Commentaries - Best Selling

This exposition on what the author calls "one of the richest and most beautiful parts of the word of God" is clear in language, simple and warm in teaching, rich in practical application, and faithful to Scripture. This exposition is addressed not to the scholars, but to the very same audience for whom the apostle wrote the epistle: the "beloved of God, called to be saints."

REVIEWS
"...the best combination of theology and devotional reading that I have come across in a long time." —Evangelical Times

"...the personal benefits from this exposition are as fine gold." —New Focus

• 728 pages
• hardcover 
• ISBN 978-0-616206-71-0

Ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

 Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

Now in its 6th printing!

Behold, He Cometh is an essay-style commentary on the much disputed book of Revelation. By careful exegesis, the author gives a solidly Reformed, amillennial interpretation of scripture. This book sets forth in clear, concise language the comforting truths concerning the end times.

• 800 pages  
• hardcover  
• ISBN 978-1-944555-45-0
  

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices)

50% for the month of June!

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The parables form a substantial part of our Savior's ministry, and this is ample reason for us to give good attention to them. With simple and familiar earthly pictures, Jesus tells us what the kingdom of heaven is like.

"The author takes each parable and by careful exegesis opens up its rich seam of spiritual instruction, and gives a faithful and solidly Reformed interpretation. He shows us gospel mysteries of immense beauty, power, encouragement, practical relevance, and everlasting worth for citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world."

• 432 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-82-6

Today the central doctrine of the Reformation—justification by faith alone—is under attack, even by many in historically Reformed and Presbyterian denominations. Under the guise of a “new perspective on Paul,” revisionist theologians are resurrecting the old heresy of justification by faith and works. They give this a new name—the federal vision. But it is nothing else than the error of the Judaizers that Paul condemns in the Epistle to the Galatians.

In direct contradiction of this heresy, the author stands squarely in the tradition of Luther and Calvin. From an uncompromisingly Reformed perspective, he clearly and positively expounds the epistle, emphasizing the truth of justification by faith alone, as well as the liberty this truth gives to God’s people.

• 448 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-04-6

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

 Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

Written as a response to Dr. Richard J. Mouw's apology for common grace, He Shines in All That's Fair: Culture and Common Grace, this book examines the theory of common grace in the light of scripture and the Reformed confessions, challenges its claim to be part of the body of Reformed truth, and proposes an alternative to common grace.

• 112 pages
• paperback
• ISBN 978-0-916206-81-9

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Prosperous Wicked and Plagued Saints  is a commentary on Psalm 73 that sets forth the truth of God’s goodness to his people in their trouble and of God’s curse of the wicked in their prosperity. In light of the teaching of Psalm 73, the book takes issue with a theory about earthly prosperity and earthly woe that, for all its strange popularity with Reformed and evangelical Christians, only intensifies the believer’s temptation to doubt in the hour of trouble: the theory of common grace.

• 120 pages
• paperback
• ISBN 978-0-916206-96-3

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

 Click to look inside the book

In his first epistle Peter writes to the saints in Asia Minor from the perspective of their lives as pilgrims. As sojourners in a strange land, they are on a journey through this world toward their eternal home.

How must these pilgrims (and how must we), torn between this world and the next, walk in all the relationships of this life? Peter’s answers this question in his letter which serves as a pilgrim’s manual.

Believers will find A Pilgrim’s Manual to be full of instruction, comfort, and hope as they wend their way toward their eternal home.

Read reviews on Amazon.com.

Herman Hanko served as a minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches from 1955 to 1965, when he was appointed to serve as professor in the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grandville, MI. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 2001. He continues to lecture widely in the USA, the United Kingdom, and other countries, including Singapore and the Philippines.

• 352 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-14-5

Written over the course of a thirty-year preaching ministry, this thorough commentary on the book of beginnings is useful as a Bible study aid or devotional. The author brings a wealth of information to the believer by way of an interesting narrative.

• 950 pages
• hardcover 
• ISBN 978-0-916206-69-7

The five points of Calvinism (TULIP) are clearly explained and defended in this wonderful teaching tool. Typical objections to the "doctrines of grace" are answered using Scripture and the Reformed creeds as the authors present their arguments in an easy-to-follow format.

