CHURCH COMMENTARY ON THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

WITH NOTES, CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL.
BY THE REV. M. F. SADLer,
Late Rector of Honiton and Prebendary of Wells.

THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW.
Sixth edition. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.

THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
Sixth edition. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.

THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES. Fourth edition. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.

THE EPISTLES TO THE GALATIANS, EPHESIANS AND PHILIPPIANS. Third edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.

THE EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, THESSALONIANS AND TIMOTHY. Second edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.

THE EPISTLES TO TITUS, PHILEMON, AND THE HEBREWS. Second edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.

THE EPISTLES OF SS. JAMES, PETER, JOHN, AND JUDE. Second edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.

THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN the DIVINE. Second edition. Crown 8vo, 6s.

LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN,

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

THE GOSPELS.

From THE CHURCH QUARTERLY, October, 1883.

"It is far the best practical Commentary that we know, being plainspoken, fearless, and definite, and containing matter very unlike the milk and water which is often served up in [so-called] practical Commentaries. For solid Church teaching it stands unrivalled. Nothing could be better than the notes on the Sermon on the Mount, and the practical lessons drawn with convincing clearness from our Lord's words on the subject of Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. Throughout the whole book the writer is ever on the watch for general principles and teaching applicable to the wants of our own day, which may legitimately be deduced from the Gospel narrative."

From THE CHURCH TIMES, February 23rd, 1883.

"The question of the origin of the Four Gospels is well treated, and a more succinct account of the real standing of the Evangelists with respect to each other, or to a supposed original document from which all copied, could scarcely be found than that contained in these few pages. Some few pages introductory to the critical portion of the volume, and explaining the elements of textual criticism, bring us to the text of the Commentary itself. Throughout the whole of its pages the same evidence of scholarship and critical acumen, which distinguishes all the author's work, is apparent; while the faculty of conveying such knowledge to the minds of the least learned in a simple and forcible manner, is abundantly preserved, and will procure for this work the position of one of the best of popular commentaries. Many of the notes extend beyond the scope generally implied by the term, and become full explanations of doctrinal subjects such as will prove of immense value to the student as well as to the general reader. We may cite as an instance of this exhaustive process the lengthy note on St. Matt. xvi. 18, and those notes on the Parables, which, severally treated in their entirety, present a more intelligible meaning than when explained in short disjointed notes. Finally, it remains to mention the fact, which, however, goes without saying, that the tone of the Commentary is thoroughly Catholic, so that the reader will find here a firm defence of the supernatural and divine character of the Gospel story, which never condescends to the tone of much of modern criticism, but remains true to primitive Catholic teaching."

From CHURCH BELLS, November 18th, 1882. "It is written in a clear and sensible style, with a healthy tone; and its practical portions are devout without being wearisome or 'goody.'

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From THE CHURCH REVIEW, November, 1883. "A valuable and substantial contribution to the literature of the New Testament is made by Mr. Sadler in the volume now before us.. might be said that every page of the work lights up the grand historical character of the Church as the one supreme authority for the authenticity and interpretation of the books of Scripture,”

From THE CHURCH TIMES, December 21st, 1883.

"We have much pleasure in announcing the issue of The Gospel according to St. John, with Notes, Critical and Practical,' by the Rev. M. F. Sadler (George Bell and Sons), a companion volume to his gloss on St. Matthew, and a redemption of the pledge he gave therein to carry on his labours to the remaining Gospels. This is admirably done, being exactly what is wanted for that large and increasing class of readers who need the results of genuine scholarship and sound vigorous thought, but who are repelled by any surface display of erudition, and still more by dryness of treatment, The admirable lucidity, which is the distinctive quality of Mr. Sadler's style, comes out markedly in his annotations, whether they take the form of pithy clearings up of verbal difficulties or more elaborate dissertations on important points of doctrine; and he is a good judge in selecting the best matter supplied by his precursors, such as Olshausen, Stier, Godet, and, above all, St. Augustine, whose commentary on St. John is one of that Father's ablest works. This is much less of a mere grammatical inquiry than Professor Westcott's volume in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' but it is much more of a theological explanation, and that of a far sounder and deeper school."

From THE LITERARY CHURCHMAN, December 7th, 1883. "... Apart from these longer and more continuous glosses, the reader constantly meets with single pithy notes, which by their clear common sense solve a difficulty at once, and satisfy the understanding promptly, so that this is quite the best popular commentary on S. John we know, without implying by that epithet that even advanced students of Biblical literature will not find ample profit in consulting it."

From THE CHURCH TIMES, October 3rd, 1884.

"We gladly chronicle the third instalment of Prebendary Sadler's clear and sensible Commentary on the Gospels, which exactly meets the needs of that large and increasing class, which, without pretending any interest in the more abstruse problems of scholarship in connection with the Greek Testament, is desirous of having in its hands a trustworthy guide to the actual meaning of the sacred writers, and some plain statement of the results accepted by that calmer type of scholars who understand the nature of evidence, and are not disposed to admit the validity of unsupported conjecture, however original and brilliant, as proof. .. The notes, as always with Mr. Sadler, are singularly lucid, pithy, and to the point."

