Few topics provoke more questions in the human heart than that of suffering. Paul Wolfe addresses this painful subject with both pastoral and personal experience. Here a struggling soul can find assurance that Christ is still near, still compassionate, and still safely shepherding the Christian through every dark valley. A clear and concise Q&A section addresses both practical and theological issues.

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Book Description

The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd is of much more than merely historical interest. The first internationally recognized biography ever to be published, it has had a profound impact on successive generations of Christians around the world.

The Diary covers the period from April 1742 to October 1747, and although written as a private and personal record, was published in abridged form by the great New England pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards in 1749.

Brainerd wrote the Journal, which covers the twelve months from June 1745 to June 1746, at the request of the Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, which was supporting his missionary work amongst the indigenous peoples of North America. As Sir Marcus Loane has noted in They Were Pilgrims, ‘the Diary and Journal were each written for a distinct purpose, and each had its separate character. The Diary is a remarkable record of the interior life of the soul, and its entries still throb with the tremendous earnestness of a man who whose heart was aflame for God. The Journal is an objective history of the missionary work of twelve months, and its details are an astonishing testimony to the grace of God in the lives of men.’

Jonathan Edwards’ own ‘Reflections and Observations’ on Brainerd’s life, included in this volume, are, according to Iain H. Murray in his Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography, ‘among the most important descriptive pages on the Christian life which Edwards ever wrote.’

Between 1742 and his death in 1747 David Brainerd took the gospel to the North American Indians of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. He willingly ran any risk and accepted any hardship to fulfil his calling as a missionary. The amount of work which he achieved in such unpromising and difficult circumstances now seems almost incredible. Moreover his total dedication to the cause of making Christ known inspired the finest of missionaries who followed in his footsteps.

Few books have done so much to promote prayer and missionary action as The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd.

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Endorsements

‘Brainerd’s life is a vivid, powerful testimony to the truth that God can and does use weak, sick, discouraged, beat-down, lonely, struggling saints, who cry to him day and night, to accomplish amazing things for his glory.’ JOHN PIPER

‘I was much humbled today by reading Brainerd. O, what a disparity betwixt me and him! He always constant; I as inconstant as the wind.’  WILLIAM CAREY

‘Oh! blessed be the memory of that beloved saint! No uninspired writer ever did me so much good.’  HENRY MARTYN

Reviews

• Review by Kevin Macleod
• Review by Al Baker

We asked people how reading Edwards had benefitted them; this is what they said …

Here’s What You Said About Jonathan Edwards

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When discussing the ‘last things,’ what often comes to our minds is the book of Revelation and its striking visions – and often unhelpful speculation about their details. David McKay focuses instead on the Bible’s clear message about things to come: the Lord’s return, the certainty of judgment, the resurrection, and the reality of eternity. In doing so he returns to the real purpose of God’s revelation – providing comfort, warning, and strength to endure.

About the Author

David McKay is Professor of Systematic Theology, Ethics and Apologetics at the Reformed Theological College, Belfast, and Minister of Shaftesbury Square Reformed Presbyterian Church in Belfast. He is the author of An Ecclesiastical Republic (1997), The Bond of Love (2001) and A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Humanity (2021) and has contributed to a number of theological journals and books. He is married to Valerie.

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Christians have long recognized the book of Psalms to be the great handbook of the spiritual life. Martin Luther thought of it as the Bible in miniature, and John Calvin prized it as ‘an anatomy of all parts of the soul.’

This mini-guide introduces the reader to this precious book. David Murray shows how the Psalms speak of Christ, whilst answering questions regarding the interpretation of some difficult passages. He explains how the Psalms ought to be used in worship, counselling, witnessing, and singing, so that believers might glorify and enjoy God each day.

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Book Description

Many twenty-first-century Christians ‌still read the works and love the memory of the remarkable Scottish brotherhood that included Robert Murray M‘Cheyne and Andrew and Horatius Bonar. But the name of Alexander Moody Stuart (1809–98), whom they all esteemed so much, has been forgotten. Yet it took only one encounter with his preaching for M‘Cheyne to say, ‘I have found the man.’

Now, this new edition of Alexander Moody Stuart: A Memoir will throw light on a life and ministry which were profoundly influential—a ministry in which Moody Stuart was, variously, a pioneer rural missionary in an island fishing community; a capable church planter in a growing city; a clear and searching preacher; a much-loved pastor; a caring husband and father; and a committed advocate for overseas missionary endeavour.

Alexander Moody Stuart’s long life and ministry encompassed many of the defining events and debates in the Scottish church in the middle and later nineteenth century, including that which led to the formation of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843. But far from being defined by these important debates, his ministry was principally marked by contemporaries for its deep spirituality, earnestness, and originality.

This well-paced and engaging memoir, partly autobiographical and completed by its subject’s eldest son, covers the life, work, friendships, and challenges of one who was fully engaged with the people under his spiritual care, and who was also a willing defender of orthodox belief in an age of rapid change in approaches to Scripture. As Sinclair B. Ferguson notes in the Foreword, ‘like Andrew Bonar’s memoir of M‘Cheyne, there is a touch of heaven about these pages.’

It is hoped that the republication of this long-forgotten book will go some way to lift Alexander Moody Stuart out of relative obscurity—a man who, in his allotted time and circumstances, exercised a deep and penetrating ministry of the word, the character and aroma of which contain much to stimulate and inspire those engaged in that same spiritual work today.

This fresh edition includes numerous illustrations and an extensive appendix containing several of Moody Stuart’s sermons and addresses, and other documents of interest.

Commendations

‘Long forgotten and hard to obtain, Alexander Moody Stuart is a book for any Christian to enjoy, and every Christian will find it richly instructive, graciously challenging, and wonderfully inspiring. And for ministers of the gospel it is quite simply a ‘must have’. While it ranks among the finest Christian biographies of a past century, the effect of reading it will be a fresh desire to love Christ more and serve him better in the present century.’

—Sinclair B. Ferguson

‌‘There are few ministerial biographies that are better worth reading than Moody Stuart’s Life by his son.’

—Principal John Macleod (1872–1948)
in Scottish Theology

‌‘He has poetry in his soul, and beyond that, a heart like that of Rutherford, fired with love to the altogether Lovely One.’

—C. H. Spurgeon (1834–92)
Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Baptist Church, London

‘I know not a greater master in spiritual analysis.’