• 264 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-74-1 

Always Reforming demonstrates that the Spirit of Christ has carried on the reforming work of Christ in the sixteenth century in one particular branch of the church of the Reformation. A successor to The Sixteenth-Century Reformation of the Church, this book traces the continuing reformation in the Netherlands in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries and in the Protestant Reformed Churches in North America in the twentieth century. 

David J. Engelsma served as minister to several Protestant Reformed congregations until he was appointed to the Protestant Reformed Seminary in 1988 as professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament studies. He also served as editor of the "Standard Bearer" from 1988-2002. Prof. Engelsma has lectured and preached throughout the British Isles on behalf of the British Reformed Fellowship, which is devoted to the spread and defense of the Reformed faith in the United Kingdom. He lives in Grand Rapids, MI, with his wife and is the father of 9 children. He has authored many RFPA books.

• 318 pages
• paperback
• ISBN 978-0-916206-99-4 

eBook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices)

This exposition on what the author calls "one of the richest and most beautiful parts of the word of God" is clear in language, simple and warm in teaching, rich in practical application, and faithful to Scripture. This exposition is addressed not to the scholars, but to the very same audience for whom the apostle wrote the epistle: the "beloved of God, called to be saints." 

REVIEWS
"...the best combination of theology and devotional reading that I have come across in a long time." —Evangelical Times
"...the personal benefits from this exposition are as fine gold."—New Focus

• 728 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-40-4

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Volume 1 - From Creation to the Flood
by Homer C. Hoeksema
368 pages
hardcover

Volume 2 - From the Flood to Isaac
by Homer C. Hoeksema
328 pages
hardcover

Volume 3 - From Jacob to the Exodus
by Homer C. Hoeksema
344 pages
hardcover

Volume 4 - Through the Wilderness into Canaan
by Homer C. Hoeksema
414 pages
hardcover

Volume 5 - Judges and Ruth
by David J. Engelsma
238 pages
hardcover

Volume 6 - From Samuel to Solomon
by David J. Engelsma
224 pages
hardcover


Follow Old Testament history using God's covenant as the basis for a proper understanding of the unfolding events! Volumes 1-5 of an estimated 8-volume series are now available.

PUBLISHED REVIEWS
"These very readable volumes are a veritable treasure store into which, when the believer dips, he will surely increase his spiritual wealth." —The Outlook 

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

The second volume (From the Flood to Isaac) of the Unfolding Covenant History series is divided into three parts: the postdiluvian world and the patriarchal eras of Abraham and Isaac. The postdiluvian section covers the changed earth after the flood, the establishment by God of the sword-power ordinance, the covenant with Noah, Noah’s prophetic blessing and cursing, Nimrod, Babel, and the genealogy/chronology provided for Shem’s generations. Though the facts about the first two patriarchs are familiar, the covenantal perspective on those lives makes for a much richer interpretation than most readers have ever before encountered. In fact, this can be said of all the proposed books in this series.

• 328 pages
• hardcover 
• ISBN 978-0-916206-70-3

 Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

Reviews:

Seminarian Matt DeBoer review

The believers James is writing to faced many problems as they made the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. James addresses these issues that the early Christians faced, including trials and temptations, true religion, wisdom, the use of the tongue, the judgment of the rich, patience, and spiritual help in trouble.

This eminently practical book gives instruction for living the Christian life in many of its aspects. A salient feature is the relation between justification and works, which James explains by the examples of Abraham and Rahab.

• 304 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-86-2

  Click on the PDF icon to look inside the book.

Review by Rev. Jerome Julian, from The Outlook, Vol. 71 Issue 1
Review by Rev. Joseph Holstege, from The Standard Bearer, Vol 98. Issue 5
Review by Rev. Martyn McGeown, from the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, Vol. 54 No. 2
Review by Rev. Matthew DeBoer

The book of Job is God’s commentary on the suffering and trials of his people. God speaks to our trials from the viewpoint, first, of his own interactions with Satan, then from the viewpoint of Job’s interactions with his friends, and finally as the one who appears to Job and his friends in a tornado. The book describes suffering on a scale seldom seen but shows our weaknesses and the temptations we face when under the hand of God or when called to bring comfort to others who are suffering. For that reason it is instructive and corrective but is also of great comfort, for it points those who are suffering to God’s sovereignty in trials and to his faithfulness and saving grace to his own.

