Editorial
Man's Chief End
(Part Two)John Duncan
and the Minister's Self-knowledge
Words Worth Weighing
From Jonathan Edwards
Books
Letter
This year marks the tercentenary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards. While we wish to take nothing from Him who declares: "I will not give my glory to another", yet it would be churlish and ungrateful of us not to acknowledge God's gift of one of the most godly men to have adorned His Church. Both spiritually and intellectually Edwards was raised to the same high level as Augustine, Calvin and Owen, and by God's grace has exercised a similar (though not such an extensive) influence. As a model of ministerial faithfulness, heavenly-mindedness and self-effacing humility, he had few equals and perhaps no superiors. Out of appreciation for Edwards' finest qualities, John 'Rabbi' Duncan was constrained to say: "I would like to sit at Jonathan Edwards' feet, to learn what is true religion." His calm and massive intellect was as comprehensive in its grasp of Biblical truth (History of Redemption) as it was penetrating in its diagnosis of the human heart (Religious Affections and sermons on the state of natural men) and logical in its pursuit of inferences from acknowledged truths (Treatise on the Will). His defences of the Biblical and Calvinistic doctrines of the sovereignty of God in salvation, the impotence of the fallen human will and the potency of divine grace have never been answered. While his refined distinctions (eg between 'natural' and 'moral ability', between 'common' and 'saving' grace and between the 'view' and 'sense' of spiritual realities) have been challenged, yet rightly understood, they are thoroughly Scriptural. Perhaps, however, his greatest contribution to theology is his setting forth of the glory of God as the chief end of the whole creation, and the way in which he links this with His people's eternal enjoyment of Himself. In such exalted regions he resembles the great Puritan John Howe. His instrumental involvement in revivals -- as preacher, diagnostic soul-physician and historian -- has served as a guide in this spiritual mine-field to many unwary travellers. Lastly, the touching beauty of his family life and the remarkable influence of the Edwards 'clan' on American Christianity leaves us in no doubt as to the rich blessing of our gracious covenant God on him and his successors. Though we are pygmies by comparison, may we seek grace to follow him who, with countless others, now inherits the promises of grace and glory.
When we turn from the eminently practical thoughts of Thomas Boston to those of Jonathan Edwards, we meet with a 'breath-taking vision of divine glory' (Mark Noll's phrase).
The reason for this is two-fold:
First, Edwards's scale in handling the topic of man's chief end is cosmic. The very title of his treatise dealing with it -- The End for Which God Created the World -- indicates this.
Secondly, Edwards's devout mind dwells naturally in those lofty regions where man's chief end is forged; namely, in the spiritual acts of God.
Recalling that the Answer to the First Question of the Shorter Catechism places man's chief end in both glorifying and enjoying God, we observe that Edwards' main purpose is to show how these two elements are linked. This purpose is summarized in a rather complex and profound statement: 'In the creature's knowing, esteeming, loving, rejoicing in and praising God, the glory of God is both exhibited and acknowledged, His fullness is received and returned... The refulgence shines upon and into the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The beams of glory come from God, are something of God, and are refunded back again to their original. So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God; and He is the beginning, and the middle, and the end.' [John Howe says something similar in his Blessedness of the Righteous.] A simpler statement of the same truth claims that 'The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God by which also God is magnified and exalted.' And again: 'God in seeking His glory seeks the good of His creatures, because the emanation of His glory...implies the...happiness of His creatures.' These two therefore -- God's revealing and our loving reflection back of His glory -- should never be separated.
In the broadest terms Edwards is thinking of the whole creation glorifying and enjoying its Creator. Thus, as taught (for example) by Psalms 8 and 104, he states that all God's works in the natural world, both in creation and providence, are designed to glorify Him and do actually glorify Him. [Edwards' remarkable study of spiders while still a boy is only one instance of his fascination with the natural works of God.]
More particularly, he sees God's general providence expressed in all the good He ever bestows on us all, along with His moral government in wrath and mercy (see Numbers 14.23 and Romans 9.23 for examples), as a manifestation of His glory to the whole world.
More particularly still, he upholds such special providences as Israel's deliverance from Egypt and Babylon and His people's salvation from sin as specially designed to show forth His glory.
Indeed, all the worship and service God has ever ordained in this world were set up for this end.
The phrase "for my name's sake" (1 Sam 12.12; Psa 23.3 and 79.9, etc) also indicates God's express purpose to glorify Himself in the salvation of His people, for His 'name' is Himself in the glory of all His revealed perfections.
Even the 'best saints' on earth, along with the saints and angels in heaven, are not excluded from Edwards' survey, since their chief end is not to shine in their own created glory, but to reflect His whose glory is infinitely greater. 'Thus it is evident,' he concludes, 'that the glory of God is the ultimate end of the work of redemption.' [Phil 2.6-11; Eph 1.3-12; 2 Cor 4.14; Isa 44.23 and 48.10-11 are specially cited to confirm this truth.]
The best example of living to God's glory is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. From such texts as John 7.18; 12.27-28 and 17.1 Edwards concludes: 'On the whole, I think it is pretty manifest that Jesus Christ sought the glory of God as His highest and last end.' In all His labours and sufferings, he says, Christ combined 'the happiness and salvation of men' with concern for 'God's glory.'
In a word, Edwards lays before us all the proof he can muster for the thesis that our chief end is attained when His people are brought to glorify and enjoy God forever. This is how the two strands in our chief end -- to glorify and enjoy God -- are inseparably linked. After all, 'What is glorifying God', he asks rhetorically, 'but a rejoicing at that glory He has displayed?' Thus God's glory and His people's happiness are never at odds, but perfectly agree. God is glorified when we are delightfully satisfied that He is simply who He is. Our happiness, springing from a God-given regard for God, therefore consists in 'beholding God's glory, in esteeming and loving it, and rejoicing in it.' This is the chief end for which God created and redeemed us, 'that He might communicate' and that we might 'receive' His glory by both 'mind and heart.'
Besides clarifying what our chief end is, as ordained by God, Edwards goes on to tell us why we should glorify and enjoy Him:
Firstly, it is because God has made the enjoyment of His glory His own chief end. In this, as in all else, God Himself is to be our model or pattern. This is a perspective that very few consider.
