These two volumes gather together Wilson's commentaries on the letters of Paul plus Hebrews and Revelation.

The original books were subtitled "A Digest of Reformed Comment". Isaac Newton, the great scientist, once confessed, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". That is Wilson's approach to commenting on Scripture. The author takes us through the New Testament letters with the help of such distinguished "giants" as John Calvin, Charles Hodge, Martyn Lloyd­Jones and Leon Morris.

Wilson is robustly Evangelical and Reformed in his approach to Scripture. His style is plain, succinct and straightforward. He avoids technical questions and aims for clarity of exposition. Great texts like Philippians 2:5-11 are handled with the­ological sensitivity and wisdom. The author's liber­al use of apposite quotations makes for enjoyable reading. Here is a flavour of his comment:

"Christ emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, i.e. by an addition rather than subtraction. "He took the form of a servant while he retained the form of God! It is exactly that which makes our salvation possible and achieves it' (Hendriksen)" (Volume 2 p. 26).

All Christians will find these expositions helpful as they prayerfully read through the New Testament Epistles. These volumes are also ideal for lay­preachers as they seek an accurate understanding of the text of Scripture with a view to preaching the Word of God.

Ministers and students will find these works worth consulting, but they will need to supplement their studies with more in-depth and up-to-date works. Comment on each letter is followed by a bibliography, a little dated, but provid­ing some helpful suggestions for further reading.

The market for popular com­mentaries is becoming in­creasingly crowded, but these two reasonably priced volumes provide a valuable introduction to the letters of the New Testament.

Guy Davies