs, the persecuted Reformers and their children, and the zealous and evangelizing Methodists. This was the secret of the great pioneering missionaries of the last century. They were well aware that 'the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits' (11:32). Like Daniel, they lived in two worlds. Like Daniel, they often saw that world intervening in the affairs of this one. They became God's friends, and 'greatly beloved' (10:19) in heaven. That was their secret!

Knowing this, let us now study the book of Daniel, and learn, in our turn, how to stand alone.

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/149821#Comment_149821

Although I must note that two or three volume are missing from the Logos offering like the new work on Revelation by another author and some OT works. Please Logos include the missing volumes?

The
Welwyn Commentary Series is shipping soon http://www.logos.com/product/4907/welwyn-commentary-series

Below
are four titles missing from the Logos catalogue. Could you please make them
available at a future date?

Thanks.

1)
The expectant prophet http://www.epbooks.org/expectant-prophet-p-2142.html?cat=282

2)
Practice makes perfect http://www.epbooks.org/practice-makes-perfect-p-2040.html?cat=282

3)
A ransom for many http://www.epbooks.org/ransom-many-p-2528.html?cat=282

4)
For the sake of the gospel http://www.epbooks.org/sake-gospel-p-2473.html?cat=282

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/276349#Comment_276349

I echo Ted's request.

I almost bought these (only 47 volumes, though) from a major competitor on sale at half what the Logos prepub price is, and I could have gotten Barnhouse's Romans included. That was really tempting. I didn't do so, simply because I wanted Welwyn linked to other Logos sources. I'm really looking forward to their being released.

Rod Bergen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/276349#Comment_276349

[quote
user="Ted Hans"]Below
are four titles missing from the Logos catalogue. Could you please make them
available at a future date?

I bought the series on pre-pub and am enjoying them and see that the four volumes you requested are now on pre-pub as an upgrade.

I have a couple of questions:

Two of the upgrade volumes appear to be replacements of books that are already in the series (James and Philippians) so the upgrade really is only 2 new books (Habakkuk and Mark). Do you know why James and Philippians were replaced?
I am assuming that if I purchase the upgrade that the old books for James and Philippians will not be deleted (effectively I will end up with 2 WC volumes for James and Philippians. Correct?

Thanks!

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/287810#Comment_287810

I am assuming that if I purchase the upgrade that the old books for James and Philippians will not be deleted (effectively I will end up with 2 WC volumes for James and Philippians. Correct?

Yes you are correct - the two volumes you already own will not be deleted as you have the license for them.

Two of the upgrade volumes appear to be replacements of books that are already in the series (James and Philippians) so the upgrade really is only 2 new books (Habakkuk and Mark). Do you know why James and Philippians were replaced?

Sorry i have no info as to why there is a replacement. The editor/editors may have felt that the older volumes were not up to the standard expected of the series. This is just me speculating.