Then again, this is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. 'To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.' All earthly friends, however dear, 'are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the ocean.' He alone, therefore, satisfies the longing soul.
Thirdly, rejoicing in God is more honouring to Him than merely seeing Him: 'God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart.'
Furthermore, both all God's glory and all our enjoyment of it has been made to centre in Christ. 'God is glorified within Himself,' he states, 'by appearing . . to Himself . . in His Son, who is the brightness of His glory,' and by 'enjoying and delighting in Himself' in Christ. So, it is as He has revealed Himself to us in Christ that He would have us glorify and enjoy Him. Doubtless Edwards' own experience contributed much to this Christ-centred emphasis. 'I had a view,' he reflects elsewhere, '...of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and His wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love and meek, gentle condescension... The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception.'
This too is the chief reason Edwards alleges for studying 'divinity' or Christian theology. It is because 'the glorious work of redemption' is 'the most glorious work that ever was wrought' and because 'the great things of the heavenly world' are 'the glorious and eternal inheritance purchased by Christ' that we should be pre-occupied with them. God is glorified and enjoyed when we study 'divinity' according to God's mind and self-contemplation.
Indeed, very touchingly, this is why Edwards was so much drawn to his future wife. When he first became acquainted with Sarah Pierrepoint, he described her as one 'who is loved of that great Being who made and rules the world', who 'comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight', so that 'she hardly cares for anything except to meditate on Him.' As she goes about, he continued, 'singing sweetly' and 'walking in the field and groves' she 'seems to have some-one invisible always conversing with her.' Observe the emphasis. It was not by 'speculative reasoning' or 'argument' that Sarah came to delight in God, but by God Himself granting her a 'sense' or 'taste' or 'relish' of Himself. So it must be for us all: 'It must be a more immediate, sensible discovery that must give the mind a real sense of the excellency and beauty of God.' In an age which glorified reason as the key to all secrets, human and divine, this superb reasoner rejects 'defective' reason as a guide in any sense to discovering how we may glorify and enjoy God. Instead, we are cast wholly on 'divine revelation' coupled with the illumination of the Spirit who alone searches the deep things of God.
These few remarks are sufficient to show that all Edwards' energy was bent on 'serving the true end of all things, namely, the manifestation of the glory of God in a spiritual sight and enjoyment of that glory.' (John Piper) It remains for us merely to draw a few practical lessons from the exalted vision he was vouchsafed.
1. We are to perceive and receive the doctrine of God as revealed in His Word. The glory of God shining through that doctrine is to be savoured and enjoyed till God Himself becomes our supreme delight. The doctrine itself will not bring us to our chief end; but when it is applied to us by the hand of the Holy Spirit the resulting sight and sense of God will. Only when the Spirit of God Himself enables us by faith to grasp the truth that God is glorious in all His perfections shall we be brought to delight in those perfections because we perceive their beauty and excellence. This, says Edwards, is faith working by love. Then we shall be brought to experience both the command and the promise found in Psalm 37.4 -- "Delight thyself in God; He'll give thine heart's desire to thee." The most ardent desires of God's people, claims Edwards, both in heaven and on earth, are that 'God might be glorified.' It is not so much a regard for our own salvation (though that is legitimate), nor even for the salvation of others, that brings us to fulfil our chief end, but an 'exalted and supreme regard to the most high and infinitely glorious Being,' namely, the God of Holy Scripture. So Psalm 115.1, Proverbs 16.4 and Revelation 4.11 teach, and so teaches Edwards.
2. The essence of sin is to rob God of His glory and deprive poor lost souls of their supreme happiness, even to delight in God. Ever since we sinned in Adam, we "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God" for the hollow and specious glory of the creature (Rom 1.23) and so continually "fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3.23), our chief end. What should distress us most, therefore, is not what we suffer by the ravages of sin, but how God is robbed of His glory by it. [See Jer 3.12-13] Furthermore, the sinfulness of sin consists in us seeking our chief happiness in anything other than God, especially in gratifying and expressing our sinful selves. [See Edwards' Charity and Its Fruits on 'charity seeketh not her own.'] What we need, therefore, to deliver us from sin, is a work of God that will enlighten our minds, sanctify our affections and renew our wills till our whole soul is brought to give God, and God alone, the glory that is His due, and to enjoy Him as our own God and Saviour. Our holiness will then be an infusion of the beauty of His holiness and our happiness a partaking of His joy in Himself.
3. We must never forget that God's inflexible commitment to maintain and display His glory is never in conflict with His invincible determination to bring His people to enjoy Him for ever. He is both a just God and a Saviour. His zeal to glorify Himself and His zeal to save His people are inseparable. He is as committed to their eternal enjoyment of Himself as to the eternal display of His perfections. [See Zephaniah 3.17]
4. The people of God will spend eternity in the ever-increasing discovery of how glorious their God is, to their eternal delight. In the words of Edwards himself: they shall rise 'higher and higher through that infinite duration...[to an] infinite height.' This notion goes beyond Scripture.
5. The best way to fulfil our chief end now is to preach (if called) and encourage the preaching of the true Gospel. Our evangelism should never be man-centred, or an attempt to persuade others that God can meet their present needs, felt or unfelt. Neither should it give man the least credit for anything. As Spurgeon once said: 'All more than hell is mercy.' Rather, we should act on the assured knowledge that the light of the true Gospel is nothing less than "the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor 4.6). This is what needs to be shone into the dark and sin-warped hearts of men with enlightening and transforming power. Let us seek grace to be faithful to our God-given charge and leave God to glorify Himself in our hearers' salvation or damnation.
6. The essence of pure and true worship is a communal desire and endeavour to delight in God's glory as we see it displayed in His sanctuary. [See Psalms 27.4; 42.1-2; 63.1-2] Nothing gives God His rightful place and honour more than a church fully persuaded that all we need is Himself! not fine buildings, clever men and women, gaudy trappings, obscure symbols, showy processions, more money, vast congregations, a name to live, or any other fair show in the flesh, but just God. This is why our constant prayer should be, in private and public: "I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory." (Exod 33.18) Such longing desires are essential to acceptable worship. [See Psa 50.15; John 14.13] Anything less is nothing but a dead form, like a corpse strewn with flowers.