—Dr John ‘Rabbi’ Duncan (1796–1870)

‌‘Few were honoured to wield an influence so profound and far-reaching.’

—Address from the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh upon
Moody Stuart’s ministerial diamond jubilee in 1897

‌‘… a man who was the first and earliest of a well-defined and very remarkable school of preaching; who was also its patriarch and survivor; and who, besides being the originator, was himself the most original man not only in that school but, according to my judgment, in the whole Scottish pulpit during the long span of his ministerial career.’

—Alexander Taylor Innes (1833–1912)
Lawyer, political and ecclesiastical adviser, and author

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Book Description

J. C. Ryle described Daniel Rowland (1711–1790) as ‘one of the spiritual giants of the eighteenth century.’ Lady Huntingdon considered him to be ‘second only to Whitefield.’ Howel Harris wrote of him, ‘In his pulpit he is second to St Paul,’ while others acclaimed him as ‘the greatest preacher in Europe.’ Yet he has been one of the least known leaders of that age.

The loss of manuscripts shortly after his death, the Welsh language barrier, and the fact that all his closest friends were also preachers rather than authors, all contributed to leave only a shadowy impression of his greatness. However, after many years of work, Dr Eifion Evans succeeded in breaking through a multitude of difficulties to present for the first time a full-scale biography of Daniel Rowland.

J. C. Ryle writes of Daniel Rowland, ‘Never, perhaps, did any preacher exalt Christ more. . . . No British preacher of the eighteenth century kept together in one district such enormous congregations of souls for fifty years as Rowland did.’ And Dr D. M. Lloyd-Jones asks, ‘Has there been preaching which has had anything like the effect of his preaching since those days?’

At death, when reminded that he had been instrumental in the conversion of thousands to Christ, Rowland protested, ‘It is nothing. I die as a poor sinner depending fully and entirely on the merits of a crucified Saviour.’

This volume is a record of revivals, friendships with other leaders, persecutions and divisions, and the birth of a new age for Wales. Amidst it all, Dr Evans excels in showing what made Rowland the preacher and the humble Christian that he was. Dr Evans’ volume not only fills a major gap in church history, it is an inspiring testimony to New Testament Christianity.

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There are two intended audiences for discourses on the Christian ministry: the pastor or elder who cares for the church, and his congregation who are called to willing and prayerful submission. In Gospel Ministry, a collection of nine sermons delivered in his fruitful later years, John Owen addresses both.

Whether expounding the role of the Holy Spirit in shaping the ministry, presenting the purposes of the church, savouring God’s care of his people, or warning against being ashamed of the gospel, Owen’s teaching is invaluable for any minister – or member – of the body of Christ.

This book is complemented by its companion volume, Gospel Life, which beautifully sets forth the foundational steps of faith in Christ, assurance, and humble walking with him.

N.B. The sermons in this volume have been selected from The Works of John Owen, Volume 9, and modernised.

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Book Description

Most experienced Christians are familiar with the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians. Love, peace, patience, and so on are often considered both gracious marks of true Christian character and ideals to aim for. But what do they look like when lived to the fullest?

This book answers this question by studying the fullness of the Fruit of the Spirit in the life of Christ. In a warm and engaging style, Jonathan Cruse examines these godly attributes in the Lord’s example, comparing them with our own faltering efforts at holiness, and shows how only the power of God himself can truly conform us to Christ. The work is his, not ours – and this is good news for all those who yearn for greater sanctification.

About the Author

Jonathan Landry Cruse studied theology at Westminster Seminary California. He is an author, hymnwriter, and the pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jonathan is husband to Kerri Ann and a father of three.

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The church is not yours or mine. It belongs to Jesus Christ. The church is graciously called into being by him for the glory and honour of God’s name. As such, every local church must reflect God’s character and display God’s holiness. For that reason, life in a healthy, happy church always involves discipline—the thoughtful, deliberate, loving investment of each member in all the others for the glory of God and the good of the whole congregation.

Grievously, life in a fallen world means that sin creeps into and breaks out in the church of Jesus Christ. What ought a church to do when sin is uncovered in her midst? How do we respond in a way that shows our love to God and to one another? How do you love someone within the professing church who is unrepentantly sinning against God?

Such questions are often answered carelessly, fearfully, pragmatically, even unrighteously. When that is the case, it typically leads to disturbing confusion, advancing tension, increasing division, and even destruction. Further sin can erupt if offences are not faced humbly and graciously, if unrepentant sin is not addressed righteously and courageously.

Mercifully, the Head of the church has not left us in the dark. He teaches us how to sail through troubled waters so that we are not left in disarray after the storm has struck. He provides clear, wise, and effective commands and counsels for his people.

This booklet summarises the principles and the practices Christ has given for the holiness of his church. It sketches out the assumptions that lie behind church discipline, grounded in the identity of the church and activity of the church of God. It speaks to the nature of church discipline, in its more positive and negative aspects. It identifies love as the primary motive behind any discipline in the church. It looks at the God-ordained purposes of corrective discipline, and the reasons why a church might have to pursue this course. It offers practical advice as to how such discipline ought to be carried out in the church of Jesus Christ. It touches on both the necessary sting and the desired success of those actions by the church. It calls the whole church and her officers to consider our duty to act when the purity and peace of the church of God is threatened by unrepentant sin.

If the church is the household of God, if it is the body of Jesus Christ, if it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, then we are called to be holy. We need to know how to pursue that calling as those committed to fidelity in our doctrine, purity in our life, and unity in our fellowship.

Author bio:

Jeremy Walker is the pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England. He also serves as the Book Reviews Editor of the Banner of Truth magazine.

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Also available, Sermons on Job, Volume 1 (eBook only) and Sermons on Job, Volume 2 (eBook only)

Endorsement

‘Dr Rob Roy McGregor’s translations of Calvin’s sermons have been received with great enthusiasm and gratitude.’ — DEREK THOMAS

Book Description

THE name of John Calvin (1509-64) is justly renowned in a number of contexts. The Reformation’s greatest systematic theologian, he was also a Christian strategist and transformer of society, as his enormous correspondence and his influence in Geneva bear witness. A prolific scholar, well-versed in the Latin of the academics, he also worked hard at communicating to ordinary men and women in his native French language.

