The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume

Harris, W., Rev.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8

Word count: 3.1M words
Chapters: 307

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, VolumeAuthor: Harris, W., Rev.,Language: English, Class: BS: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: The Bible, Old and New Testament, Release Date: Jan 25, 2019

Editor's review

This is a volume in The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary series, authored by Rev. W. Harris and representative of the classic nineteenth-century tradition of biblical homiletic commentary. Its value lies not in advancing new scholarship but in preserving a method of writing that takes the text as its framework and unfolds sermon outlines passage by passage: each passage is first briefly expounded, then drawn out into doctrinal points, illustrations, and exhortations, directly serving pulpit preparation. For readers studying the history of preaching or modern English religious rhetoric, it is solid primary material; for general readers, it is more a handy reference for scriptural meditation. A caveat: such commentaries bear distinct marks of their era and denomination, and their exegetical methods and illustrations may not meet contemporary scholarly standards; readers should treat them as historical texts and models of preaching rather than authoritative exegetical sources. The book is in English and substantial in length, suited to selective reading on demand rather than cover to cover.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Preachers and church coworkers seeking sermon outlines and passage-division ideas
Readers studying nineteenth-century English homiletics and religious rhetoric
Christian readers accustomed to meditating passage by passage who need supplementary material
English-language readers collecting public-domain biblical commentary e-books

Not a good fit for

Researchers seeking contemporary scholarly exegesis and textual criticism
Beginners hoping to grasp the whole Bible by reading it through once
General readers impatient with old-style religious preaching prose

Reading tips

First check the table of contents to identify the biblical book you are studying, then read only the corresponding chapter rather than the whole volume.
For each passage, first write your own one-sentence sermon point, then compare it with the author's outline to see the differences.
Flag illustrations with strong period flavor as questionable and set them aside for separate use as material on preaching history.
If used for pulpit preparation, consult alongside a modern commentary to avoid relying on a single source.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for ordinary believers to read straight through?

Not really. It is a homiletic commentary arranged passage by passage, lengthy and repetitive, better used as a reference for selective reading. General readers wanting devotional use can browse chapters of books they know well and treat the author's divisions and points as meditation prompts, without aiming to finish the whole volume.

Can its exegetical views still be used directly today?

Use them with discernment. The book belongs to the nineteenth-century homiletic commentary tradition; its exegetical methods, illustrations, and tone bear the marks of its era and denomination and may not meet contemporary scholarly standards. It is better suited as material on preaching history and as a model for outlines; for actual teaching, consult modern commentaries and check the scriptural context yourself.

Why does the description talk about an e-book project?

Because the book is collected and published by Project Gutenberg, and the platform uniformly attaches a project introduction to its metadata, explaining that it was founded in 1971 by Michael Hart and provides free e-books and other background. That passage introduces the platform itself, not the content of this book. The book itself is Rev. W. Harris's biblical homiletic commentary volume.

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About the author

Harris, W., Rev. Author

Harris, W., Rev. is an author about whom very little biographical information is available. Reliable public sources are limited: his nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and ministerial career cannot be confirmed, and only one work by him is held in the collection. The title "Rev." in his name indicates that he was a minister, while the surviving work, The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume, shows that he was engaged in compiling homiletic commentary on the books of Scripture. Works of this kind are generally intended for pastors and preachers, offering exposition, outlines, and illustrations passage by passage, with an emphasis on practical usefulness for preaching rather than academic argument. This volume belongs to a multi-volume homiletic commentary series, and its arrangement reflects the typical character of nineteenth-century pastoral literature in the English-speaking world, allowing readers to consult it by biblical book and draw directly on it for the pulpit. Because further details of the author's life and writings remain unknown, this entry describes only the subject and purpose of his surviving work, and more information remains to be supplied.