7. All our learning and scholarship should be directed towards the goal of revealing how glorious God is. How many today undertake scholarly research for no higher end than to gain a Ph.D., or obtain some post in an academically-respectable college or university! There is not the slightest hint in their learned papers of their consciously and deliberately making their work display His glory. Thus they rob God of His glory while promoting their own ends. [Pascal has a delightful passage on the spiritual and moral nakedness of clerics, scholars and judges stripped of their glorious robes!] Edwards calls all such unsanctified scholarship 'light without heat, a head stored with notions and speculations with a cold and unaffected heart.' What a solemn warning to all of us who study the things of God!
8. God is glorified in our death when we meet it as an immense gain. Christ is greatly glorified, says Edwards on Philippians 1.20-23, when we show in our death that we prefer to gain Him than to retain all earthly things.
In conclusion, how much we should appreciate God's gift to His Church of Jonathan Edwards and his wonderful grasp of our chief end. Comments John Piper: 'Edwards is strongest where we are weakest. He knows God. He sees and savours the supremacy of God in all things. Our culture is dying for want of this vision and this God.' Indeed, Jonathan Edwards' emphasis is more needed today than even in the Age of Reason when he wrote. What Edwards himself saw is truer now than it was even then: 'the modern religion consists so little in respect to the Divine Being, and almost wholly in benevolence to men.' Let us then seek grace to set forth His glory in our day -- the glory of His holiness, wisdom, sovereignty, justice, power, mercy, love and grace -- as revealed in both nature and Christ. This is God's own ordained way of bringing us to the present and eternal enjoyment of Himself, and so to our chief end.
At the opening of his Institutes, Calvin remarks that true and substantial wisdom consists in the knowledge of God and of ourselves. This is true. Not only are the two inter-active, they are also proportional. The more we know God, the more we know ourselves. Conversely, the less we know God, the less we know ourselves. When on Dr John Duncan's death his friend William Knight wrote: "With him has perished a breathing library of wisdom", he unwittingly acknowledged that John Duncan knew more of God and of himself than he was aware of. It is the second of these topics, Dr Duncan's self-knowledge as a minister of the Gospel, that we will consider this evening. And in the manner of certain stereotyped preachers we will deal with only three points, and then seek to draw out some lessons from them for ourselves.
Dr Duncan knew how undisciplined he was, even to the point of regarding his lack of discipline as a sin, with the result that he suffered the keenest self-reproach. Let us take three areas of indiscipline:
(a) Though Dr Duncan acknowledged with the strength of the deepest conviction that God is a God of order, yet he found himself constitutionally unable to order or pre-arrange his own study of languages. "I get so absorbed in linguistic studies," he confessed, "that I forget my duty to God and to my fellow-men." Again, he says, "My great temptation is to the inordinate study of language." And again, "I am deficient in order; it is sinful; we must remember that God is a God of order." In connection with his inordinate love of books he confesses, "These are my 'world.' What social dissipation is to another man, study is to me -- worldliness." It was probably in connection with this undisciplined devotion to languages that on one recorded occasion the Lord deserted him, constraining the complaint, "It is not a clean desertion. It is very dirty... I know the cause: a life of self-pleasing instead of to the glory of God - backsliding. And now, when there is the desire to return, there comes the difficulty. Oh, I have need of the hospital. 'Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee.' (Psa 41.4).
(b) This lack of self-discipline was evidenced by Dr Duncan's habitual failure to be where he was expected to be and to do what needed to be done. Many a story I heard while living in Aberdeen of Dr Duncan's absent-mindedness resulting from his devotion to study. On one occasion, he was walking inland up Deeside to fulfil an engagement, and stopped to take a pinch of snuff. Of course, he had a book in his hand. Turning round so that the wind was at his back, he took his pinch and carried on walking, only to find himself back in Aberdeen! Such stories are legion, and Dr Duncan did nothing to discourage their circulation. Indeed, he once remarked that he had begun to believe them himself!
The most startling and almost incredible instance of this thoughtlessness, however, is connected with his second marriage. As the wedding hour drew near, his niece sent him to his room to dress. But the act of undressing was in his mind associated with going to bed, and going to bed was associated with taking a book to read. When the cab arrived, there was no sign of the bridegroom in his wedding suit. His niece went to inquire what had happened, and found him in bed sound asleep with a Hebrew book in his hand!
(a) A further area of Dr Duncan's awareness of his lack of discipline was that of teaching and preaching, especially the former. His theological lectures often evoked complaints from his students that they lacked method. This may be the reason why he was unsuccessful in applying for the Chair of Oriental Languages at Glasgow University. As he was exegeting a passage from the Psalms, for example, he would stumble across a Hebrew word that would excite his linguistic curiosity, and would proceed to pursue its ramifications down By-path lane in Aramaic, Assyrian, Sanskrit, etc, with the inevitable result that the students completely lost track of him! The same was true of some of his sermons, especially at Milton Chapel, Glasgow. His lengthy cogitations in the pulpit were way beyond the grasp of most of his hearers, particularly when he plumbed the depths of the Spirit's dealings with men's hearts. Inevitably there was a thinning down of the congregation.
(b) Another factor in this connection was Dr Duncan's inability to write out his lectures, sermons and Assembly speeches. He had a constitutional aversion to writing, and on one occasion confessed that the attempt to write made him physically sick. Evidently he did not need Lord Bacon's dictum: "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." His remarkable ability to think his way through a subject made the finished spoken product as precisely chiselled as a diamond.
One other aspect of Dr Duncan's lack of discipline was the inordinate length of his prayers, both at family worship and before his class lectures. On one occasion his opening prayer occupied the entire hour allotted to the lecture! But his explanation, which was not pleaded as a mitigation or an excuse, was this: "I fear I have been very long today; but when one thinks he has got in, it is very difficult to get out again!" [Incidentally, Dr Duncan took note of indiscipline in the public prayers of others. "We have far too many preaching prayers," he complained. "Many good ministers preach to God!"]
