John Gill
By J. C. Philpot
For a sound, consistent, scriptural exposition of the
word of God, no commentary, we believe, in any language can be compared with
Dr. Gill's. There may be commentaries on individual books of Scripture,
which may surpass Dr. Gill's in depth of research and fullness of
exposition: and the great work from which Poole compiled his Synopsis may be
more suitable to scholars and divines, as bringing together into one focus
all the learning of those eminent men who in the 16th century devoted days
and nights to the study and interpretation of the word of God. But for
English readers there is no commentary equal to Dr. Gill's. His alone of all
we have seen is based upon consistent, harmonious views of divine truth,
without turning aside to the right hand or the left. It is said of the late
Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, that his plan of preaching was, if he had what is
called an Arminian text, to preach from it Arminianism, and if he took a
Calvinistic text, to preach from it Calvinism. Not so Dr. Gill. He knew
nothing about Arminian texts, or Arminian interpretations. He believed that
the Scripture, as an inspired revelation from God, must be harmonious and
consistent with itself, and that no two passages could so contradict each
other as the doctrines of free will contradict the doctrines of grace. The
exhortation of the apostle is, "Having then gifts differing according to the
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to
the proportion of faith." (Rom. 12:6.) This apostolic rule was closely
followed by Dr. Gill. "The proportion," or as the word literally means,
"analogy of faith," was his rule and guide in interpreting the Scripture;
and, therefore, as all his explanations were modeled according to the
beautiful proportions of divine truth as received by faith, so every view
disproportionate to the same harmonious plan was rejected by him as
God-dishonoring, inconsistent, and contradictory. It is this sound,
consistent, harmonious interpretation of divine truth which has stamped a
peculiar weight and value on Dr. Gill's Commentary, such as no other
exposition of the whole Scripture possesses.
But besides this indispensable qualification, it has
other excellent qualities.
1. An interpreter of the word of God should have a deep
and well-grounded knowledge of the languages in which the Scriptures
were originally written. This Dr. Gill undoubtedly possessed. His knowledge
of Hebrew, in particular, was deep and accurate, and his acquaintance with
the Rabbinical writers, that is, the Jewish expositors of the Old Testament,
was nearly unparalleled. Indeed, he has almost overlaid his Commentary too
much with his vast and almost cumbrous Rabbinical learning, and seems to
have given it more place and attached to it more value than it really
deserves.
2. Another striking and admirable feature of this
Commentary is, the condensation of thought and expression throughout.
Dr. Gill possessed a rare and valuable gift,—that of packing. He will
sometimes give four or five explanations of a difficult passage; but his
words are so few and well chosen, and the meaning so condensed, that he will
pack in three or four lines what most writers would swell to half a page,
and then not be half so full, clear, or determinate. His Commentary has thus
become full of ideas and germs of thought, which, by-the-bye, has made it
such a storehouse for parsonic thieves; for the Doctor has in half a dozen
lines furnished many a sermon with all the ideas it ever had worth a straw,
and has given the two or three grains of gold which, under the pulpit
hammer, have been beaten out to last an hour.
3. Another striking feature, in our judgment, of this
admirable Commentary is the sound sense and great fairness of
interpretation which pervade it. Dr. Gill possessed that priceless gift,
a sound, sober mind. His judgment in divine things was not only clear and
decisive, but eminently characterized by solidity and sobriety. This
preserved him from all wild enthusiastic flights of imagination, as well as
from that strong temptation of experimental writers and preachers,—fanciful
interpretation. He never runs a figure out of breath, nor hunts a type to
death; nor does he find deep mysteries in "nine and twenty knives," or Satan
bestriding the old man of sin in Balaam and his donkey.
4. The fullness of the Commentary is another
noticeable feature in Dr. Gill's Exposition. Most commentators skip over all
the difficult passages. They bring you very nicely and comfortably over all
the smooth ground; but just as you come to the marsh and the bog, where a
few stepping stones and a friendly hand to help you over them would be
acceptable, where is your companion? Gone. Lost himself, perhaps, in the
bog; at any rate, not at hand to render any help. And where are the stepping
stones he promised to put down? There is hardly one to be seen; or, if there
be an attempt at any, they are too small, few, or wide apart to be of the
least service. To one who has any insight into the word of truth, how empty,
meager, and unsatisfactory are nearly all commentaries. The really difficult
passages are skipped over, or by confused attempts at explanation made more
difficult than before. Their views of doctrine are confused or
contradictory. The sweet vein of experience in the word is never touched
upon or brought to light; and even the letter of truth is garbled and
mangled, or watered and diluted, until it is made to mean just nothing at
all, or the very opposite of the sacred writer's meaning. As dry as a chip,
and as hard, stale, and tasteless as a forgotten crust in a corner, these
miserable and abortive attempts at opening up the sacred word of God,
instead of feeding you with honey out of the rock, will drain away every
drop of life and feeling out of your soul, and leave you as barren and empty
as if you had been attending a banter's camp meeting, or hearing a trial
sermon of a Cheshunt student as fresh from his theological tutor's hand as
his new gown. With all their learning, and with all their labor, they are as
destitute of dew as the mountains of Gilboa; of life, as the Dead Sea; of
unction and savor, as the shoes of the Gibeonites; and of power and profit
as the rocks of Sinai.
5. There is at times a savor and sweetness in the
Commentary of Dr. Gill which forms a striking contrast to these heaps of
dead leaves. And this gives the crowning value to his exposition of the
Scriptures.