Those who have read the book of Job often find the book repetitious and difficult to follow, especially the interaction of Job and his friends. This work is not meant to be an exhaustive, verse-by-verse explanation of the book of Job but is an attempt to show how the book fits together and leads up to its grand climax in the appearance of God. It also attempts to show that Job has often been misunderstood and maligned, and though guilty of sin, as we all are in suffering, is nevertheless one whose faith and hope in God are sure. May it be of help to all who love God as Job did, especially when the God they love chastises and corrects them as he does all of his children.

Ronald Hanko is an emeritus minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches of America. He has served in the active ministry for 38 years. He has also written Doctrine according to Godliness: A Primer of Reformed Doctrine and The Coming of Zion’s Redeemer: The Prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

• ISBN: 978-1-944555-82-5
• 160 pages
• hardcover

  Click on the PDF icon to look inside the book.

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

Reviews:

Rev. Jerome Julien

Derrick Span

Christians want to know Christ from the Old Testament, from Micah, and the other minor prophets. And yet for many of us the minor prophets are like a sealed book. The inspired writing of the minor prophets are addressed to the people of God and addressed to us also in the New Testament church. As inspired scripture they indeed  speak of Christ: Micah does so extensively, and not only in the obvious reference to Bethlehem in chapter 5:2.

The prophet Micah proclaims the incomparable God of judgment and mercy. This God is our God, the God of all who believe in Jesus Christ. And this prophecy has vital lessons to teach us today.

• 240 pages
• ISBN 978-1-944555-42-9

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

REVIEWS: 

Rev. Nathan Langerak (as reviewed in the July 2020 issue of Sword and Shield)
Rev. David Noorman (as published in the May 15, 2020 issue of The Standard Bearer)
Dr. David Schuringa
Rev. Jerome Julien (as reviewed in the May/June 2021 issue of The Outlook)

After a fifteen-year hiatus, and fourteen other published titles, Prof. David J. Engelsma continues the Unfolding Covenant History series, a covenantal exposition of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament history covered in this volume is extensive, covering the account of the life and significance for the covenant of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon. This is the history recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1–11; 1 Chronicles 10–29; and 2 Chronicles 1–9. In addition, the volume takes into consideration other passages in scripture (Psalms) that reflect on this history.

This history is also rich in significance with regard to the development of God’s covenant and covenant dealings with his people. It includes the institution and early functioning of the office of the prophet; the institution of the office of king; the stark contrast between the people’s choice as king, in the charismatic, but reprobate, Saul, and God’s elect, David; and the realization of the fellowship of the covenant in the Old Testament in the temple. Among the fascinating and controversial events of the history on which the volume sheds light is the appearance to Saul of the “witch of Endor.”

• 224 pages
• ISBN 978-1-944555-64-1

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Volume 3 (From Jacob to the Exodus) of the Unfolding Covenant History series is divided into three parts: the history of Jacob, the history of Joseph, and the history of the bondage and exodus of Israel from Egypt.

Jacob is a very strong character in the history of God's covenant. His sins and shortcomings, as well as his penchant for running ahead of the Lord, are graphically described by the author. Yet the great strength of his faith in the covenant promise of God is the overriding theme. The history of this father of the tribes of Israel makes for interesting reading.

The history of Joseph is perhaps even more intriguing. The story of his life, from his being sold into slavery to his ascension to a position as ruler of Egypt, is almost stranger than fiction. The author explains how—through the awesome power of God's sovereign providence by means of Joseph—the line of the covenant was preserved, and the fledgling nation of Israel came to live in Egypt.

The section on the bondage and exodus details the increasingly oppressive bondage of God's people. It describes the ten plagues visited by God upon Egypt, culminating in God's powerful deliverance of his people from the land of bondage, which is typical of our deliverance from the dominion of sin.

• 344 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-78-9

From Creation to the Flood is the first volume in Unfolding Covenant History, a series that will include Old Testament history syllabi written by the late Professor Homer C. Hoeksema and additional syllabi being written by Professor David J. Engelsma, his successor as Professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament at the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches. 

Prior to the publication of this series, mainly seminarians were able to benefit from this valuable material. Recognizing the great potential for the edification and comfort to all of God's people, the Reformed Free Publishing Association has undertaken the publication of this work in a series of hardcover volumes at the rate of approximately one per year under the editorship of Mark H. Hoeksema, Professor Hoeksema's son.