[One example of his absent-mindedness cannot be omitted. Dr Moody Stuart observed: "He could be slyly absent when he did not care to be present." While he was in Scotland he often had to be roused from his bed to begin the day's tasks; but at Pest in Hungary he was always first up and ready to take the early train. "Why is this?" inquired one of the party. "People at home think you're not able to look after yourself," he replied. "I'm lazy, and they think I'm stupid, but at home I know I'll be looked after."]
Before moving to our second designated area of Dr Duncan's self-knowledge, let us draw two simple lessons for ourselves in the work of the ministry:
1. Some of us may need to confess the same lack of discipline as Dr Duncan had, whether in our studies, teaching, preaching, social lack of punctuality or prayer. We are so easily carried away by our impulsive natures or some short-lived enthusiasm. How many unfulfilled projects and good intentions lie scattered around our manses or our minds! How idolatrous we are about books and study, to the neglect of pastoral visits! or vice versa.
2. We need to exercise strict self-discipline in all these areas. Let us seek grace to regulate our habits around the needs of our people and the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ at large. Let us not dissipate our energies, but redeem the time.
This aspect of Dr Duncan's life was not so much the fruit of morbid introspection but of an extreme sensitivity to two factors that are always present:
(1) The searching way in which the Lord Jesus Christ deals with His people through their spiritual experience. This awareness was crystallized by Dr Duncan in the saying: "Christ casts out none that come to Him, but He searches all that come."
(2) The unattainably high standards of Christian character set forth in the Word of God. For Dr Duncan holiness meant HOLINESS - inward and outward separation from the least stain of sin coupled with the utmost dedication to God. He dreaded equally a shallow believism, a triumphalist activism and a mere intellectualism.
It was the conjunction of these two factors - the searching nature of Christ's dealings with us and the high standard of Christian character required of us by God - that produced in Dr Duncan a self-knowledge rarely surpassed in Christian biography.
This self-knowledge expressed itself in four significant ways:
Dr David Brown, his most intimate friend, remarked: "I never knew a more tender conscience on every point of duty, a more quick sensibility to whatever he thought morally or religiously wrong, and a deeper sense of compunction and distress at any deviation from duty, whether patent to the eye of man or not." A fine example of this appears in his saying one morning: "What a wicked thought I had in going to bed last night: 'If I were sure I were a Christian I would not pray tonight.'" Another example is provided by his rebuke of a student before the whole Hebrew class for handing in a poorly-worked exercise. When the student explained that he had been sitting up all night with a dying friend, Dr Duncan publicly apologized to him before the class. He regarded this as not only courteous but also as morally binding on him.
For these he offered the following explanation: "I am naturally of a sceptical turn of mind, and since I have been delivered from doubt about God and the great truths of redemption, my scepticism has taken the form of doubt about my own salvation." His perplexity appears in the subtle admission: "I have not come to the conviction that He will not save me; I believe that He is able, and I have not concluded that He is unwilling." He speaks the language of many when he said again: "I have never had any doubts about the truths of Christianity, about the sufficiency of Christ's atonement. My doubts have been about my interest in Him, whether I were truly united to Him." More specifically: "My fearfulness is not at all from the law; it is from the gospel. The gospel, and that just when I could seek to embrace it, detects sin, detects unbelief, detects the carnal mind - that I am not willing to be saved in God's way." Perhaps the most poignant expression of his anguish on this account was voiced only a few weeks before his death. To a friend seeking to comfort him with the promise, 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.' (Isa 43.2), he replied rather sharply: "What makes you so confident about me? You cannot search the heart like God. Is my Christianity so very apparent?" Yet even in such depths a gleam of gospel light gave him hope: "If I am dying," he said once, "I don't know where I'm going; but since it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the chief, I may be saved. I am not able to examine myself; my friends will have it that it is real - I must just go on the present offer of Christ; if I have not done it before, I may receive Him now." Indeed, knowingly or not, Dr Duncan later betrayed the presence of grace in his heart when he said: "Well, if I were sure of heaven, there is nothing I would like better than to depart and be with Christ." Clearly, what Dr Duncan lacked was not grace but assurance.
Now Dr Duncan fully acknowledged that all such doubting was sin. "In him who desires union to the Lord first above all things," he confessed, "doubt of the forgiveness is agonizing to himself and dishonouring to Christ." Hence, one of his most frequent requests to friends: "Pray for me; pray for pardon; pray for purity."
Of Dr Duncan's sincere and ardent love for Christ even he himself was sometimes conscious. "Christ is a wonderful Being," he once said. "We could never do without Christ." And again: "Can you conceive anything more beautiful than the character of Jesus Christ?" And again: "It is death to be separated from Christ for a moment." And again: "There is an unknown attractiveness in Jesus Christ." Perhaps the sweetest example of this is found in his remark to the Hebrew class following the opening prayer: "Dear young gentlemen, I have just got a glimpse of Jesus."
So, although Dr Duncan called himself a Mr Fearing, admitted to babbling about assurance he did not possess, and was very skilful in relieving the doubts of others, he was always conscious of the possibility of himself being saved. Though he knew that seeking would not save him (as he told a beggar woman on the streets of Edinburgh), yet he knew that in God's mercy seeking would result in finding, and that finding would save him. And so we find him almost contentedly saying: "There are times when . . I cannot read my Bible and I cannot pray. But I go out into my garden to consider the lilies how they grow." and advising others: "Consider Jesus Christ, and if you can't consider Christ, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow."
Commenting on Asaph's longing for God at the close of Psalm 73 he spoke from experience of "an intense desire, of such intensity of desire as has a tendency to debilitate the powers." Perhaps his remarks on the Answer to the First Question of the Shorter Catechism best exemplify this: "I pass over the first part mainly with an intellectual approbation of its moral rectitude as a requirement -- 'Man's chief end is to glorify God' [what honesty!] -- while every fibre of my soul winds itself round the latter part -- 'to enjoy Him forever' -- with unutterable, sickening, fainting desire." He proceeds: "But I pray the Lord my God to circumcise my heart to love the Lord my God; to love Him for His own essential, revealed excellencies with devoted love; that the Beloved (O my soul, O Spirit of the Lord, is He or is He not my Beloved?) may be mine, and I His, and I His, AND I HIS!"
