Here’s how the latest volume in Don Carson’s NSBT series concludes:
James M. Hamilton Jr. With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology. New Studies in Biblical Theology 32. Downers Grove: IVP, 2014.
Conclusion
The book of Daniel contributes to the Bible’s unfolding redemptive-historical storyline. [Read more…] about The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology
My first impression of this book was twofold:
But don’t be deceived: it’s rich.
James M. Hamilton Jr. What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 38-page sample PDF.
Jim has a reputation for teaching the Bible with no notes, even in graduate-level classes. Some call him a Bible-Jedi. That’s what he seems like in this book. [Read more…] about What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns
This (very) short children’s book releases today in the states:
James M. Hamilton Jr. The Bible’s Big Story: Salvation History for Kids. Illustrated by Tessa James. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013. 24 pp.
My endorsement:
This poetry memorably summarizes turning points in the Bible’s storyline and views the whole Bible with Christian eyes. My kids love it!
On his blog, Jim explains the book’s history and rationale, and he challenges dads to “step up and play the man.”
I’ve read the end of this chapter by Jim Hamilton several times because it motivates me to do biblical theology:
James M. Hamilton Jr. “Biblical Theology and Preaching.” Pages 193–218 in Text Driven Preaching: God’s Word at the Heart of Every Sermon. Edited by Daniel L. Akin, David L. Allen, and Ned L. Mathews. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2010.
For example:
HOW DO I DO BIBLICAL THEOLOGY?
The kind of biblical theology advocated here has been described as reflection upon the results of the exegesis of particular passages in light of the whole canon. Another way to say it is that biblical theology is exegesis of a particular passage in its canonical context. This means that, in order to do biblical theology, we must [Read more…] about Jim Hamilton’s Motivating Exhortation to Do Biblical Theology
If you’re preaching through Revelation, you’ll want to include this book on your shortlist of helps:
James M. Hamilton Jr. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Preaching the Word. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 457 pp. (20-page sample PDF) 
Jim embraces historic premillennialism.
His sermons in print follow this basic structure (pp. 15–16, formatting added):
In the introduction I seek to do five things:
- (1) Grab attention.
- (2) Raise awareness of a real need that people have, a need that is addressed by the teaching of the text. The goal is to make people feel that they need to listen closely. Ideally, the need we have will be connected somehow to the opening attention-grabber.
- (3) State the main point of the text. [Read more…] about Jim Hamilton on Revelation
I agree with Jim.
James M. Hamilton Jr., “Appreciation, Agreement, and a Few Minor Quibbles: A Response to G. K. Beale,” Midwestern Journal of Theology 10, no. 1 (2011): 67:
I want to register a stylistic complaint. Beale is prolix. It’s as though he is exclaiming, “Why should I say in three words what I can expand to ten?!” In the “Introduction” to “the little book,” E. B. White epitomizes Professor Strunk: “‘Omit needless words!’ cries the author on page 23, and into that imperative Will Strunk really put his heart and soul.” Imagine the pleasure Strunk would take eliminating words from Beale’s oeuvre. To take one example, consider the title of his second lecture, “The Inaugurated End-Time Tribulation and Its Bearing on the Church Office of Elder and on Christian Living in General.” Edwardsian in its fullness, but would not “Elders and the End-Times” have been sufficient? I love the ideas that Beale communicates, but I wonder whether he hopes to be paid on the Dickensian wage (critics of Charles Dickens complain that his books are so long because he was paid a penny a word).
See them here, a table excerpted from Jim Hamilton’s God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. (That two-page PDF is available only today through Thursday.)
Hamilton explains:
These prayers that appeal to God’s concern for his own glory show how the believing remnant in the old covenant responded to God’s pursuit of his own glory: they joined him in it. These OT saints adopted God’s priorities and based their prayers on what they understood to be of greatest concern to God himself–his reputation among the nations, the glory of his name, the revelation of the truth about who he is. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Elijah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Asaph, Asa, and Jehoshaphat all petition God on the basis of his concern for his own glory.
Incidentally, there is a massively important point of application here: this is how we, too, should pray. The perspective of the biblical authors is not merely to be studied but adopted, embraced, and lived.
These prayers appealing to God’s concern for his glory are applied to a variety of situations and employ a variety of expressions, and they had to be located the old fashioned way, which is still the best way to examine a biblical theme: by reading slowly through the OT, marking them as they appeared, and then gathering them all into one place. So this chart saves you a ton of work, but actually doing this kind of work for yourself is the best way to study the Bible because it demands that you read attentively, remember what you’ve read, correlate new information with what you’ve already seen, and assimilate the results into a coherent whole.
So in this table I list every prayer in the Old Testament that appeals to God’s concern for his own glory; at least, I think I got them all! If you find one that I missed I’d love to know about it.
See also Hamilton’s explanation on the 9Marks blog.
“We live in an age of increasing specialization (owing in part to the rapid expansion of knowledge), and disciplines that a priori ought to work hand in glove are being driven apart.”
Don Carson wrote that in 1983. The fragmentation in theological disciplines almost two decades later is palpably worse.
So it’s not surprising that few people are writing whole-Bible biblical theologies these days. And it’s refreshing to see the recent release of this one:
James M. Hamilton Jr. [SBTS bio] God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 640 pp. 
- Sample 36-page PDF and 1:45-minute video
- Endorsements by Tom Schreiner, Kevin Vanhoozer, Desi Alexander, and Steve Dempster
- Time-line of this book’s history
- Audio of Jim Hamilton presenting the book’s argument (along with the book’s TOC)
- Guest-posts on the Crossway blog: Part 1 | Part 2
- Guest-post for the ShareFaith blog
- Interview with Matthew Miller: Part 1 | Part 2
- Interview for 9Marks Blog
- Steve Dempster’s review for the 9Marks eJournal
Jim gave me the honor of reading through his manuscript last Christmas break, and I profited immensely from both his big-picture connections and his more detailed exegetical observations. He impressively demonstrates how the whole Bible coheres.
If a big book like this seems too daunting for you to read, soberly consider what the Internet (and TV, movies, video games, etc.) might be doing to your brain. (I just read Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows, and I’m convicted about how frequently I check email and Google Reader.)