The unique feature of these volumes, which distinguishes them from other such writings, is their emphasis on the theme of God's covenant of grace as the unifying principle of Old Testament history and of the very gospel itself. The appreciation for this truth by the reader will grow during the unfolding of the meaning of the covenant as history progresses through the books of the Old Testament.

Volume 1 covers Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 6, a small portion of the scriptures, yet a period that encompasses 1,650 years of biblical history. In this volume Professor Hoeksema shows that the "book of beginnings" has a significance that holds for God's people today and endures to the end of the ages.

• 368 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-64-2

The prophecy of Isaiah occupies a large place in the Old Testament canon of Scripture, not only from the viewpoint of its length, but also from the perspective of its significance. Second only to the psalms, it is the book most frequently quoted in the New Testament. Among the books of the prophets, it is quoted by Jesus and his apostles in support of the New Testament gospel of grace more frequently than all of the other prophets put together. In addition, Isaiah’s vocabulary is richer than that of any other prophet, and even more comprehensive and diverse than that of the psalms.

Why did Jesus and his apostles quote from Isaiah as often as they did? What did the author of this book see in the prophecy of Isaiah that made him concentrate much of his preaching on this book for some thirty years?

The answer lies in the messianic characteristic of the book; Isaiah speaks of Christ. Sometimes the prophecy is indirect, vague, and difficult to understand. At other times clear, literal, and straightforward. In either case, Isaiah always speaks of the coming of the Messiah implying both the judgment of the wicked world and the salvation of Zion.

The author of this book, Homer C. Hoeksema served as minister in the Protestant Reformed Church from 1947 to 1959 as a professor of Old Testament and Dogmatics in the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches from 1959 until his death in 1989. Hoeksema loved the prophecy of Isaiah and preached on 125 different passages from this book. Redeemed with Judgment: Sermons on Isaiah is the transcribed and edited collection of these sermons.

Buy the books individually: 

Volume 1

• 464 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN: 978-0-916206-97-0
  
  

Volume 2

• 639 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-98-7

Volume 4 (Through the Wilderness Into Canaan) of the Unfolding Covenant History series describes the journey of Israel from Egypt to the land of promise, as well as their conquering and inheritance of Canaan.

In the section on the wanderings in the wilderness, the author details Israel's journey to Mt. Sinai, where by the giving of God's law they were constituted as a covenant nation. He narrates their eventful progress towards Canaan, and their drawing back in unbelief when they were at the very door of the promised land.

After their fulfillment of God's sentence to wander for forty years in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God's people must learn anew to trust in Jehovah as they seek to dispossess the inhabitants of the land of promise. Under the leadership of Joshua, and despite much stumbling, Israel learns to expect the victory from their covenant God, and finally subdues and inherits Canaan.

• 414 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-80-2

 Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

In ebook format for the first time!

Behold, He Cometh is an essay-style commentary on the much disputed book of Revelation. By careful exegesis, the author gives a solidly Reformed, amillennial interpretation of scripture. This book sets forth in clear, concise language the comforting truths concerning the end times.

• 800 pages   
• ISBN 978-1-944555-46-7
  

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices)

Judges and Ruth, the fifth volume in the Unfolding Covenant History series, continues the exposition of Old Testament history from the viewpoint of God’s covenant faithfulness toward his people in the old dispensation. Professor David J. Engelsma now becomes the author, intending to finish in this and succeeding volumes what Professor Homer C. Hoeksema began.

Part 1 traces the dark history of the time of the judges with its recurring themes of Israel’s departure from Jehovah to serve heathen idols, God’s chastisement of his people by delivering them to the persecution and dominance of their enemies, their crying to him for help in their distress, and the Lord’s gracious deliverance of them by various judges. The conclusion of this downward line of the history of God’s people illustrates the necessity of a theocratic king in Israel, as expressed in the words of Judges 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel.”

Part 2 explains the familiar but amazing history of Ruth, which illustrates vividly the truth of God’s sovereign redemption in the salvation of the Gentiles and the inclusion of Ruth into the line of the covenant so that she becomes the grandmother of King David, the savior of Israel as the theocratic king and the type of Christ.