1. Let us beware of the tyranny of prolonged self-scrutiny. We are all vulnerable and frail. We are all imperfectly sanctified. And if we are sensitive, introverted by temperament, deeply serious in the things of God, or belong to a church whose emphasis is mainly experiential and which fails to keep a healthy balance between doctrine, experience and practice, we must beware of just how able are frames and feelings to lead us about wherever they please. In this Slough of Despond many have lost sight of the Saviour altogether. Some even struggle all their days to extricate themselves from the morass of feelings, impulses and ideas into which they have fallen. Did not M'Cheyne say, following Rutherford: "For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ."?
2. Let us seek grace to avoid the opposite danger; namely, of making a saviour out of our spiritual experiences. It is dreadfully possible for people to glory in their imagined spirituality, and to confound their own spiritual motions and hunches with the leading of the Spirit of God, to the great dishonour of Christ and distress of others. This is nothing but wild fanaticism. Dear friends, beware of making a saviour of your doubts, fears, concerns, faith, love, tears, sincerity, assurance, service, anything! The heart is deceitful above all things, and Satan is ever near to entangle us in ourselves. CHRIST ALONE IS THE RESTING-PLACE OF YOUR SOUL. All our self-knowledge, if given by the Holy Spirit, will lead us to Him. And if we discern the least spark of grace in ourselves, let us humbly thank Him who gave it and who alone can increase it. And if we are shown the carnal mind within, working in enmity towards God, let us seek pardon and cleansing for it in the precious blood of Christ. He, and not our experience, is our Saviour.
Let us hear his own testimony on the subject: "The more I study language, the more I am convinced of this, that particular shades of thought are wedded to particular words. If you disuse the words, you lose the thought." Again: "I would advise everyone to be careful to use no more words than are necessary to express thought." So meticulous was Dr Duncan in applying this principle to the study of Holy Scripture that he closed his students in to the strictest exegesis of their set texts, sternly insisting: "We are not at liberty to leave apostolic exegesis for our own ideas." Accordingly, he himself was fastidious in his choice of words. As Dr David Brown confirms: "The words often dropped very slowly from his lips, but they were always apt words, worth waiting for." Dr Moody Stuart speaks to the same effect: "He had a fastidious sense of the music of words."
This being so, we find Dr Duncan's language marked by three leading features:
[In considering this feature, we remember that Dr Duncan spoke the purest classical Latin fluently.] R.J.Sandeman, one of his students, observed this aspect of his teacher's language: "He strove to give his thoughts a certain chaste beauty of form: some of his characteristic sayings, through being often repeated, became almost perfect in point of form." For compactness, theological comprehensiveness, equilibrium and musical rhythm, the following samples are gems:
(1) "All God's Law is 'Thou shalt love', and all His Gospel is 'God so loved.'"
(2) "Beware of him who, if not in matter, yet in manner, preaches himself."
(3) "The creature's first duty is to be what God made him. His next duty is to do what God ordains."
(4) [On prelates in the House of Lords] "As lords they are not spiritual, and as spiritual they are not lords."
(5) "Our Lord was always without sin in Him, but He had a great load of sin on Him."
On this point William Knight remarked: "His thoughts naturally took an aphoristic form. . . . Brevity and sententious fulness always characterized them." Adds John Donaldson, one of his students: "His sayings, aided by their epigrammatic terseness and point, stuck fast in the memory, in their measure, like texts of Scripture."
Here are a few examples:
(1) "Never admit an Arminian into your pulpit."
(2) "Hyper-Calvinism is all house and no door; Arminianism is all door and no house."
(3) "The best preaching is: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and keep the ten commandments."
(4) "The Gospel is a prepared feast for unprepared guests."
(5) "I am first a Christian, next a Catholic, next a Calvinist, next a Paedo-Baptist, last a Presbyterian. I cannot reverse this order."
The examples cited reveal a rare angle of vision and the most acute spiritual perception:
(1) "Can you be happy just by thinking that God is happy?"
(2) "What will worldlings think when their god is all in a blaze?"
(3) "Who can tell the hatefulness of not loving God?"
(4) "What will the judgment-seat be to the graceless minister?"
Such striving for perfect form of expression was deliberate with Dr Duncan, and was therefore a conscious aspect of his self-knowledge as a minister.
1. Let us never be careless or shoddy in our speech. As ambassadors of Christ, we should consciously seek out the most apt words for our thoughts (Prov 25.11) and cultivate good diction, pronunciation, articulation and voice-projection. How can we expect the Lord to bless our attempts to communicate His truth if our reading and preaching of Holy Scripture is slovenly or marked by offensive peculiarities?
2. Let us seek out the best ways of presenting God's truth to others. We are not to be pale imitators, like Robert Leighton's ape and Dr Lloyd-Jones's chimpanzees. That would be both dishonest and foolish. But let us strive after Dr Shedd's three ideals of plain-ness, force and beauty. These features characterized so much of Dr Duncan's speech, and they should characterize ours. After all, consider the Saviour's own reading and preaching.
In conclusion, let us recapitulate the three leading lessons we may learn from Dr Duncan's intense self-scrutiny:
in our studying, preaching, teaching, social habits and prayers. In view of the pressures on our time, our natural inclination to please ourselves and the fact that one fruit of the Spirit is self-control, this need is imperative.
As Dr Duncan himself put it: "When self-examination terminates . . . I must just leave my case in His hands who can make it good if it is bad, and if it is good clear it up to me."
Brethren, we have received the highest calling on earth, we are responsible for precious souls, and we must give an account of our ministry. May we pray for each other, that God will not be dis-honoured by our carelessness, but that He would make us able ministers of the New Testament, to His glory, others' benefit and our comfort.