Above all, Calvin was a pastor. Indeed, it has been said of him that he became a theologian in order to be a better pastor. Nowhere is that more clearly seen than in his sermons.

In 1549, the Campagnie des Étrangers, refugees who thought highly of his ministry, employed a professional scribe, Denis Raguenier, to record and translate Calvin’s sermons.

Thanks to the foresight of these sixteenth-century Christians we can still read the 159 sermons Calvin preached on the Book of Job on week-days in 1554-5. They abound in faithful and lively exposition, and remain one of the finest examples of evangelical preaching – faithful to the biblical text and thoughtfully applied to the individual and society.

In 1993 the Banner of Truth Trust reprinted a facsimile edition of Arthur Golding’s 1574 translation of Calvin’s sermons on Job. At that time the publisher expressed the hope that ‘Perhaps one day the massive work of retranslating Calvin from the original French into modern English will be done.’ That day has now well and truly come! Several new translations of Calvin’s sermons have recently been published (on Ephesians, Galatians, 2 Samuel 1-13, Acts 1-7, Gen. 1-20, The Beatitudes, Luke 1-2, etc.), and a new translation of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (1541 ed.) has also recently been added to this impressive list of volumes. Now, thanks to Dr Rob Roy McGregor, all of Calvin’s 159 sermons on Job have been translated into modern, colourful, and vigorous English.

This third volume covers Calvin’s expositions of Job chapters 31-42.

About the Translator

Dr Rob Roy McGregor is a graduate of Erskine College and Columbia Theological Seminary, and was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1958 by Second Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Dr McGregor taught English, French, German, and Latin at Boys High School and Hanna High School in Anderson before earning the MA degree in French from the University of South Carolina and the PhD in Romance Languages from the University of Georgia. He is Professor Emeritus of French and Latin at Clemson University, with publications on Jehan Froissart, Albert Camus, Voltaire, Charles Baudelaire, and Jean Genet.

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Book Description

During his earthly life Jesus had many critics and enemies who sought to discredit him and sometimes trap him in his own words. They said, for example, that he had threatened to destroy the temple, that he was a blasphemer and that he acted in league with the devil. On one occasion some religious leaders ‘grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners”’ (Luke 15:1). However, what they intended as an attack gives expression to gospel truth – Jesus did and does welcome sinners; as the apostle Paul wrote, ‘The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1 Tim. 1:15). The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies looks at such attacks in Scripture and also considers contemporary attacks on Christianity which express truths that their speakers do not intend. The book leads us to the gospel according to Jesus Christ himself.

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Book Description

A pastor of forty years who has throughout his ministry found the Puritans to be a great source of spiritual encouragement, David MacKinnon presents here 366 extracts from the works of the Puritan pastor Richard Sibbes, which may be used each day of the year by readers as an aid to devotion.

Each extract has been carefully selected, and a suitable accompanying Scripture text provided at the start of each daily reading. Occasional antiquated words in the original have been updated, and overly long sentences have been shortened, but all with a view to retain Sibbes’ flow and meaning for present-day readers.

For those who have never encountered Sibbes before, this volume will serve as an excellent introduction. All will find in these daily readings spiritual refreshment for the soul, coming from one who in his day was known, appropriately, as the ‘heavenly doctor.’

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Theodore Beza’s course of activity was, in the words of the author, ‘long and brilliant.’ He presided over the Reformed church in the French-speaking countries of Europe for many years, and was its recognized counsellor and leader in times of peril. His friendship with John Calvin, and also with the French king, Henry IV, ensured that his influence in both church and state was not insignificant— indeed, Beza’s was a career rich in incidents and dramatic interest.

As Paul Wells notes in his Introduction to this new edition of Baird’s life of Beza, ‘some plants flourish in the shade of mighty trees.’ Theodore Beza was such a plant—a significant ‘Reformer in the wings’ who became a major actor in the development of the magisterial Reformation and the spread of the Reformed faith in France.

Beza stepped into the shoes of Calvin as the spokesman of French Protestants in the diaspora, and as the figurehead of a refugee church—a church faced with theological error, and opposition from the powers that be. Beza’s work remains a model of faithfulness under duress for believers worldwide in comparable situations today—it is for that reason that this new edition of his Life has been published.

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Book Description

The name of John Calvin (1509-64) is justly renowned in a number of contexts. The Reformation’s greatest systematic theologian, he was also a Christian strategist and transformer of society, as his enormous correspondence and his influence in Geneva bear witness. A prolific scholar, well-versed in the Latin of the academics, he also worked hard at communicating to ordinary men and women in his native French language.

Above all, Calvin was a pastor. Indeed, it has been said of him that he became a theologian in order to be a better pastor. Nowhere is that more clearly seen than in his sermons.

In 1549, the Compagnie des Étrangers, refugees who thought highly of his ministry, employed a professional scribe, Denis Raguenier, to record and translate Calvin’s sermons.

Thanks to the foresight of these sixteenth-century Christians we can still read the 159 sermons Calvin preached on the Book of Job on week-days in 1554-5. They abound in faithful and lively exposition, and remain one of the finest examples of evangelical preaching – faithful to the biblical text and thoughtfully applied to the individual and society.

In 1993 the Banner of Truth Trust reprinted a facsimile edition of Arthur Golding’s 1574 translation of Calvin’s sermons on Job. At that time the publisher expressed the hope that ‘Perhaps one day the massive work of retranslating Calvin from the original french into modern English will be done.’ That day has now well and truly come! Several new translations of Calvin’s sermons have recently been published (on Ephesians, Galatians, 2 Samuel 1-13, Acts 1-7, Gen. 1-20, The Beatitudes, Luke 1-2, etc.) and a new translation of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (1541 ed.) has also recently been added to this impressive list of volumes. Now, thanks to Dr Rob Roy McGregor, all of Calvin’s 159 sermons on Job have been translated into modern, colourful, and vigorous English.

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Book Description

Samuel Miller (1769–1850), was a faithful pastor, who became a founding father and a professor of Princeton Theological Seminary. He had a deep commitment to the church and an abiding interest in seeing ministers trained ably for her service — an interest which led to him writing this book.

As Dr. Jonathan Master notes in his Foreword to this edition of Miller’s work, ‘public prayer is the priority on Paul’s mind when considering public worship.’ Despite this priority, today public prayer has in some churches a diminishing place in corporate worship.