• 238 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-86-4

The prophecy of Isaiah occupies a large place in the Old Testament canon of Scripture, not only from the viewpoint of its length, but also from the perspective of its significance. Second only to the psalms, it is the book most frequently quoted in the New Testament. Among the books of the prophets, it is quoted by Jesus and his apostles in support of the New Testament gospel of grace more frequently than all of the other prophets put together. In addition, Isaiah’s vocabulary is richer than that of any other prophet, and even more comprehensive and diverse than that of the psalms.

Why did Jesus and his apostles quote from Isaiah as often as they did? What did the author of this book see in the prophecy of Isaiah that made him concentrate much of his preaching on this book for some thirty years?

The answer lies in the messianic characteristic of the book; Isaiah speaks of Christ. Sometimes the prophecy is indirect, vague, and difficult to understand. At other times clear, literal, and straightforward. In either case, Isaiah always speaks of the coming of the Messiah implying both the judgment of the wicked world and the salvation of Zion.

The author of this book, Homer C. Hoeksema served as minister in the Protestant Reformed Church from 1947 to 1959 as a professor of Old Testament and Dogmatics in the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches from 1959 until his death in 1989. Hoeksema loved the prophecy of Isaiah and preached on 125 different passages from this book. Redeemed with Judgment: Sermons on Isaiah is the transcribed and edited collection of these sermons.

• 639 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-0-916206-98-7

The prophecy of Isaiah occupies a large place in the Old Testament canon of Scripture, not only from the viewpoint of its length, but also from the perspective of its significance. Second only to the psalms, it is the book most frequently quoted in the New Testament. Among the books of the prophets, it is quoted by Jesus and his apostles in support of the New Testament gospel of grace more frequently than all of the other prophets put together. In addition, Isaiah’s vocabulary is richer than that of any other prophet, and even more comprehensive and diverse than that of the psalms.

Why did Jesus and his apostles quote from Isaiah as often as they did? What did the author of this book see in the prophecy of Isaiah that made him concentrate much of his preaching on this book for some thirty years?

The answer lies in the messianic characteristic of the book; Isaiah speaks of Christ. Sometimes the prophecy is indirect, vague, and difficult to understand. At other times clear, literal, and straightforward. In either case, Isaiah always speaks of the coming of the Messiah implying both the judgment of the wicked world and the salvation of Zion.

The author of this book, Homer C. Hoeksema served as minister in the Protestant Reformed Church from 1947 to 1959 as a professor of Old Testament and Dogmatics in the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches from 1959 until his death in 1989. Hoeksema loved the prophecy of Isaiah and preached on 125 different passages from this book. Redeemed with Judgment: Sermons on Isaiah is the transcribed and edited collection of these sermons.

• 464 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN: 978-0-916206-97-0

Click PDF icon to look inside the book.

Reviews:

Rev. Jerome Julien

Christians want to know Christ from the Old Testament, from Micah, and the other minor prophets. And yet for many of us the minor prophets are like a sealed book. The inspired writing of the minor prophets are addressed to the people of God and addressed to us also in the New Testament church. As inspired scripture they indeed  speak of Christ: Micah does so extensively, and not only in the obvious reference to Bethlehem in chapter 5:2.

The prophet Micah proclaims the incomparable God of judgment and mercy. This God is our God, the God of all who believe in Jesus Christ. And this prophecy has vital lessons to teach us today.

• 240 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-944555-41-2

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

 Click to look inside the book

This revised third edition is the accepted standard for the interpretation and application of the Church Order of Dordrecht by Reformed and Presbyterian denominations. This weighty and time-tested commentary instructs us today on the need for a book of order for biblical consistency in church government.

• ISBN: 978-1-944555-80-1
• 464 pages
• hardcover
  

eBook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub

Today the central doctrine of the Reformation—justification by faith alone—is under attack, even by many in historically Reformed and Presbyterian denominations. Under the guise of a “new perspective on Paul,” revisionist theologians are resurrecting the old heresy of justification by faith and works. They give this a new name—the federal vision. But it is nothing else than the error of the Judaizers that Paul condemns in the Epistle to the Galatians.

In direct contradiction of this heresy, the author stands squarely in the tradition of Luther and Calvin. From an uncompromisingly Reformed perspective, he clearly and positively expounds the epistle, emphasizing the truth of justification by faith alone, as well as the liberty this truth gives to God’s people.

