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I recently received a copy of the tenth edition of John Glynn’s very helpful survey of commentary and reference works. I have the original 1994 version on my shelf, which was a scant 28 pages and looked as if it had been printed in the author’s basement. Even at that, I was glad to have it. This edition weighs in at 380 professionally published pages.
This is a profoundly helpful resource for preachers on a budget. I remember in my early enthusiasm to build a suitable pastoral library, I tried to buy complete sets of commentaries. While they would prove helpful in my research, they also looked very nice all lined up upon my shelves.
The smart thing, however, is not to buy complete sets, but to buy the best individual commentaries and resources on any given biblical book or subject area. To that end, Glynn’s book is tremendously valuable. Utilizing a careful set of criteria, Glynn surveys the field and lists the most helpful resources, categorizing them as technical, semi-technical, expositional, and so on. Commentaries are further categorized as to whether they are evangelical, liberal, critical, moderate, etc. Of course, such categorization leads inevitably to a certain amount of bias. Nevertheless, it does help the reader narrow down the field.
My suggestion is that preachers ought to consult this survey before engaging in a series from a particular book of the Bible. Purchase three or four of the best books as seems appropriate from Glynn’s listings. Then, over time, a preacher will develop a valuable, not to mention impressive, collection of the very best resources.