Ministers especially need instruction in public prayer — Samuel Miller understood this need in his day, and so much of what he wrote remains pertinent to the practice of an edifying ministry in the present.

This volume is replete with insights into the vital place of public prayer in worship, and of sound advice as to how progress may be made in this aspect of pastoral ministry.

This edition includes a Foreword by Dr. Jonathan L. Master, President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina, USA.

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Book Description

Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus; and Mary Magdalene all feature prominently in the gospel narrative. But what can Christians learn from the faith displayed by these women?

In these moving and engaging chapters, Alexander Moody Stuart draws out their characters and helps readers learn from each one’s relationship to Jesus. Perhaps too often known only at the surface-level, these three women, brought into sharper focus by Moody Stuart’s reflective and often vivid portrayals, have much to teach us about the faithful Christian life.

Moody Stuart’s preaching and teaching were marked by a keen sensitivity to the human condition and its needs, combined with challenging practical application. This, linked with a deep tenderness and love, well-qualified him to write The Three Marys.

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Book Description

Translated from the French by Robert White

When Calvin says that he would not have spoken of election had Scripture not led the way, we need not doubt his word. If he defends the doctrine with vigour, it is because it runs as an unbroken thread through both Old and New Testaments. Like the doctrines of providence, atonement and the new birth, it is a doctrine of sovereign grace.

Calvin did not invent election: it is a doctrine which belongs to the universal church. Its importance for him lies in the fact that it anchors the work of redemption, not in our feeble powers of will, but in God’s inexplicable love for sinners, and it traces that work to a determination freely made in heaven before the world began.

The present volume offers a variety of sources, newly translated from the French, which throw fresh light on Calvin’s doctrine of election. In place of his more formal works such as the Institutes from which the doctrine is usually derived, texts have been selected which were intended for oral delivery to a largely non-specialist audience. The tensions inherent in the doctrine, such as God’s mercy versus his justice, are honestly acknowledged and answered. Throughout, appeal is made not to philosophical speculation but to God’s revealed word. To depart from Scripture, the Reformer holds, is to enter a labyrinth from which there is no way out.

There is no hint of bookishness in the texts presented here. This is theology for Everyman – clear, comprehensive and rich in practical application. And it leads, as all good theology should, to the praise of God’s glory.

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Book Description

Paul’s words in Galatians 6:14, ‘Far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ highlight how central and personally significant the cross of Christ is to Christians. Jesus himself saw the cross as his divinely appointed destiny. As he began to experience the unimaginable agony that lay before him, he said, ‘Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But for this purpose I have come to this hour’ (John 12:27).

In Words from the Cross Ian Hamilton places Jesus’ seven expiring words of grace and hope in their wider biblical context and explores their theological, pastoral, and evangelistic significance. The short chapters encourage us to reflect and meditate on the love of God which is ‘the fountainhead of the gospel’ (John Owen) and bring us to devote all we are to the Saviour who gave his all for us.

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Book Description

John Aaron provides here a fresh account of Thomas Charles’s life, presented against the backcloth of his day and age, and in the light of Charles’s extensive network of correspondents, both Welsh and English.

In Wales, the popular picture of Thomas Charles (1755–1814) had traditionally been of the man who gave a Bible to Mary Jones; who was the ‘Father of the Sunday School’; and who was behind the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society. But in modern Wales this picture has almost completely faded. No biography of Charles has been published in English or Welsh since 1908—this is the first for over a hundred years.

This new biography covers many aspects of Charles’s life that deserve to be extensively known, including, among others, his long and frustrating courtship of Sally Jones; his early connections with evangelicals in the Church of England, including John Newton and Henry Thornton; the immense and rapid spread of his schools; the revivals which took place under his preaching; his editorial labours over the text of the Welsh Bible; and his leadership of the Calvinistic Methodist Connexion.

Thomas Charles’s writings revealed his spiritual maturity and wisdom. His balance of Christian doctrine, experience, and practice was remarkable. In this wide survey, John Aaron does not shrink from acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of his subject, and also seeks to engage with Charles’s scholarship and theology. Here is a book to inform, stir, and inspire.

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To ask and answer the question ‘Why were our Reformers burned?’ could not be more pertinent to the times in which we live, according to Roger Carswell in his Introduction to this edition of J. C. Ryle’s tract on the English Reformers.

This is a booklet that needs to be read carefully and prayerfully. Its aim is not to lead anyone to smug self-righteousness or complacency. To understand the error of a theological system ought to stir within us compassion and winsome boldness towards those who are caught up in it.

We ought to feel deeply thankful to God for those who lived and laid down their lives for the truth of the gospel. The world was not worthy of them: they took up their cross and followed their Saviour. We need to understand why the Reformers of the sixteenth century lived and died as they did, and in our times cultivate a similar, costly commitment to the truth of the gospel.

This booklet is an extract from Ryle’s Five English Reformers and Light from Old Times.

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The North of Wales in the 1770s was one of the least Christian parts of Britain. The next three decades brought a transformation akin to that of the apostolic era and at the centre of the change was Thomas Charles, ‘the Lord’s gift to North Wales’.

Debarred from the pulpits of his own denomination, and dependent on his shop-keeper wife at Bala, Charles quietly became the leader of the people (‘Calvinistic Methodists’) whose God-anointed witness gathered thousands to the gospel. This astonishing advance involved Bible distribution, the use of circulating schools, preaching, and publishing. More than all these things, there was an outpouring of the Spirit of God and the most enduring lessons of the period have to do with the quality of spiritual life which was then recovered.

This volume, first published in 1838, shows us both what that life was in Thomas Charles’ own experience and how wisely he taught it to others.

Charles’ main characteristic, said Edward Morgan (his editor), was his large measure of love and humility. His life itself, ‘with heaven in his face’, as men said, was a sermon.

For insight into real, biblical Christianity this book will always be one of the classics of evangelical literature. John Elias’ verdict of many years ago remains true, ‘Whatever proceeds from Mr. Charles is excellent’. This was one of the last books in the hands of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones before his death and it led him to conclude that Thomas Charles ‘is definitely one of the most neglected of the spiritual leaders’.

