This afternoon my wife reminded me about this conference. We want to attend, Lord willing. Please let me know if any of you are planning to attend, too. Here are some details:

Steven Lawson

Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the Senior Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, having served as a pastor in Arkansas and Alabama for 28 years. He is the author of fifteen books, including The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, The Expository Genius of John Calvin, and Foundations of Grace. His books have been translated into Russian, Portugese, Spanish, German, Albanian, Korean, and Indonesian.

Dr. Lawson's pulpit ministry takes him around the world, preaching in Russia, the Ukraine, Wales, England, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, and throughout the United States.

Dr. Lawson is president of New Reformation Ministries, designed to bring about biblical reformation in the church today. He serves on the Executive Board of The Master's Seminary and College and serves on the Advisory Council for Samara Preachers' Institute and Theological Seminary in Samara, Russia.

Dr. Lawson and his wife, Anne, have three sons, Andrew, James, and John, and a daughter, Grace Anne.

Joel Beeke

Dr. Joel Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978, and has served as a pastor of his current church (HNRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan) since 1986.

Dr. Beeke is editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored,or edited sixty books, and contributed over 1500 articles to reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias.

Dr. Beeke holds a Ph.D (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is frequently called upon to lecture at reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. C

opyright 2009 . All Rights Reserved.

Sunday September 27, 2009 Pre-Conference schedule coming soon!
9:00 A.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke
10:30 A.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke
6:00 P.M.	Dr. Joel Beeke

Monday September 28, 2009
4:00 P.M.	Conference Registration Begins
5:00 P.M.	Dinner
6:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the Reformers: Martin Luther and John Calvin Dr. Steven Lawson
8:00 P.M.	The Preaching of the Puritans (I) Dr. Joel Beeke

Tuesday September 29, 2009
7:30 A.M.	Breakfast
9:00 A.M.	The Preaching of the Puritans (II) Dr. Joel Beeke
10:30 A.M.	The Preaching of the Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield Dr. Steven Lawson
12:00 P.M.	Lunch
1:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the 19th Century: Archibald Alexander and Charles H. Spurgeon Dr. Steven Lawson
3:30 P.M.	Questions & Answers (Steven Lawson & Joel Beeke)
5:00 P.M.	Dinner
6:30 P.M.	The Preaching of the 20th Century: Martyn Lloyd Jones and James Montgomery Boice Dr. Steven Lawson

Information & Registration

Iain Murray says we can. In the Foreword to his new book Heroes he acknowledges that "we are all affected by examples, especially when we are young; and figures from the past, rediscovered in their biographies, may influence us deeply" (p. ix). However, a more cynical view of biography has taken hold in our culture, a view that practically disallows presenting people from the past as role models. Murray explains this modern tendency of presenting biographical subjects "warts and all," as though these people were not worthy of emulation. Even in some Christian circles if the biographer doesn't take his subject down a notch, he is suspected of hagiography, "a strange word to use in a pejorative sense" (Murray, p. x).

The Bible frequently refers to believers as "saints." As you may know, the word comes from the Greek word hagios (holy, consecrated to God). Murray comments:

Every Christian believes, with the apostle Paul, that, 'In me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing' (Rom. 7:18). But Paul had not forgotten that confession when he also wrote, 'Be followers [imitators] of me' (1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17). He knew the grace of Christ was in him, and making him all that he was: 'I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by me' (Rom. 15:18). This is the focus when examples are held up for us in Scripture, and we see it in Luke's account of Paul. It does not mean that significant faults are to be hidden; but it is the outworking of what Henry Scougal called 'the life of God in the soul' that qualifies chiefly for record and for imitation.... Christ is the author and the finisher of the life of the believer. The faith given, the talents allocated, the spiritual ambition, and the measure of usefulness are all from him. This should rule out any adulation. To recognize heroes is not the same as 'hero-worship'....

That there is a danger of thinking and writing too highly of men I do not deny. It is all because of Christ that 'the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.' True Christian biography should therefore concentrate on what is edifying and for the praise of Christ. (Murray, pp. x-xi)

I agree with Murray. True Christian biography is edifying to us and honoring to Christ. So, do you have heroes? Which ones have been the most helpful to you?

