EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS ON THE GOSPELS – MODERNISED
By J.C. Ryle
Evangelical Press. 2064 pages. £99.99
(Hardback)
ISBN 978 1 783 974 801
The original volumes of the Expository Thoughts on the Gospels have served for more than a century and a half as an invaluable companion to readers of the Gospels, whether they are preachers or general readers.
J.C. Ryle, who became the first Bishop of Liverpool, was an elegant writer whose prose is clear and simple. So I was initially a little sceptical of the idea of Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels being modernised. It would have been interesting to have had an introductory note on the philosophy behind this process.
Yet I need not have been concerned. Graham Hinds and Mary Davis have done a great job of lightly modernising Ryle. They smooth out some of the outdated sentence forms and antiquated language. They also substitute the King James Version used by Ryle for the New King James Version.
This beautifully bound seven-volume set delivered in a nice slipcase will look very handsome on the shelf, but it would be a pity if it stayed there. Ryle did not write an academic commentary, and no one who consults it will do so without profit.
Ryle consistently draws out penetrating insights into the Gospels. In his Preface to the first volume on Matthew he speaks of his desire for his writing to be useful for family prayers, pastoral visiting and private reading, adding: ‘I now send forth the volume with an earnest prayer, that it may tend to the promotion of pure and undefiled religion, help to extend the knowledge of Christ, and be a humble instrument in aid of the glorious work of converting and edifying immortal souls.’