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This is a pastoral, thoughtful, encouraging, challenging and, above all, radically God-centred book. The thirty brief but compelling chapters remind us that this world is not our home, that our destiny is ‘a city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God,’ and that we are called to live world-engaging, Christ-glorifying lives. It also highlights a most important aspect of the gospel’s message – the cosmic nature of Christ’s redemption, from its beginning in the wake of Adam’s tragic fall in humanity’s first home, the garden of Eden, to its consummation in the new heavens and new earth.

Here is a call to all Christians to live as pilgrims, pressing onwards and upwards to our eternal home.

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Podcasts

• Mark Johnston Discusses This World Is Not My Home with Theology on the Go

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According to J. C. Ryle, next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible reading. God in his mercy has given us a book ‘which is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus’ (2 Tim. 3:15). By reading the Bible we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do; how to live with comfort, and how to die in peace.

Can anything, therefore, be more important than being in possession of a Bible? However, to have a Bible is one thing, to read it is quite another. Happy is the one who not only has a Bible but who reads it, obeys it, and makes it the rule of one’s faith and practice!

In this little book Ryle clearly explains why we ought to value the Bible highly, to study it regularly, and to make ourselves thoroughly acquainted with its contents.

This book consists of material extracted from Ryle’s Practical Religion, which is also published by the Trust.

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A man of good scholarship, sterling character, wide sympathies, and tremendous zeal, J. C. Ryle accounted it no light thing to be entrusted with the work of organizing and advancing the cause of God and truth in a diocese noted for its extensive industrial development and in a city of world fame. As a man of God he gave unfeigned allegiance to the plenary inspiration of Holy Scripture. Linked with this was his determination to strive for the maintenance of the Protestant character of the Church of England as by law established in the days of the sixteenth-century Reformation. Doctrine, experience, and practice based upon and shaped by the pure word of God were to him the essentials of the ongoing life of the Church.

In the Liverpool Diocese Ryle faced a formidable task. Called to it at the age of sixty-five, Ryle laboured in season and out of season with untiring pertinacity. To present-day readers he will chiefly be known through his expository and biographical writings. The Charges and Addresses here brought together show how he laboured to educate the clergy of his diocese in biblical principles and to impress upon them the vast importance if maintaining evangelical doctrine and practice in their varied ministries and contacts.

In England Ryle stands in the foremost rank of those who have held forth the word of life and fought the good fight of faith. He is one of the Lord’s standard-bearers of the late Victorian age. The ‘healthful spirit of God’s grace’ was upon him. Being dead he continues to speak to our backslidden generation.

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‘You are holding the last book of a true shepherd who knew what it is to be one of Christ’s sheep. It is a rich, biblical, theological, experiential, devotional meditation on the Twenty-third Psalm, combined with a testimony to God’s faithfulness by a godly pastor and professor who is now at home with his Good Shepherd, having long lived in the valley of the shadow of death.’ — LIGON DUNCAN, in the preface

Book Description

The Twenty-third Psalm is probably the best known of all the chapters of the Bible and among the most memorable words ever written in any language. It is so familiar that it would be easy to think that we can learn nothing more from it. But through exposition intermingled with prayers and personal testimony, David Calhoun reminds us that this psalm has great depth, and that lifelong meditation on its words will help Christians to understand just what it is to be a sheep under the care of the ‘good Shepherd.’

Each of the ten chapters in A Sheep Remembers contains a version of the Twenty-third Psalm or a hymn that is based on the psalm, followed by commentary on the verse that is being considered; writings from shepherds that help us to understand sheep and their ways; prayers, quotations and stories that illustrate the theme; and in the last place, the author’s own personal testimony.

This is a striking and profound little volume that will give much spiritual help to readers at all stages in the Christian life.

Review

• • Review by Ligon Duncan, featured on The Gospel Coalition

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There can be no doubt that a seismic shift has taken place within the English-speaking world over the last sixty years regarding what used to be referred to as ‘the Christian Sabbath.’ What was considered to be a day of rest, worship and holy activity is now just like any other day of the week — one for the shopping mall, the sports stadium, or for some self-indulgent ‘me-time.’

What has led to this transformation? Or, more importantly, how ought we to think of the first day of the week? Were our forefathers correct in their understanding of ‘the Lord’s Day’ or ‘the Christian Sabbath’? And what did the Lord Jesus Christ mean when he said that ‘the Sabbath was made for man’ and that he was ‘Lord of the Sabbath’?

Terry Johnson investigates these questions and the issues raised by them. He draws out the teaching of Scripture and illustrates it from the writings of many of the great teachers of the Christian church. He then sets out practical recommendations to help today’s Christians experience the benefits and blessings of the special day God has given us.

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According to Dr Mark Dever, ‘This little booklet is a devotional classic.’ It contains a ‘gospel map’ that reveals the way to the ‘riches of the covenant.’ With great skill and an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Scripture, Joseph Alleine (c.1634–68) conveys the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ of God, and sets them forth in such a way as to bring encouragement and delight to the Christian believer. He demonstrates how, by embracing these promises, the believer is enabled to overcome all the assaults of unbelief. ‘Faith,’ he says, ‘makes its claim to all the benefits of the covenant, and stirs up the soul to joy and thankfulness.’ It is little wonder to learn that Alleine’s treatment of God’s precious promises has proved an effective balm to countless weary souls for more than 300 years.

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‘Walking Toward the Dawn provides a sure-footed biblical encouragement to find the heart of our assurance outside of ourselves.’ — IAN HAMILTON

Book Description

The experience of assurance is an area of the Christian life that is troublesome for many. The author of this booklet is one who knows how difficult the struggle can be of finding certainty in one’s relationship to God in Jesus Christ.

Walking Toward the Dawn is aimed at helping others come to a full assurance of the reality of their Christian faith and salvation. The author says: ‘For those who are not struggling with doubt, my hope is that this booklet may prove to be preventative medicine that will fortify them against future infection. For those who are wrestling with doubts, my prayer is that this booklet may guide them out of the gloom and into the dawn.’

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Coming from a remote area of Judah, and from a farming background, Amos was called to a prophetic ministry to the nation of Israel. His prophetic message was a blend of mercy and judgment, as he challenged an erring nation to seek the Lord. In addition to strong condemnation of errant Israel, Amos also held out the ­promise of restored fortunes, and particularly of the continuing place and significance of the Davidic family.