Iain H. Murray. Heroes (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2009)

I just read this news flash and found the comments about the Tagged Tanakh to be very interesting.

Jewish Publication Society Head Stepping Down

By Marcia Z. Nelson -- Publishers Weekly, 6/18/2009 9:59:00 AM


Ellen Frankel, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Publication Society, is stepping down from her position Aug. 1. Frankel will remain as a consultant and editor emerita to JPS; COO and publishing director Carol Hupping will serve as interim CEO.

“I love what I do at JPS and I also love to write, and I’ve found that I cannot keep up the pace,” said Frankel, 58, whose ninth book, The Jewish Publication Society Illustrated Children’s Bible, will be published in August. Frankel has been editor-in-chief since 1991 and CEO since 1998. Under her leadership, JPS produced the 1999 Hebrew-English Tanakh, with a JPS translation, and The Commentators’ Bible, an English-language edition of a rabbinic classic. JPS’ Bible program is now being expanded through the Tagged Tanakh, an innovative and collaborative learning platform. “Content delivery is changing,” Frankel said. “The Jewish Publication Society is not going to be a publisher anymore but a knowledge business.”

“Ellen has upheld the mantle of a great tradition in scholarship as well as leading us to the next phase of JPS’ mission to bring our content to new audiences online,” David Lerman, president of the JPS Board of Trustees, said in a statement. JPS is a nonprofit, multi-denominational Philadelphia-based publisher of Jewish works written in English.

Frankel, who has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Princeton University, is a scholar of Jewish folklore. She has a number of projects ready to pursue. “I have so many writing projects on the back burner, I’m not sure which one I’ll tackle first, but I have a long list,” she said. (emphasis mine)

From the JPS website, I found the following description of this project:

The Tagged Tanakh is an online resource that encourages conversations around the Hebrew and English translation of the Bible. By blending curated content and user-generated tags and commentary, the Tagged Tanakh will make ideas and values embedded in this ancient text more accessible to wider audiences.

and

The Tagged Tanakh is the next step in the evolution of Torah. From scroll, to codex, to print, and now to a digital format, the Tagged Tanakh opens the door to previously unimagined possibilities. Programmers and JPS staff are currently building this state-of-the-art platform for interactively engaging with Torah.

This looks very interesting. It still appears to be in production. I'll have to poke around a bit more this weekend to see what this is all about.

As a Christian, I am deeply interested in Jewish students of the Bible, especially how they read and interpret the Scriptures. They often bring to the table a perspective that I would not have considered on my own. While in Charleston, I took the opportunity to visit the Jewish Studies Center on the campus of the College of Charleston. Although we didn't see eye to eye on critical matters of faith, they opened my eyes to the world of Jewish thought that has remained with me and has been a help to me as I read the Bible to this day. I'd like to find a local center here in Montgomery, but until I do this may be another avenue to consider.

Summer Reading lists have been passed around and discussed over the past few weeks and here is a collection of the one's I've seen.

Dr. Albert Mohler's "The Annual Summer Reading List" focuses on history (predominantly military history). He followed this list up with a few further suggestions.

Prof. Carl Trueman's list includes a couple biographies, a couple historical works, and a classic novel.

Justin Taylor suggests a handful of works on Christ.

Phil Ryken offers a diverse reading list including both fiction and nonfiction, contemporary and classic, and theological and socio-political.

Derek Thomas also provides a diverse reading list (We do hope that he is able to find out and then tells us "what is the essence of 'an American'."

Ian Campbell is hoping to juggle moving with reading a handful of historical biographies and two excellent theological works published early this year (see here and here for my intro to these two).

R. Scott Clark will also reading this summer and he shares a few from his stack.

Stephen Nichols highlights a couple Anyabwile titles.

An interesting Book Meme has been started by Ken Brown asking readers to "Name the five books (or scholars) that had the most immediate and lasting influence on how you read the Bible." You can find links to many other lists in the comments.

UPDATE: A few more...

Colin Hansen (of CT) suggests Ten Theology Books for Your Beach Bag.

Mark Dever shared his lengthy, vacation reading list.

