Commentary on Ephesians

Rollock’s commentary on Ephesians earned him the praise not only of Theodore Beza but of the wider world of Reformed communities. This commentary was his first link to Geneva and thereby the broader international Reformed literature. Beza’s praise is well known: “I pray you, taken it to be spoken without flattery or partiality, that I never read or met with anything in this kind of interpretation more pithily, more elegantly, and so judiciously written: so as I could not contain myself, but must needs give thanks, as I ought, unto God, for this so necessary and so profitable a work.“

Author

Robert Rollock (1555–1599) was the first principal of the University of Edinburgh. He was appointed on several occasions to committees of presbytery and assembly on pressing ecclesiastical business. He was elected moderator of the General Assembly held at Dundee in May 1597. In 1598 he was translated to the parish church of the Upper Tolbooth, Edinburgh, and immediately thereafter to that of the Grey Friars (then known as the Magdalen Church). He died in Edinburgh on the 8th of February 1599.

Endorsements

“Casey Carmichael is to be commended for his fine translation of Robert Rollock’s commentary on the Ephesians. The translation is clear and easy to read and will provide access to Rollock’s rich Trinitarian, Christological, and covenantal reflections for a new generation of readers. The companion translation of The Eternal Approval and Disapproval of the Divine Mind will further allow readers to engage with Rollock’s theology of predestination, a major theme of the Ephesians commentary, as they plumb with him the depths of human misery and heights of divine grace.” — Simon Burton, John Laing Senior Lecturer in Reformation History, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh

“Robert Rollock was known for his warm-hearted teaching and preaching in his day. It is cause for real gratitude to receive now Rollock’s comments on the warm-hearted book of Ephesians translated from his Latin into clear, modern English. This is not a long commentary, particularly by modern standards, but it is very solid and well worth consulting by anyone interested in the insights to be gleaned from our forefathers in the faith. It is the work, as noted, by a warm and passionate preacher and teacher, but also of one who makes clear and logical distinctions in his interpretive insights. Casey Carmichael, the translator, and the other folks responsible are to be sincerely commended for bringing Rollock’s Ephesians to us.” — S. M. Baugh, professor of New Testament, Westminster Seminary California