• 448 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-37-4

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Reviews:

Rev. Martyn McGeown review

Seminarian Matt DeBoer review

The believers James is writing to faced many problems as they made the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. James addresses these issues that the early Christians faced, including trials and temptations, true religion, wisdom, the use of the tongue, the judgment of the rich, patience, and spiritual help in trouble.

This eminently practical book gives instruction for living the Christian life in many of its aspects. A salient feature is the relation between justification and works, which James explains by the examples of Abraham and Rahab.

• 304 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-87-9

eBook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

As the subtitle indicates, The Reformed Faith of John Calvin is a summary (not an abridgment) in one volume of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. In a succinct, systematic way, the book sets forth the essence of the great reformer's teachings in his Institutes on all the truths of the Christian religion.

Throughout, this sum of Calvin's explanation and defense of the truths of the Christian faith is either expressed or supported by quotations of Calvin. The book is replete with quotations from the Institutes (in the judgment of the author, the most important and vivid statements of Calvin), so that the reader hears Calvin himself.

One who reads this book will know the Institutes and its comprehensive, powerful instruction in the Reformed faith—the faith of the sixteenth-century Reformation of the church and the faith of true churches of Christ in the twenty-first century.

The book also gives a brief explanation of certain of Calvin's teachings, offers analysis of Calvin's doctrine, applies the reformer's teachings to contemporary doctrinal issues, and even, rarely, becomes so bold as to criticize Calvin's doctrine, for instance, Calvin's teaching that the magistrate is called to enforce the first table of the law of God.

• 472 pages
• ISBN 978-1-944555-05-4

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Volume 1 - From Creation to the Flood
by Homer C. Hoeksema
368 pages

Volume 2 - From the Flood to Isaac
by Homer C. Hoeksema
328 pages

Volume 3 - From Jacob to the Exodus
by Homer C. Hoeksema
344 pages

Volume 4 - Through the Wilderness into Canaan
by Homer C. Hoeksema
414 pages

Volume 5 - Judges and Ruth
by David J. Engelsma
238 pages

Volume 6 - From Samuel to Solomon
by David J. Engelsma
224 pages

Follow Old Testament history using God's covenant as the basis for a proper understanding of the unfolding events! Volumes 1-6 of an estimated 8-volume series are now available.

PUBLISHED REVIEWS
"These very readable volumes are a veritable treasure store into which, when the believer dips, he will surely increase his spiritual wealth." —The Outlook 

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

 Click to look inside the book

In his first epistle Peter writes to the saints in Asia Minor from the perspective of their lives as pilgrims. As sojourners in a strange land, they are on a journey through this world toward their eternal home.

How must these pilgrims (and how must we), torn between this world and the next, walk in all the relationships of this life? Peter’s answers this question in his letter which serves as a pilgrim’s manual.

Believers will find A Pilgrim’s Manual to be full of instruction, comfort, and hope as they wend their way toward their eternal home.

Read reviews on Amazon.com.

Herman Hanko served as a minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches from 1955 to 1965, when he was appointed to serve as professor in the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grandville, MI. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 2001. He continues to lecture widely in the USA, the United Kingdom, and other countries, including Singapore and the Philippines.

• 352 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-14-5

REVIEWS: 

Rev. Nathan Langerak (as reviewed in the July 2020 issue of Sword and Shield)
Rev. David Noorman (as published in the May 15, 2020 issue of The Standard Bearer)
Dr. David Schuringa
Rev. Jerome Julien (as reviewed in the May/June 2021 issue of The Outlook)

After a fifteen-year hiatus, and fourteen other published titles, Prof. David J. Engelsma continues the Unfolding Covenant History series, a covenantal exposition of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament history covered in this volume is extensive, covering the account of the life and significance for the covenant of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon. This is the history recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1–11; 1 Chronicles 10–29; and 2 Chronicles 1–9. In addition, the volume takes into consideration other passages in scripture (Psalms) that reflect on this history.

This history is also rich in significance with regard to the development of God’s covenant and covenant dealings with his people. It includes the institution and early functioning of the office of the prophet; the institution of the office of king; the stark contrast between the people’s choice as king, in the charismatic, but reprobate, Saul, and God’s elect, David; and the realization of the fellowship of the covenant in the Old Testament in the temple. Among the fascinating and controversial events of the history on which the volume sheds light is the appearance to Saul of the “witch of Endor.”