"The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." (Psa 14.1)... The words in the original are thus "The fool hath said in his heart, no God." The words there is are not in the original, but were put in by the translators. Now, if we read the words so, "The fool hath said in his heart, no God," they will perhaps show the Psalmist's meaning more fully than as they are now translated. "The fool hath said in his heart, no God." That is: 'I would have none, I do not desire any, I wish there was none; that would suit my inclination best.' That is the language of the inclinations of a natural man: no God. 'Let there be no God for me, let me have no God; let the world be emptied of a God, He stands in my way.' And hence he is an atheist in his heart, he is ready to think there is none.
Consider that Christ is a remedy at hand. You need not wish for the wings of a dove that you may fly afar off and be at rest, but Christ is nigh at hand, if you were but sensible of it. Romans 10.6,7,8... There is no need of doing any great work to come at this rest; the way is plain to it; it is but going to it, it is but sitting down under Christ's shadow. Christ requires no money to purchase rest of Him, He calls us to come freely and for nothing. If we are poor and have no money, we may come. Christ sent out His servants to invite the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind. Christ does not want to be hired to accept of you and to give you rest. It is His work as Mediator to give rest to the weary, it is the work that He was anointed for, and in which He delights.
What cause have they to bless God, and to live to His glory, who have received such a privilege as is implied in the influence of the Holy Spirit working saving grace in the heart. If we do but seriously consider the state of the godly...we cannot but be astonished at the wonderful grace bestowed upon them. And the more we consider it, the more wonderful and inexpressible it will appear. When we read in the Scriptures of the great privileges conferred on the virgin Mary, and on the apostle Paul when he was caught up into the third heaven, we are ready to admire such privileges as very great. But after all, they are as nothing compared with the privilege of being like Christ, and having His love in the heart.
The joy of hypocrites is in themselves; hence it comes to pass that in their rejoicings and elevations they are wont to keep their eyes upon themselves. Having received what they call spiritual discoveries or experiences, their minds are taken up about them, admiring their own experiences. What they are principally taken and elevated with is not the glory of God, or beauty of Christ, but the beauty of their experiences. They keep thinking with themselves, "What a good experience is this! What a great discovery is this! What wonderful things have I met with!" And so they put their experiences in the place of Christ and His beauty and fulness... They take more comfort in their discoveries than in Christ discovered.
True believers do not have such a spirit of discernment that they can determine with certainty who are godly and who are not. For though they know by experience what true religion is, they can neither see nor feel the hearts of others. Those who are quick to determine other people's spiritual state, vaunting their imagined extra-ordinary powers of discernment, are usually poor judges and dangerous counsellors in matters of the heart. They betray one of three things: they have either little experience, or a weak judgment, or a great deal of pride and self-confidence; and so they are ignorant of themselves. Wise and experienced men will proceed with great caution in the business of judging the spiritual state of others.
And now shall be the marriage of the Lamb... And when Christ shall bring His Church into His Father's house in heaven, after the judgment, He shall bring her thither as His Bride, having there presented her, whom He loved and gave Himself for, to Himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The Bridegroom and the Bride shall then enter into heaven, both having on their wedding robes, attended with all the glorious angels. And there they enter on the feast and joys of their marriage before the Father; they shall then begin an everlasting wedding day. This shall be the day of the gladness of Christ's heart, wherein He will greatly rejoice, and all the saints shall rejoice with Him. Christ shall rejoice over His Bride, and the Bride shall rejoice in her Husband, in the state of her consummate and everlasting blessedness.
The Justification of a Sinner by William Pemble. 257pp. Hdbk. N.P.
This rare title is one of the ablest defences of the Calvinistic position on Justification I have seen. Thorough without being tedious, precise in terminology, closely reasoned yet transparently lucid, it demolishes piece by piece the whole Romish edifice of Justification, especially Cardinal Bellarmine's claim that we are justified by faith plus other graces. At the same time, it makes mincemeat of the Arminian notion that faith itself (rather than the righteousness of Christ) is imputed to believers. This, of course, is just another form of justification by works. While its little-known Puritan author is in deadly earnest throughout, he occasionally spices his polemic with touches of humour, such as "Here Bellarmine stumbles like a blind horse." Very telling is his mock astonishment that Papists can claim to believe in the severity of God's justice yet try to satisfy its terrible demands with such trivialities as 'Ave Marias' and 'Paternosters', lighting wax candles to saints, going on pilgrimage to Compostella, lashing their bare backs, forfeiting a few meals and purchasing pardons with a few pence. This is only a sample of how lightly Pemble wears his scholarship. Let us come to the point (he urges in conclusion) and ask ourselves: "Who satisfies God's justice for sin, Christ or us?" Warmly recommended.
A Treatise on Regeneration by Peter Van Mastricht. 114pp. Hdbk. N.P.
Commended by Jonathan Edwards as better than any other book he knew except the Bible, the system of theology from which this treatise is taken typifies the best work of the Dutch Second Reformation. The author's treatment of every aspect of his subject -- exegetical, doctrinal, practical, controversial -- is masterly. This eager champion of Calvinism against the heresies of Arminianism, Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism yields his massive intellect to the task of proving from Scripture that regeneration is nothing less than the spiritual and moral renovation of the whole man, and not merely of one or other particular part, such as mind, affections or will. Viewing his subject as the specific work of God by which He enables elect sinners to 'receive the offered Redeemer', he gives no quarter at all to the enemies of sovereign grace. Incidentally, he rejects the notion of 'presumptive regeneration' but accepts the regeneration of 'some infants.' Not the least important aspect of his treatment is his answering of such questions as 'Is regeneration resistible or not? Can we prepare ourselves for regeneration? Can regeneration be lost?' A lengthy Appendix, compiled by the original translator, contains quotations on the topic by other Reformed divines. A superb work.
Grace by Christopher Love. 173pp. Hdbk. N.P.
These 15 sermons on the truth, growth and degrees of grace in the believer confirm William Haller's remark that the Puritans were masterly physicians of the soul. From the examples of Abijah (sermons 1-5) and Timothy (sermons 6-13) this skilful soul physician demonstrates just how much our gracious God cherishes the weak but sincere grace of His children and how consistent with true grace are strong corruptions, strong temptations, weak affections, weak gifts and lack of comfort. Here there is a word in season for all, both strong and weak, who fear the Lord. Sermon 14 opens up a heart-refreshing view of the grace that is in Christ for all believers, while the final chapter exhorts us to humble ourselves and glorify Christ. "Nothing is so free as grace", he concludes.