This summer, Dr. John Currid is reading through the the Hebrew OT, Greek NT, and portions of the LXX. (Sadly, this would take me numerous summers to accomplish.)

UPDATE [6/22/09]:

Nicole Whitacre (of girltalk) offers a few great suggestions for women.

Rebecca Blood linked to this post by including it in a very large collection of summer reading lists (Keep scrolling through her blog to find more lists). Thanks for the link and for pointing out the next list!

Colin Adams, at Unashamed Workman, has done a fantastic job putting together a of 100 Recommended Reads, categorized and with annotations. This is an excellent resource!

UPDATE [7/2/09]:

Thabiti Anyabwile shares his reading list here.

Stephen Nichols' list is here.

All of these lists include excellent titles.

So, What will I be reading this summer?
The majority of my reading has been dictated by review copies received from a couple of publishers. However, I am working hard to balance what has been given to me with what is immediately necessary, and what is the-latest-and-greatest with what is a-tried-and-true-classic. I don't have it worked out perfectly, but this is my goal.

Earlier this month I read an older work by the Rev. Thomas Smyth, late pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church (Charleston, SC), titled Why Do I Live? This was a very refreshing series of sermons on the essence of the Christian life. I'm very interested in church history, and have given particular attention to southern pastors and theologians.

Another book I have begun and hope to conclude this summer is a collection of essays on the life and legacy of John A. Broadus., edited by David S. Dockery & Roger D. Duke (B&H Academic, 2009).

From B&H Academic, I have also received and am working through The Love of Wisdom: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy by Steven B. Cowan & James S. Spiegel (so far I am finding this to be a refreshing review of so many things I have forgotten from my university days); The Advent of Evangelicalism edited by Michael A. G. Haykin and Kenneth J. Stewart (this book nearly assumes that readers will be familiar with David Bebbington's Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, and although I was not, I am finding this to be very helpful overview of the roots of Evangelicalism); and Augustine as Mentor by Edward L. Smither (I've barely begun this one, but I'm interested in learning more about the ministry of Augustine). This reminds me of another classic I need to finish reading: The Confessions of Augustine. I'll try to squeeze this one in somewhere.

From IVP, I just received in today's mail the latest addition to the Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective Series: The Holy Spirit: Lord and Life-Giver by Ivan Satyavrata. I'm looking forward to digging into this book and comparing it some of the other books I have read on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (namely Sinclair Ferguson's excellent treatise).

I am also well-entrenched in and thoroughly enjoying the utility of Robin Routledge's Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach (IVP, 2009). This volume is a significantly shorter work than that of Waltke, Goldingay, Brueggemann, von Rad, and others. Yet, it proves to be an excellent, introductory theology. Routledge has accomplished an amazing feat by providing a highly readable, stimulating, constructive, discerning and brief volume for those looking for an entry point into the vast field of OT theology. Routledge shows himself to be extremely familiar with all of the major theological works and a plethora of niche studies, and yet, I have not found any reference to the works of Eichrodt or [update] Oehler. Considering his conservative perspective, I thought I might find mention of Oehler, but at least he does include the excellent work by Prof. Eugene Merrill.

I have a handful of other great books from IVP, including Mark Noll's The New Shape of World Christianity and Manfred T. Brauch's Abusing Scripture, which I am eager to delve into, but, before I do, I want to finish a few that I recently purchased.

First, I am nearly finished reading through Peter Enns' Inspiration and Incarnation. Having heard some of the bad press, and reading a few reviews and essays that seemed to miss the point, I determined to acquire a copy and read it for myself. I have been very pleased with the treatment because Enns addresses issues that none of my former teachers ever countenanced although they are important for many students of the Scriptures. Sometime last year I listened to the recorded lectures an Introduction to the Old Testament class taught by Christine Hayes of Yale Divinity School. Hayes was the first to introduce me to the ANE texts and their relationship to the OT. Much of her presentation was startling to me because I had never been exposed to these ideas. What was more alarming was the elementary way Hayes presented the basic details of the Bible which assumed an audience of students who knew very little about the Bible. Enns is the first I have come across who addresses these very issues from an evangelical perspective. Whereas others are ready to discount the authority and authenticity of the Scriptures, Enns seeks to uphold and affirm these. To that, Enns is helping to equip evangelical students to be able to address the kinds of things that are being taught in many of the mainline schools. Although I am still working through some of his positions, I'm very glad that he had the courage to write this book.