From CHURCH BELLS, November 22nd, 1884.

"This is a work of a veteran scholar and divine to whom the Church owes much. Prebendary Sadler's writing is characterized by great clearness of style, and he has a remarkably persuasive way of putting things. His sermons, as well as his Church Doctrine Bible Truth,' &c., have done much towards furnishing the parochial clergy with materials for feeding their flocks. In this commentary he aims at a yet more important object, the instruction of the educated classes. He has carefully compared the original Scriptures with the authorized and revised versions, and has set himself to meet objections of scientific sceptics, and he has achieved great success..... The volume is full of thoughts and suggestions for preachers as well as for general readers."

From THE SATURDAY REVIEW, February 21st, 1885. "We can recommend his book to devout and cultivated Churchmen who want to read the Gospels for instruction as well as for edification."

From THE CHURCH QUARTERLY, January, 1885.

"The Notes are, like all Mr. Sadler's works, straightforward and to the point. The difficulties are not shirked, but are fairly stated and grappled with, so that the volume forms a welcome addition to the literature of the Second Gospel. In reading the notes upon the text, the feature which strikes us most in their intensely practical character. Mr. Sadler has a remarkable faculty of bringing the teaching of the incidents of our Lord's life on earth to bear upon the circumstances of our own time. Even where the points brought out are well worn and familiar, there is a freshness in his manner of treating them which adds greatly to the charm and value of the Commentary.'

From THE CHURCH TIMES, July 3rd, 1886.

"Indeed, one great merit in this commentary and its companion volumes is the frequency with which notes are found, which are capable of being each expanded into useful sermons. They are like very strong essences or tinctures, which will bear considerable dilution before being employed medically, though for convenience they are usually kept in the more portable form."

From THE CHURCH QUARTERLY, July, 1886.

"We must begin our notice of this volume by offering Prebendary Sadler our hearty congratulations on the completion of his work on the four Gospels. The previous volumes were all reviewed in our columns as they appeared, and we have no hesitation in extending the welcome which we gave to them to their present companion. It is no slight distinction for a writer, after having made his reputation by what is confessedly the best popular work on Church doctrine, to have produced what we hold to be the best popular commentary on the Gospel narrative. There is no other occupying quite the same ground, and we cordially recommend these four volumes, in the now familiar blue binding, as for practical purposes the most useful to the general reader."

From CHURCH BELLS, July 2nd, 1886.

"Mr. Sadler's excellent qualities as a theological writer and expositor are so well known that we need only introduce the reader to this, his last Commentary on the Gospels, completing the series, by saying that it presents the same features as its predecessors. It is somewhat longer than any of the other three, a circumstance quite intelligible to those who consider how a commentator's view of his responsibility must enlarge as he proceeds with his work. To begin at the beginning, the Introduction is excellent, clear, concise, and full. In short, it says all that need be said on the authorship of the Gospel, and says it well."

From THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL GAZETTE, Nov. 6th, 1886. "Originality of treatment, depth of insight, and thorough grasp of the practical side of Divine truth characterize these commentaries of Mr. Sadler on the four Gospels."

THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES.

From THE GUARDIAN, July, 1887.

"We find, however, in the notes on St. Luke and the Acts the same freshness in thought and style, the same direct and independent consideration of the themes brought up on the sacred pages, the same knowledge of what has been said by others, the same masterly use, alike without subservience and without neglect, of the great and varied stores which our predecessors have left to us of these days who study the New Testament. The result is that Mr. Sadler's Commentary is decidedly one of the most unhackneyed and original of any we have." It will often be found to give help where others quite fail to do so, and its special value will be to the preacher or teacher who has to give oral and practical instruction; Mr. Sadler's strong point being decidedly in pointing the application to contemporary thought and to life, its trials and its duties, of the divine words with which he has to deal."

From CHURCH BELLS, July 8th, 1887.

"We can hardly imagine a commentary better adapted than Mr. Sadler's for giving to the reader an antidote to that unsettling influence which is now going about in the world, making people have a different set of religious opinions every month or so."

From THE CHURCH QUARTERLY REVIEW.

"There is vigour and freshness about his writings which makes it a pleasure to read them, while there is certain to be much that is instructive, and their tone and tendency are equally certain to be sound and edifying. This short commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is no exception to the rule, and it well supports the established reputation of its author."

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From THE CHURCH TIMES, August 26th, 1887.

Prebendary Sadler's useful commentary on the New Testament is advanced another important stage by the issue of this volume on the Acts of the Apostles, a part of Scripture whose interest and value seems to increase daily, as investigation into the beginnings of the Christian Church are pressed on with fresh vigour, alike by those who wish to prove Christianity a mere human evolution out of materials lying to hand in the Augustan era, and those who accept it as a divine revelation. Much of the work which has been done of late years in connexion with the Acts and other Pauline records has been devoted chiefly to the externals of history, geography, antiquities, and the like, rather than to the religious teaching which they contain; and this fact makes a gloss from a theologian like Mr. Sadler all the more welcome."