The Penitent Pardoned by Christopher Love. 144pp. Hdbk. N.P.
This rare work, based on Psalm 32.5, handles the same theme as Owen on Psalm 130.4; namely, the wonder of God's forgiveness consequent upon the sincere confession of our sin. The immense cost to Christ and the riches of God's pardoning grace are set forth as sources of great consolation to every penitent believer. Love's exposition is re-enforced by the examples of God's pardon of David after repentance for his adultery with Bathsheba and of Peter after repentance for his denial of Christ. [These cases are treated much in the manner of Bunyan's Jerusalem Sinner Saved.] "Let your sin be ever so great," Love reminds us, "yet the mercies of God are greater." Here is much comfort for those of us struggling against indwelling sin and repeated sinning.
Sola Scriptura - a symposium on the Protestant position on the Bible. Ed. Don Kistler. 280pp. Pbk. N.P.
In large print, with a lucid style, doctrinal faithfulness, clinching arguments and a minimum of quotations (and no irritating footnotes!), this symposium presents a strong but calm anti-Romish polemic, proving that Protestants are the true Catholics. By thoroughly re-working the age-long controversy between 'Scripture Alone' and 'Scripture plus Tradition', the authors (all Reformed by persuasion) leave us confirmed in our faith that we have nothing to fear from the enemies of sola scriptura. It is good to be told by those who have studied the evidence carefully that Romish belief in oral tradition is neither ancient, nor universal, nor constant. They leave us with a call to stand for the words of our God with unflinching tenacity. Strongly recommended.
[NOTE: Soli Deo Gloria titles can be obtained from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Bookroom, Elephant and Castle. London.]
Seeking God: Jonathan Edwards' Evangelism Contrasted with Modern Methodologies, ed William C Nichols. 564pp. Hdbk. N.P.
As the title suggests, this painstaking analysis of Edwards' sermons coupled with observations on (mainly Arminian and naturalistic) modern evangelistic methods leads to only one conclusion: that in its failure to tell unrepentant sinners the truth about themselves as God's enemies and about the certainty of their spending eternity in hell, modern evangelism is both delusive and destructive. As Nichols suggests, such falsifying of the true, full-orbed Gospel may well result in nine out of every ten who profess Christ being forever lost. Among the many false brands passing for the genuine article today, Nichols particularly mentions the common practice of telling men indiscriminately that God loves them and that they can easily be saved by taking a few simple steps, the lie that hell is merely separation from God (something the unconverted possess already) rather than eternal torment, and Schuler's false humanistic gospel of self-esteem.
By contrast, the stark Biblical realism of Edwards' preaching on the dreadfulness of men's natural state is urged on us as essential to true evangelism. The heart of this evangelistic method is described as 'seeking God', a concept that appears in almost every sermon Edwards preached. Simply stated, this means waiting on God in His appointed means of salvation: reading, hearing, crying for mercy, forsaking every known sin, seeking a true sense of sin, pleading for glorious views of Christ as the only Redeemer, praying for a new heart, etc. Comments on Edwards' Faithful Narrative conclude and confirm Nichols' thesis. [Incidentally, the book includes full texts of all the sermons considered and of the Faithful Narrative.]
Such a devastating exposure of modern evangelism is to be warmly welcomed. Without mentioning such 'ecumenical' novelties as the Alpha Course, it forcefully condemns them.
However, Nichols fails to redress the balance in another direction. While laying almost all the emphasis on the need for us to seek God, he fails to emphasize the need to preach the glorious truth that God seeks (and finds) His sheep through the gracious invitations and promises of the true Gospel. Despite his earnestness, therefore, Nichols' choice of sermons is quite arbitrary. Why, for example, does he not include The Excellency of Christ; Jesus Christ the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever; and Unbelievers Condemn the Glory and Excellency of Christ? What yardstick does he use to decide which sermons are evangelistic and which are not? The overall result is a misrepresentation of both Edwards and God. A further point: Nichols often quotes Arthur Pink in support of his thesis that we are to seek God continually in the public means of grace. Is he aware that Pink himself refused to use the public means of grace (even in Stornoway!)? Having said this, we fully endorse Nichols' opposition to modern evangelism and belief that while few people believe they will go to hell, yet only a few do not go to hell. How such a solemn reminder should sharpen our compassionate concern and lead us to warn others to flee from the wrath to come! On this point Nichols repeatedly challenges us who profess to preach all the counsel of God. Keeping in mind the imbalance already mentioned, a faithful reading of this book would, under God, do much to humble us for our fearful and weak compromising (based fundamentally on self-love; ie we like to be well thought of, so we with-hold unpalatable truths) and rectify a radical wrong in our own evangelistic preaching.
Holy Scripture: the Ground and Pillar of Our Faith Vol III. Ed David T. King and William Webster. 312pp. Pbk. N.P.
This most valuable resource resolves the question as to whether the 'Church Fathers' took Scripture Alone (as Protestants do) or Scripture and Tradition (as Romanists and Anglo-Catholics do) as their ultimate authority. By setting out hundreds of quotations from the whole range of 'Church Fathers' and their works the editors prove beyond doubt that for all their weaknesses (as William Cunningham notes in his Historical Theology) and inconsistencies they believed and sought to act on the great principle of Sola Scriptura, and not on the priority of the Church. The quotations are set in bold type in their original contexts, source-references are precise, and fine English translations (by William Goode) appear before any original Greek and Latin quotes. Clearly, vast research lies behind the compilation. Here are a few samples: "They [the heretics] gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures." (Irenaeus). "All that I say is said by Holy Scripture and comes from Holy Scripture." (Victorinus). "These [Scriptures] are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these." (Athanasius). "Hear, I beg you, what the Bible says of Christ, lest what it does not say be preached instead." (Hilary). "And pray, read none of the apocryphal writings... Read the divine Scriptures." (Cyril of Jerusalem). "My single appeal will be to the Holy Scriptures." (Niceta). "How can we adopt those things which we do not find in the Holy Scriptures?" (Ambrose). "Every word and deed should be ratified by the testimony of the Holy Scripture." (Basil of Caesarea). "Let the inspired Scripture, then, be our umpire, and the vote of truth will surely be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the divine words." (Gregory of Nyssa). "There is no argument that is so forcible as a passage from the Holy Scriptures." (Jerome). "Let Holy Writ be its own interpreter."(Jerome). "Great is the profit of the Divine Scriptures, and all-sufficient is the aid which comes from them." (Chrysostom). "I have learned to yield this respect and honour only to the canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the authors were completely free from error." (Augustine). "Let us not hear: 'You say this; I say that'; but let us hear: 'Thus saith the Lord." (Augustine). Though we appeal to no man or group of men in defence of our Reformed and Evangelical Protestantism (certainly not the 'Church Fathers', who were theological children compared with the Reformers and Puritans) we regard this volume as an excellent resource in contending for the Faith against all who falsely claim that the 'Fathers' are on their side.