Allan Harman’s commentary is a careful exposition of the text. While using the ESV translation, he gives particular attention to the Hebrew, discussing words that are most significant for the translation and ­interpretation of this eighth-century BC covenantal messenger. He also includes sections of application, that preachers will find particularly helpful.

The author has spent a lifetime in teaching the Old Testament, and brings his skills to another biblical book. This commentary complements his other commentaries on Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, Joel, and Daniel, all of which have been aimed at making plain the significance of the text, without unnecessary reference to other writers.

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David F. Wells of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Massachusetts, here challenges evangelicalism with a disturbing analysis of its present condition. He believes that we have allowed ourselves to be shaped by the popular culture whose ethos is alien to God-consciousness, to ‘other-worldliness’, and to passion for biblical truth. In putting ‘success’ before theology we have produced a plague of nominal evangelicalism which, unless reversed, leaves us ‘headed towards the oblivion of irrelevance before God’.

This material was first delivered at a Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals who have kindly assisted in the publication. Much fuller treatment of the same themes will be found in the author’s influential books, No Place for Truth and God in the Wasteland. While referring especially to the North American scene, the wider relevance of Dr Wells’ message is indicated by the fact that these two titles have joint publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, W.B. Eerdmans and IVP.

‘What is most lost is what most needs to be recovered. It is the unsettling, disconcerting, moral presence of God in our midst. He can no longer be the junior partner in our religious enterprises and he can never be just an ornamental decoration upon our Church life. It is because God now rests so inconsequentially upon the Church that the Church is free to plot and to devise its success in its own way. That is why so many of our forebears in the faith would scarcely even recognize us as their children today.’

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When a Jewish religious leader heard Jesus say, ‘You must be born again’, he was hearing words of the greatest importance, for without this ‘new birth’ entering the kingdom of God is simply not possible. In investigating this ‘key truth’ of the Bible, this mini-guide shows us the sheer greatness of the salvation Jesus brings.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Salvation
The Church
The Bible

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Transformed is a strong word, but not too strong to describe the wonderful change that takes place in sanctification. This mini-guide introduces us to the Bible’s teaching on this glorious work of God – a work that takes place inwardly and shows itself outwardly. The result is nothing less than a transformation!

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Salvation
The Church
The Bible
Regeneration

Table of Contents Expand ↓

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This practical guide to growing in grace is rooted in the Bible’s teaching on ‘grace,’ especially as it is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. By examining his role as our prophet, priest, and king we will see not only the ways in which he displayed God’s grace during his earthly ministry, but also how he governs and guides us as we grow in grace today.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Sanctification
The Christian Mind
Salvation
The Church
The Bible
Regeneration

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PODCAST

• • Interview with Jonathan Master from Confessing Our Hope

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Being able to think and reason is part of what makes us human. However clever we may or may not be, our minds matter. The Bible shows us that when people become Christians, their minds are made new. This mini-guide to the Christian Mind explores the far-reaching implications of having a renewed mind.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
Sanctification
Salvation
The Church
The Bible
Regeneration

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Salvation is the greatest need and the deepest longing of all human beings who have ever lived. Throughout history, people have longed for ‘rescue’, though often without understanding ‘from what’ and ‘by whom’. This mini-guide to Salvation goes to the heart of human need and reveals the greatness of God’s deliverance.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Sanctification
The Church
The Bible
Regeneration

Table of Contents Expand ↓

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The church is the oldest surviving institution in the history of the world. It has changed lives and shaped nations. It is loved, hated, and ignored in equal measure. But what is it, and what is its purpose in the world? This mini-guide answers those questions and shows why the church matters.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Salvation
Sanctification
The Bible
Regeneration

Table of Contents Expand ↓

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This mini-guide to the bible provides an entry point for those who know little about the ‘Book of books’; but it does so in a way that encourages those who know it better to explore it more fully.

Banner Mini Guides

Banner Mini Guides introduce the the reader to some of the major themes and issues related to the Christian faith. They lay a solid foundation of Bible teaching while encouraging more thorough exploration of the theme with suggestions for further reading. The mini-guides will seamlessly fit into the teaching quarters of the church year with their thirteen-chapter format, making them useful for group as well as for individual study.

Reviews

• Review by Josh Hill

Also in this series:
Growing in Grace
The Christian Mind
Salvation
The Church
Sanctification
Regeneration

The post The Bible appeared first on Banner of Truth UK.

‘Here in this stirring call to “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead”, we find a tonic for the soul.’ — ALISTAIR BEGG

‘The resurrection of Christ is the stupendous miracle that validates the truth of the Bible and Christianity. But it is much more than that. It is the actual beginning of the resurrection “harvest” in which those united to Christ by faith have an assured place—not only in the future at his return in their own bodily resurrection, like his, but also presently as he already shares with them his resurrection life through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. With a Mighty Triumph explores the rich truths of this resurrection reality in instructive ways that will benefit a wide range of readers.’ — RICHARD B. GAFFIN, JR.

Book Description

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Without it, the truth claims of Christianity crumble. But not only is the resurrection of Jesus true and historically verifiable, it is also the foundation of the believer’s hope for the future. Those in Christ will be raised from the dead in the new creation. The apostle Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15 for the historical resurrection of Christ and the future resurrection of Christians is one of the most momentous theological treatises in the New Testament.

This series of studies, With A Mighty Triumph!, carefully leads readers through Paul’s discussion and examines its inner logic, theological content, and practical application. While not shying away from the difficult subjects of baptism for the dead and the nature of the resurrection body, its main focus is on the hope Christ’s resurrection offers to all who believe.

Reviews

• Review by Tyler Ivey
• Review by The Happy Holy Hour
• Review by Robert Norman

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Written by faculty and friends of Old Princeton, with an introduction by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

The authors included in this small clothbound collection:

William S. Plumer (1802-80)
J. W. Alexander (1804-59)
Archibald Alexander (1771-1851)
Charles Hodge (1797-78)
Samuel Miller (1769-1850)
Ashbel Green (1762-1848)
Nicholas Murray (1802-61)

The authors of The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work were all men closely associated, either as students, professors, or in one case a director, with Princeton Theological Seminary, which was established in 1812 by the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America. It was founded as a ‘nursery of vital piety as well as of sound theological learning…to train up persons for the ministry who shall be lovers as well as defenders of the truth as it is in Jesus, friends of revivals of religion, and a blessing to the church of God.’