• 224 pages
• hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-944555-63-4

ebook version will be available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

Volume 3 (From Jacob to the Exodus) of the Unfolding Covenant History series is divided into three parts: the history of Jacob, the history of Joseph, and the history of the bondage and exodus of Israel from Egypt.

Jacob is a very strong character in the history of God's covenant. His sins and shortcomings, as well as his penchant for running ahead of the Lord, are graphically described by the author. Yet the great strength of his faith in the covenant promise of God is the overriding theme. The history of this father of the tribes of Israel makes for interesting reading.

The history of Joseph is perhaps even more intriguing. The story of his life, from his being sold into slavery to his ascension to a position as ruler of Egypt, is almost stranger than fiction. The author explains how—through the awesome power of God's sovereign providence by means of Joseph—the line of the covenant was preserved, and the fledgling nation of Israel came to live in Egypt.

The section on the bondage and exodus details the increasingly oppressive bondage of God's people. It describes the ten plagues visited by God upon Egypt, culminating in God's powerful deliverance of his people from the land of bondage, which is typical of our deliverance from the dominion of sin.

• 344 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-99-2

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

From Creation to the Flood is the first volume in Unfolding Covenant History, a series that will include Old Testament history syllabi written by the late Professor Homer C. Hoeksema and additional syllabi being written by Professor David J. Engelsma, his successor as Professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament at the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches. 

Prior to the publication of this series, mainly seminarians were able to benefit from this valuable material. Recognizing the great potential for the edification and comfort to all of God's people, the Reformed Free Publishing Association has undertaken the publication of this work in a series of hardcover volumes at the rate of approximately one per year under the editorship of Mark H. Hoeksema, Professor Hoeksema's son.

The unique feature of these volumes, which distinguishes them from other such writings, is their emphasis on the theme of God's covenant of grace as the unifying principle of Old Testament history and of the very gospel itself. The appreciation for this truth by the reader will grow during the unfolding of the meaning of the covenant as history progresses through the books of the Old Testament.

Volume 1 covers Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 6, a small portion of the scriptures, yet a period that encompasses 1,650 years of biblical history. In this volume Professor Hoeksema shows that the "book of beginnings" has a significance that holds for God's people today and endures to the end of the ages.

• 368 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-97-8

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Review by Rev. Jerome Julian, from The Outlook, Vol. 71 Issue 1
Review by Rev. Joseph Holstege, from The Standard Bearer, Vol 98. Issue 5
Review by Rev. Martyn McGeown, from the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, Vol. 54 No. 2
Review by Rev. Matthew DeBoer 

The book of Job is God’s commentary on the suffering and trials of his people. God speaks to our trials from the viewpoint, first, of his own interactions with Satan, then from the viewpoint of Job’s interactions with his friends, and finally as the one who appears to Job and his friends in a tornado. The book describes suffering on a scale seldom seen but shows our weaknesses and the temptations we face when under the hand of God or when called to bring comfort to others who are suffering. For that reason it is instructive and corrective but is also of great comfort, for it points those who are suffering to God’s sovereignty in trials and to his faithfulness and saving grace to his own.

Those who have read the book of Job often find the book repetitious and difficult to follow, especially the interaction of Job and his friends. This work is not meant to be an exhaustive, verse-by-verse explanation of the book of Job but is an attempt to show how the book fits together and leads up to its grand climax in the appearance of God. It also attempts to show that Job has often been misunderstood and maligned, and though guilty of sin, as we all are in suffering, is nevertheless one whose faith and hope in God are sure. May it be of help to all who love God as Job did, especially when the God they love chastises and corrects them as he does all of his children.

Ronald Hanko is an emeritus minister in the Protestant Reformed Churches of America. He has served in the active ministry for 38 years. He has also written Doctrine according to Godliness: A Primer of Reformed Doctrine and The Coming of Zion’s Redeemer: The Prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

• ISBN: 978-1-944555-83-2

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Judges and Ruth, the fifth volume in the Unfolding Covenant History series, continues the exposition of Old Testament history from the viewpoint of God’s covenant faithfulness toward his people in the old dispensation. Professor David J. Engelsma now becomes the author, intending to finish in this and succeeding volumes what Professor Homer C. Hoeksema began.