I am also nearly finished with a very needed critique of pop Christianity: Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian. Tchividjian aims at heart-issues as opposed to external displays. He argues that "seeker" (a term that needs to be carefully qualified) are actually looking for something different, or transcendent, rather than mere sameness. But the Church has been convinced for years of the opposite. Even so, many believers are longing for something different; in fact, he argues, Christians are called to be different. We are to be "God's unfashionable society" (p. 92); we are called "to form a distinct, 'thick' Christian counterculture" (Keller's Forward, p. xvii). The message of this book pivots on an eschatological/missiological axis that is grounded in rich doxology.

Another book I just received is Kris Lundgaard's The Enemy Within (P&R, 1998). I found this book while purusing the Westminster Bookstore website and it reminded me of Paul Downey's Desperately Wicked, which I just recently read. I expect Lundgaard's book to delve into the same issue but on a more pastoral level. Do I say that I want to read this book, or I need to read this book? I believe that it is the latter.

On the way, is Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture by Daniel J. Treier and The New Testament Story by Ben Witherington III. I hope to read the first as a supplement to the Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. The second will be my first introduction to the writings of BWIII, a prolific NT scholar. I read a small portion of this book about a year ago when I checked it out of the library and found some help on a few particular details of NT history. I'm eagerly awaiting these two volumes although I have a way to go before I get to read them.

Well, for what it's worth, this is my reading list. What are you reading?

Church libraries and most home libraries ought to be filled with well-written Christian biographies. I have highlighted this series before, and I would like to do so again. Hendrickson Publishers have been reprinting classic texts for a long time and here is a bright new feather in their cap. It is the Hendrickson Classic Biographies Series, and it contains some of the best stories that have blessed the greater part of the church for years. The titles included in this series are as follows:

Today marks the 201st anniversary of the birth of one of Charleston, South Carolina's notable pastors, Thomas Smyth (June 14, 1808 - August 20, 1873). I have already offered highlights of his life and ministry here, so I'll use this post to share an excerpt from his little book Why Do I Live? I just recently found this copy for sale and it is the first of his works that I have purchased. I have also recently downloaded most of the 10-volumes of his collected works from Google Books.

Upon receiving this book in the mail, I immediately sat down and began reading through it. I found it to be a breath of fresh, Gospel-saturated air. This excerpt shows Smyth's passion for calling Christians to live the life they have been freed to live in Christ (something woefully absent from many contemporary books). This is from Chapter VIII, The Living Christian Stimulated.

To be a Christian is a glorious privilege, and a divine honor. It is "a high calling, a royal priesthood." It is to be "a Son of God," "a joint-heir with Christ," and "a partaker of the divine nature." It is to be filled with heaven-borrowed thoughts of joys to come, and to walk the earth with inward glory crowned.

"Earth's fairest scenes the Christian calls his own;
He is a monarch, and his throne

Is built amid the skies."

But to be a Christian is to be more than a member of the church. That which makes any man a Christian is union to Christ, and conformity to him. The sum of religion, as even a heathen could express it, is to be like God whom thou worshipest. This then is Christianity, to believe in Christ as "God manifest in flesh," to come to Christ, to be united to Christ, to be in all things subject to Christ, to live in Christ, to live for Christ, and in all things, in all ways, and in all events to follow Christ. It is to become partakers in the benefits of Christ's obedience, sufferings, and death, that we may have fellowship with him also in his life and glory. It is to be crucified together with Christ, dead with Christ, buried with Christ, and risen with Christ. Oh, see to it that thy heart is sincerely Christ's. As this piety alone will meet acceptance at the inevitable day of heart-revealing, heart-approving, or heart-condemning, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Be very sure that your heart closes with Christ, and is fixed upon him, and living by faith on him.