A sample of the Princeton view of the ministry is contained in this little volume. Taken together its chapters form a small instruction manual on the key elements in the work of a minister of the gospel in any age and place.

These pages combine theological acumen, a high sense of purpose, a vision of the privileges of serving Christ, and a recalibration of our whole vision for ministry.

The chapters in this book have been selected from the two-volume Princeton and the Work of the Christian Ministry, also published by the Banner of Truth.

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George Swinnock is one of the easiest Puritan authors to read. He is theological yet his doctrine is expressed in vivid fashion and, while he is practical, his counsel is marked by a keen sensitivity to the doctrines taught in Scripture. Thomas Manton commended his work as coming ‘from one both of a good head and heart.’ In this exposition of Psalm 89:6, which looks at the incomparable being, attributes, works, and word of God, Swinnock is not content to let the truth lie on the surface of the mind. He drives it home to the heart, using powerful arguments, colourful illustrations, and personal applications. His great desire is for the reader to come to know, enjoy and love the incomparable God of the Bible. ‘He who knows God aright is fully satisfied in him; when he once drinks of the “fountain of living waters,” he thirsts no more after other objects.’

‘The holiness and happiness of the rational creature consists in these two: his holiness, in conformity to God; his happiness, in communion with him. And these two have a dependence on each other. They only who are like him, can enjoy him.’

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‘The Christian world owes a great debt to Archibald Alexander. “Great” because he was the first professor in what would become the preeminent theological institution in the English speaking world—Princeton Seminary. The stamp of his influence on its ethos lasted for a hundred years. Here, in his Thoughts on Religious Experience we encounter the doctrinal richness, the spiritual penetration, and the wise discernment that thirty-nine successive classes of students tasted, and by which their ministries were permanently marked, and those to whom they ministered nourished and transformed. A work to be treasured indeed!’ — SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON

‘Archibald Alexander is not only a favourite for me but one who speaks as though he knows me as a friend. That is the feeling of many who read him, male and female, young and old. “He speaks to my heart”, my wife says. The experiences of a Christian, from new birth to death, are so varied and mysterious that it requires the love and wisdom of Christ to speak of them safely. No one pattern fits all. To Alexander this grace was given. Those who knew him well, such as Dr A.A.Hodge, did not think it too much to say of him: “More than any man of his generation he appeared to those who heard him to be endued with the knowledge and clothed with the authority of a prophet sent immediately from God.”‘ — IAIN H. MURRAY

Book Description

The nature of spiritual experience is probably both the most interesting and the most difficult subject in Christian literature: interesting because it concerns human life in all observable stages from childhood to death, and embraces all the emotions and behaviour possible in a man regenerated by the Holy Spirit; difficult because the adequate treatment of the subject makes immense demands upon the author. To trace sanctification and backsliding, as they appear in human consciousness, presupposes a sound biblical theology as well as a spirituality of mind and a pastoral knowledge broad enough to interpret all the varieties in type which occur. Twenty years a pastor and preacher in a revival era, then forty years a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary (commenced in 1812 when he was the sole instructor), Archibald Alexander brought to this volume the best wisdom of his life. From his own observations, and from case histories drawn from Christian biography, he follows his subject with the hand of a master. He was, in Dr. Theodore Woolsey’s words, ‘The Shakespeare of the Christian heart’. Primarily concerned with what ought to be the impression made upon the life by scriptural truths he has nothing of the vague devotionalism of the religious mystics. But within this biblical context a wide variety of experiences passes under review, along with a consideration of the practical problems involved in an understanding of the new-birth, Christian growth, spiritual conflict and kindred subjects. This is a lucid and fascinating volume almost alone in the field which it covers.

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This is the 32-page introductory booklet to the Puritan Classics box set.

‘When you are a new user of any library, however small, it is always helpful if one of the librarians gives you some idea of what you can expect to find, or perhaps recommends a book that you will appreciate, or tells you about a new author you might enjoy. Here, then, in chronological order, are brief introductions to the eleven authors whose works are included in the Puritan Classics box set.’ — SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON

If you purchase the Puritan Classics box set, this booklet will be included in your shipment.

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We live in difficult days and in trying times. This book, with its quaint yet vivid title, points us to the One in whom Christian men and women have always found the strength to persevere come what may. Taking Lamentations 3:24 as his starting-point – ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him,’ – Thomas Brooks expounds the attributes of God with the aim of comforting those who have felt not only the stresses and strains of daily life but also the searing pain of loss in its various forms. God, he says, ‘is a portion that is exactly suited to the condition of the soul in its desires, needs, wants, longings and prayers. All the soul needs is found in God. There is light to enlighten the soul, wisdom to counsel the soul, power to support the soul, goodness to supply the soul, mercy to pardon the soul, beauty to delight the soul, glory to ravish the soul, and fullness to fill the soul.’

‘All true comfort and happiness is only to be found in having an all-sufficient God for your portion.’

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In his Spiritual Unfolding of Bishop H. C. G. Moule, John Baird wrote, ‘No course of reading is more establishing than that of Christian biography — the battle story of those who in the conflict of earth have been great in the life of God.’ Swift and Beautiful tells the amazing stories of a dozen men and women who at great cost gave their lives to take the gospel of God’s grace to those who had not heard it. Some of these faithful missionaries are well-known, others almost forgotten, but all are ‘great in the life of God.’

‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”’ (Isaiah 52:7, ESV).

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‘Many people “go to church.” Sinclair Ferguson, with his typical gentleness and wisdom, teaches us how to ‘be the church’ as Christ defines it. This simple, clear, and moving book will be great help for people interested in learning more about becoming members of a church. It is also a good tool for those who wish to inject fresh zeal and joy into the membership they already possess.’ — JOEL BEEKE

Book Description

Being a Christian is not an individualistic or isolated activity. Believing also involves belonging. Being a Christian, by definition, involves belonging to the church.

This is not a book full of ideas about how your church ought to change or what it needs to do in order to grow or to be successful. Rather it is about how we fit into our own church. There are hallmarks of church life that should be stamped on all our churches because they are applicable everywhere and anywhere — New Testament values for any size of church, in any part of the world, at any time.

Devoted to God’s Church will serve to help new Christians understand what it is to be part of a church, and will also be a refreshing reminder to every Christian of what it should look like to belong to the family of God.

