Poor Man's Commentary on the Old Testament (6-Volumes) by Robert Hawker

Charles Spurgeon exhorted his students, “Gentlemen, if you want something full of marrow and fatness, cheering to your own hearts by way of comment, and likely to help you in giving to your hearers rich expositions, buy Dr. Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary . . . he sees Jesus, and that is a sacred gift which is most precious.” Delve into the exegetical and devotional writings of one of the most influential preachers and theologians of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. His thoroughly Christ-centered view of Scripture comes through clearly in his extensive nine vol. commentary on the whole Bible. According to Joel R. Beeke of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, “Hawker increased in fame and popularity as a powerful ‘high Calvinist’ preacher” and “was remarkably winsome in preaching Christ to all.” Hawker brings his homiletical skill to the reading of Scripture in this rich commentary. His two devotional volumes, included in this collection, will guide you through deep morning and evening meditations on God’s Word. Also included in this collection is The Poor Man’s Dictionary, Hawker’s nearly 1,000-page work on the words of the Old and New Testaments, written as a companion volume to his commentaries. Much more than a dictionary, this work provides encyclopedic and theological treatment on all the words in the Bible.

 

The first volume of Hawker’s extensive commentary covers Genesis through Numbers. Hawker leads you through the scriptural record of creation, the flood, the lives of the patriarchs, and the creation of Israel as a nation. At each turn, Hawker illuminates Christ from these Old Testament passages.

 

Volume 2 of Hawker’s Old Testament commentary covers Deuteronomy through 2 Samuel. Hawker guides you with devotional richness through the wilderness with the Israelites and into the promised land of Canaan, through the period of the judges and into the establishment of the Israelite monarchy. Rather than merely presenting moralistic examples of biblical figures, Hawker illuminates the pointers to Christ in people and events like the battle between David and Goliath. “We may read this passage sweetly indeed, if we behold in it some faint outlines of Jesus, who in his gracious undertaking for our deliverance is represented by the prophet, who, when he saw that there none to help in all the armies of Israel, and when all hearts gathered blackness, his own arm brought salvation, and of the people, there was none with him. Isaiah 63:3–5.”

 

Volume 3 of Hawker’s Old Testament commentary covers 1 Kings through Esther. Hawker takes these historical books of the Bible and shows the life and vibrancy that they communicate as they point to Christ. Join Hawker on this rich journey through the history of Israel.

 

Volume 4 of Hawker’s Old Testament commentary covers Job through Psalms. In explaining his earthly ministry to the disciples, Jesus said in Luke 24:44: “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Perhaps no one has taken the Christ-centeredness of the Psalms as vigorously as Hawker. With this volume, you can read comments by this master preacher on everything written about Christ in the Psalms.

 

Volume 5 covers Proverbs through Lamentations. Read Hawker’s rich devotional reflections as he takes you through the wisdom literature of Scripture. He does not stop at the moral application of these texts, but goes on to show how they point to Christ and ultimately strengthen our faith in his work, not our own.

 

This sixth and final volume of the Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary covers Ezekiel through Malachi. Hawker’s summaries and reflections on each chapter guide you through these books, strengthening your love for the Savior with each passing chapter as Hawker presents the whole Bible as Christian Scripture.