Are you indeed a Christian? Then you have seen the plague of your own heart, felt the direful corruption of sin, and are most anxious for deliverance from it. You know how it defiles, like leprosy, our houses, the very walls and floors, our meat and our drink, and every thing we touch. Polluting when alone, and polluting in society, it leads to misery and death, burdens the whole creation, and "presses groans out of the very frame of the earth itself." You cannot but desire to have your soul purified from this foul and loathsome disease, that, elevated above all the mists and impurities of inordinate worldly affections, the light of divine grace may shine unobstructed into your heart and be reflected with power upon the observing hearts of those around you. Let it be thus seen that you are not a mere hearer of the word, but a doer of it; a partaker of Christ; one who feels his guilt and the greatness of that love which led Christ to die for him; one who has been washed and made clean in the fountain opened in Christ's blood for sin and uncleanness; one who constantly draws living waters from the wells of salvation, and one whose whole conduct savors of his secret and habitual converse with Christ in the recesses of his own heart.

Christ became like us, for the very purpose that we might thus become like him. Christ took upon him our nature that he might, by the mighty working of his Holy Spirit, make us alive unto God, new creatures, a peculiar people, zealous of good works, finding our meat and our drink in doing his will.

Yes, Christian, you are set for the rising or fall of those around you. You are an epistle of Christ, read either to the conviction and conversion, or to the condemnation of many. Your life is your testimony for or against Christ. By it you proclaim the truth or falsity of your own profession, and as far as your influence extends, even of the religion you profess. (pp. 67-68)

One of my latest reading interests has been prayer. Over the past month, or so, I have read and perused a handful of great books on prayer. My interest in this matter began with a decision to follow a particular pattern of prayer with my family. We began to pray through Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayer (see my earlier posts here, here and here) in the mornings. This has been a tremendously rich exercise for each of us.

Another impetus was a Prayer Challenge associated with the reading of Paul Miller's new book, A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World (NavPress, 2009). The plan was to read this book for thirty days, to implement some of the ideas presented in the book, and to report to the readers of this blog regarding my experience with this exercise. I must admit that I reluctantly joined the challenge. I realize that there is much that I need to learn about prayer and praying, and I certainly need to be more disciplined in the practice of prayer. However, I already had a handful of books waiting to be read, and this book was supplied as a PDF which made it even more difficult for me to handle.

I decided to print off the first few chapters in very small print. After reading these pages, I felt like I had an idea of the direction Miller was taking. I went to the computer and began to scan through the rest of the book.

What I found is that the basic principles are the same as you will find in many other classic works on prayer. After speed-reading through the book, I searched through my own shelves for books on prayer and began to compare them with what I had read in Miller's A Praying Life. Some of these titles where as follows:

• With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray (reprint, Hendrickson, 2007) - this is an excellent exposition of key passages in the NT related to Jesus praying or teaching his disciples to pray. Passages from the epistles are also included. In all, there are 31 short chapters, perfect for reading devotionaly throughout a month.
• On Praying in the Spirit by John Bunyan (in Bunyan's 3 volume Works) - this is a classic and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. In it is Bunyan's classic definition of prayer (you can find the quote here). The Banner of Truth Trust has reprinted this work along with Bunyan's The Throne of Grace in the Puritan Paperback series: Prayer by John Bunyan. Spanish: I just found that BOT also published a small volume titled La Oración combining The Nature of True prayer, by John Bunyan, and The Answer to Prayer, by Thomas Goodwin.
• Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels (20 Anv Rev edition, IVP, 2008) - I found this book at the local library and checked it out not knowing what to expect. It turns out that his handling of the subject was very helpful. I appreciated his pastoral approach which supplied a more theological and expositional foundation to the subject of prayer. I didn't get to finish the book, but I was helped by the portions I read. Hybels aim was to convince Christians of the necessity and joy of praying to a God who hears. He offers an introduction to the ACTS system of praying (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication), although he readily admits that one program will not fit all persons. This is one of many helpful tools for pray-ers.
  
• The Contemporaries Meet the Classics on Prayer compiled by Leonard Allen (Howard Publishing, 2003) - this is another book that I found at the local library. It gathers together under 10 headings the best passages on prayer from classic works to contemporary works. Selections are included from John Bunyan, George Muller, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Murray, E. M. Bounds, C. S. Lewis, Simon Chan, Thomas Merton, Bill Hybels, Joni Eareckson Tada, Eugene Peterson , Walter Brueggemann, Richard Foster, and more. It is a fantastic volume to add to your library. The broad range of authors in one book is a treasure. This is a fantastic entry-point into the literature on prayer.