Reviews

• Book review by Aaron Lee
• Book review by Mark Redfern (9marks)

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Robert Traill (1642–1716) lived to span the ripest period of the Puritan age. Distinguished in the classes of Edinburgh University, Traill early felt the inner constraint to preach Christ. Although he was endowed with a first-class mind and had enjoyed a very complete theological education, Traill was above all a preacher and a pastor who strove at all times to promote practical godliness in his sermons and writings. Every reader who shares his outlook will find him warm, instructive, and encouraging.

This selection of Traill’s practical writings is an excellent introduction to the two-volume edition of his Works.

Strive for the knowledge of him. It is the ignorance of God that is the most universal cause of all the sin and misery in the world, and in the church.

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‘This arresting account of Brownlow North’s life and work recalls one of the greatest evangelists of the nineteenth century.’ — REFORMED EVANGELICAL REVIEW

‘Biography is essential to the diet of the Christian reader and this is of the finest. Warmly written, it is refreshing to read, depicting afresh the power of the gospel in the life of a man whom God was to use powerfully.’ — AUSTRALIAN CHURCH RECORD

Book Description

The fruitfulness of Brownlow North’s ministry led him to become known as the ‘John the Baptist of the great awakening of 1859’. But what can this largely forgotten evangelist of the nineteenth century teach us today?

His preaching was marked by an eloquent, but unadorned proclamation of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. He brought fresh impetus to the old truths. He preached to both the hearts and intellects of his hearers. It was biblical evangelism driven by biblical theology. This is what defined Brownlow North’s ministry, and his example is a lesson for us today.

This compact biography sheds light on the life and ministry of a man who had experienced for himself the transforming power of the gospel, and who was used by God to bring many others to know that same power. After Brownlow North’s death in 1875, the then Archbishop of Canterbury wrote to a friend: ‘No one could know him without seeing that his heart and life were devoted to his Master’s service, and that he burned to preach to others what he had found so precious to his own soul.’

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In possessing a copy of Grace and Glory the reader has in his or her hands a book of sermons which are almost as rare as they are remarkable. Not only so, but in addition to the six sermons which originally constituted the volume Grace and Glory the present edition includes a further nine sermons which Vos preached in the Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1896 and 1913, as well as an undated exposition of Ephesians 2:4, 5 translated from Dutch. This additional material has been provided to the publishers by James T. Dennison, the Librarian of Westminster Theological Seminary in California and the editor of the journal Kerux, in which the bulk of it has already been printed. Mr Dennison originally uncovered Vos’s personal sermon book in 1971 in the Heritage Hall Archive of Calvin Theological Seminary and transcribed the material.

As heirs of his labours the publishers are also indebted to the Heritage Hall Archive of Calvin Seminary for the privilege of reproducing the material in this more permanent form. But the uniqueness of these sermons extends far beyond the difficulty of obtaining the original edition of Grace and Glory or the providences which led to the rediscovery of the manuscript material now in book form for the first time. It is the nature of the sermons themselves which will have a stunning effect on the reader. For they combine such constantly penetrating depths of biblical and theological understanding with such soaring heights of eloquence that it is difficult to imagine their like being heard in any pulpit in the world today. They are at one and the same time intensely demanding on the reader and glorious in their exposition of Scripture. These pages contain a thesaurus of theological riches, a gold mine whose every vein is packed with gleaming insight. Such is the character of these sermons that, to a world which is obsessed with ‘sound-bites’ and in a church which has become unused to concentrated thought, their content and style may seem almost overwhelming…In these pages the reader is invited, almost commanded and certainly demanded, to become a spiritual mountaineer. There are times when many will be left gasping for the higher oxygen levels of the lower slopes. But Vos was aiming for the summit, and those who follow him there will find panoramic views of the wonders of God and his ways which will make the ascent immensely rewarding.

Here, then, is material calculated to enrich the mind, heart, will and emotions; grace and glory indeed.

— From the Introduction by Sinclair B. Ferguson

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Podcasts

• Podcast from Reformed Forum: ‘Vos Group Exursus — Grace and Glory: Sermons of Geerhardus Vos’

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‘It is one of the clearest principles of Divine revelation, that holiness is the fruit of truth; and it is one of the plainest inferences from that principle, that the exhibition of the truth is the best means of promoting holiness. Christians regard the word of God as the only infallible teacher of those truths which relate to the salvation of men. But are the Scriptures really a revelation from God? If they are, what doctrines do they teach? And what influence should those doctrines exert on our heart and life?

The publishing committee of the American Sunday School Union have long felt the want of a book which should give a plain answer to these questions, and be suitable to place in the hands of intelligent and educated young persons, either to arouse their attention, or to guide their steps in the way of life.

If this little book should be instrumental, by the simple exhibition of the truth, in pointing out the way of life to those who are anxious to know what they must believe and what they must experience in order to be saved, it will answer the design of its preparation and publication.’

— From the Preface

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life. — Jeremiah 21:8

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To call the arrest, trial, scourging and crucifixion of Jesus Christ a miscarriage of justice is true as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. Christ’s death on the cross was not an accident but, as his resurrection attests, was accomplished according to the sovereign, loving will of God, by which sinners can be reconciled to the One who made them, and can pass by grace from death to life.

In this memorable set of sermons which date from 1557 to 1558, Calvin, chief pastor of the Genevan church, offers a sensitive reading of Matthew’s account of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. The preacher’s focus, however, is not so much on the events themselves as on their significance, on what he calls the fruit and efficacy of Christ’s redemptive work. What, in practical terms, is the import of the Easter message for the life of faith? Calvin’s answer has vital implications not only for what we believe but for the way we live, serve, worship and pray.

Newly translated from the French of 1558 by Robert White.

‘If we seek for salvation, the name of Jesus alone teaches us that it is in him. … If we desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we will find them in his anointing. If we are looking for strength, we have it in his lordship…If we ask for redemption, his passion provides it. In his condemnation we have our absolution. If we want pardon for sin’s curse, that gift lies in his cross. Atonement we have in his sacrifice and cleansing in his blood. Our reconciliation was effected by his descent into hell; the mortification of our flesh lies in his burial, and newness of life in his resurrection, through which we also have the hope of immortality.’ –JOHN CALVIN

Reviews

Book review by Aaron Lee.

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