Part 1 traces the dark history of the time of the judges with its recurring themes of Israel’s departure from Jehovah to serve heathen idols, God’s chastisement of his people by delivering them to the persecution and dominance of their enemies, their crying to him for help in their distress, and the Lord’s gracious deliverance of them by various judges. The conclusion of this downward line of the history of God’s people illustrates the necessity of a theocratic king in Israel, as expressed in the words of Judges 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel.”

Part 2 explains the familiar but amazing history of Ruth, which illustrates vividly the truth of God’s sovereign redemption in the salvation of the Gentiles and the inclusion of Ruth into the line of the covenant so that she becomes the grandmother of King David, the savior of Israel as the theocratic king and the type of Christ.

• 238 pages
• ISBN 978-1-944555-01-6

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Volume 4 (Through the Wilderness Into Canaan) of the Unfolding Covenant History series describes the journey of Israel from Egypt to the land of promise, as well as their conquering and inheritance of Canaan.

In the section on the wanderings in the wilderness, the author details Israel's journey to Mt. Sinai, where by the giving of God's law they were constituted as a covenant nation. He narrates their eventful progress towards Canaan, and their drawing back in unbelief when they were at the very door of the promised land.

After their fulfillment of God's sentence to wander for forty years in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God's people must learn anew to trust in Jehovah as they seek to dispossess the inhabitants of the land of promise. Under the leadership of Joshua, and despite much stumbling, Israel learns to expect the victory from their covenant God, and finally subdues and inherits Canaan.

• 414 pages
• ISBN 978-1-944555-00-9

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The form itself was adopted by the Synod of Dordt (1618–19) as the authoritative form for the administration and celebration of the sacrament of the Supper by both the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and by Dutch-speaking churches in the tradition of Dordt elsewhere in the world. Over the years the form has been adopted, translated, and used by most—if not all—Reformed churches that stand in the tradition of Dordt.

The Lord’s supper form, therefore, expresses the faith of orthodox, Reformed Christianity concerning the supper and all the rich implications of the supper for doctrine and life.

Read reviews by H. D. Schuringa and Dan Key!

Bastiaan Wielenga was a minister of the word in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKN) in the early- to mid-1900s. He attended the Theological School in Kampen and earned his doctorate at the University of Heidelberg in 1899.

• 426 pages
• Hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-57-2

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“Moses was a unique figure in the history of the church. Never again would there be a mere human prophet who would know the Lord so intimately, face to face. His life in so many respects [was] a visible demonstration of the grace of God and of the gospel. He was a mediator through whom Israel…stood before the greatness of the living God. Henceforth they could only look forward to the day of which Moses spoke when he said to them, ‘The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken’ (Deut. 18:15). He would be the fulfillment of that of which Moses was only the type.”

Rev. Bernard Woudenberg (1931–2020) was a member of the Protestant Reformed Churches of America and served in several pastorates during his forty-year ministry. One of his greatest loves was Old Testament history, the fruit of which became the rubric “Cloud of Witnesses” in the Standard Bearer magazine. He wrote more than 200 articles under this rubric, many of which covered the life of Moses and became the subject matter of this book.

The second volume (From the Flood to Isaac) of the Unfolding Covenant History series is divided into three parts: the postdiluvian world and the patriarchal eras of Abraham and Isaac. The postdiluvian section covers the changed earth after the flood, the establishment by God of the sword-power ordinance, the covenant with Noah, Noah’s prophetic blessing and cursing, Nimrod, Babel, and the genealogy/chronology provided for Shem’s generations. Though the facts about the first two patriarchs are familiar, the covenantal perspective on those lives makes for a much richer interpretation than most readers have ever before encountered. In fact, this can be said of all the proposed books in this series.

• 328 pages
• ISBN 978-1-936054-98-5

ebook version available in .mobi format (for Kindle users) and .epub (all other devices).

The form itself was adopted by the Synod of Dordt (1618–19) as the authoritative form for the administration and celebration of the sacrament of the Supper by both the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and by Dutch-speaking churches in the tradition of Dordt elsewhere in the world. Over the years the form has been adopted, translated, and used by most—if not all—Reformed churches that stand in the tradition of Dordt.

The Lord’s supper form, therefore, expresses the faith of orthodox, Reformed Christianity concerning the supper and all the rich implications of the supper for doctrine and life.

• 426 pages
• Hardcover
• ISBN 978-1-936054-59-6

ebook version available in .epub (Kindle users and all other devices)