There are a handful of other book on my shelf on the subject of prayer, but these are the few I want to highlight for now. The frustration with so much to read on the subject of prayer is that you can easily read yourself out of praying. The key is to pray! When you reach for a book, hoping for a shot in the arm, it is helpful if that book provides quick, pointed, Scriptural and Spiritual motivation and encouragement. Many of the books that I have perused are drawn-out and filled with numerous anecdotes and discussions that, truly, are unnecessary. I especially liked the four books mentioned above because they obtain all of the positive characteristics I just listed.

Miller's A Praying Life is a fine book and comes highly recommended by some well-known Christian leaders. It offers another great strategy for keeping up with specific prayer request and many will find this helpful. My disappointment with the book was that the chapters were too long and overloaded with anecdotes. I realize that the anecdotes serve to show what a praying life looks like, however, I found myself hungry for the meat, the exposition, the shot-in-the-arm that prepared me to get on my knees. (Every reader is different, so read this with a grain of salt.) If you wade through the full book, you certainly will be challenged to pray, but the progression from major point to major point is very slow. The text of the book covers more than 250 pages.

The point of all of the books I read or perused is to avoid being stiff and systematic like a robot. Rather, I ought to take advantage of enjoying the intimate relationship I possess in Christ, full of frequent communication with my God and Savior. Miller makes this point well, as does Hybels.

I have tried cards in the past. I have attempted to simplify a list onto one page with columns for each day of the week and specific requests/persons to remember on each day of the week. This is the pattern that a dear, sweet friend of ours utilized for years before passing away. She was a true prayer warrior and this method worked well for her and for everyone on her list (which included my dear wife and I). Each of these approaches have been helpful, but the point is not to be a slave to a system. Nor should we be a slave to a list of pre-recorded requests. Rather, whatever system you use, it is your servant to aid you in the discipline of praying. And whenever you pray, (as Bunyan put it) let it be an affectionate pouring out of [your] heart and soul to God.

A while back I spent some gift money to purchase Baker Academic's Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Craig G. Bartholomew, Daniel J. Treier, and N. T. Wright (2005) [see this post for more details about this volume]. I have not been disappointed!

This evening my eye caught the article on John Calvin by John L. Thompson (Fuller Theological Seminary). I found this article to be focused, well-balanced and constructively critical. It is focused on Calvin as an interpreter of Scripture. It is well-balanced and constructively critical in that it presents the strengths of Calvin's approach to biblical interpretation in light of his historical setting (i.e. Renaissance humanism) and his attempt to maintain an appropriate balance between literal and allegorical interpretation. It also cautions the modern reader with regard to Calvin's methods and rhetoric which have lead some to the extremes of "Protestant triumphalism."

I would like to share a few highlights from this article with you:

Thompson argues that, when interpreting Scripture, Calvin was concerned with "how to ascertain an author's meaning and how to communicate that meaning persuasively." (96)

"Calvin attempted to write commentaries with 'lucid brevity'; unlike many of his contemporaries, he usually succeeded. But this particular principle was much more than a plea for clear prose; it was also expressive of his commitment to exegesis in service of the church, including the laity." (96, emphasis mine)

"His goal of lucid brevity was strategically supported by reserving what could have been lengthy theological digressions--loci communes, commonplaces--for his oft-revised Institutes. The work is integrated far more closely with his commentaries than modern editions make known." (96)

"[F]or Calvin the final authority of Scripture by no means warranted neglect of earlier commentators or theologians. Calvin elsewhere went so far as to insist that these ancient writings (Augustine and Chrysostom took pride of place) were providentially arranged aids for our own reading of Scripture, and we would be ingrates to neglect them." (96, emphasis mine)

With that in mind, the joining together of Calvin's Commentaries and Institutes by Baker Publishing was a great idea. The Institutes should have been included in the set from the get-go. This weekend, you can purchase this set at a discounted price at Christian Book Distributors . Take a look! This is a set you ought to have on your shelf, if you can afford it.