Revelation Spiritually Understood by C.D.Alexander. 565pp. Hdbk. N.P.
Studies in the Book of Revelation continue to pour from the Christian press. The present title, however, is not superfluous. Its author, a redoubtable Protestant warrior, views the Apocalypse as a call from the glorified and sovereign Lord to His persecuted yet militant Church to rejoice in the victory already secured for her by Himself. It is the lack of this interpretative key, he claims, that has led to so much confusion over the Book's teaching. In developing his main theme, Mr Alexander draws appreciatively on the commentaries of Hengstenberg and Bengel; vigorously opposes Scofield Dispensationalist views; sharply reminds us that the Church is no democracy, but a monarchy whose King is not the people, but Christ; forcefully sweeps away the notion of a cataclysmic Armageddon at the end of this age [since it is being fought now throughout history between Christ's subjects and His enemies]; clearly sees Anti-Christ as Satan manipulating his poor enslaved subjects [chiefly through the union of Popery and Paganism]; and earnestly calls the Church herself to repent and reform before she can enjoy the comforting prospect of victory over her enemies. Sadly, Mr Alexander himself falls into the trap (however tentatively) of making the seven churches represent successive periods of history. In spite of this, he never loses sight of the truth that the Word of Christ by His Spirit is always applicable to the spiritual condition of the churches, and that, however feeble in themselves, the people of God shall overcome at last by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. Perhaps the two lessons of the Fifth Appendix summarize what we most need today to keep our own heads above water: (1) God the Creator is in absolute control of His creation and all history; (2) The outcome of this control will be unqualified praise and glory to Himself. So it is and so it shall be.
Discovering Christ in Genesis by Don Fortner. 352pp. Pbk. £11.95.
How refreshing to find a modern author who believes that the great purpose of Holy Scripture is to set forth the Person and Work of the Son of God as the sinner's Substitute. This book, however, is not a study in the Christology of Genesis. Rather, it seeks to draw out parallels between people, objects and events in Genesis and the Lord Jesus Christ. The parallel between the old creation and the new birth is justified by New Testament teaching itself, but the author is somewhat fanciful in seeing (for example) the green of Noah's rainbow as a symbol of peace [Did he get the idea from the Green Peace movement?] and the pitch of the ark as a type of the blood of Christ. Even the great Augustine indulged in similar speculations. Certainly, while looking for Christ where He is not may be a better employment than not seeing Him where He is, still we prefer strict exegesis to enthusiastic allegorizing. Other criticisms are also valid: Dr Fortner is crassly Antinomian when he states (p 71) that 'Believers are not under the law, in any sense whatsoever.' The New Testament itself teaches otherwise. [See Romans 3.31 and Ephesians 6.1-3, to mention no others.] Also, the hymn fragment quoted on page 84 is very bad theology. We are not as near to God as Christ is, and we are not as holy as Christ! Furthermore, the Covenant of Grace was not made only with Christ, as Dr Fortner claims. 2 Corinthians 6.17-18 and Hebrews 8.8-13 alone dispel this notion. Sadly, the Hyper-Calvinist error of eternal justification (see p182) also mars the whole presentation. Romans 8.28-30 does not teach that "God's elect are...justified from eternity."
Having said that, we are happy to see a strong denial of the Arminian error that Abraham's faith (and not Christ's righteousness which his faith embraced) was imputed to him, and to see very edifying teaching on the grace of God showed to Noah through Christ, on Abel trusting in the blood of Christ alone for salvation, on Enoch walking with God by faith in Christ, on Melchizedek as a type of Christ, on Sarah and Hagar typifying the covenants of grace and works respectively, on Judah as surety for Benjamin typifying Christ's surety-ship for His brethren, and on the patriarchs (especially Joseph) seeing the glory of Christ, their only hope. Truly 'the Spirit of God always points us to Christ.'(p 312) Besides these commendable features, all the great doctrines of the Bible are faithfully taught: election, ruin by the Fall, redemption by blood, regeneration, judgment and the sovereignty of God.
Despite the author's laudable aim, however, we need to read such men as Sibbes and Rutherford to 'savour the sweet aroma' of Christ which he desires for his readers.
Discovering Christ in Revelation by Don Fortner. 512pp. Pbk. £13.95. This is one of the few books I have read that is full of Christ. If Daniel Parks in his Foreward can write of the author: "I have never heard him devote a message to any subject other than Christ", we too can say that we have never read another book so full of Christ, except Samuel Rutherford's Letters and Isaac Ambrose's Looking Unto Jesus. To enter into detail would be superfluous. Can any present-day reader bear 512 pages devoted exclusively to the Saviour (Victor because Victim, as Augustine finely says)? If so, it will not be long before his prayer is turned into praise. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to find the author sneaking in baptistic views where the text makes no mention of them (32) and stating again the antinomian error that believers are not under the law in any sense (42). The Scottish Marrow Men used the phrase 'taking the law out of the hand of Christ' to describe the believer's true relationship to it.
2 Corinthians Vols 1 (ch 1-7) & 2 (ch 8-13) by Peter Naylor. 368pp. Hdbk. £16.95 and 306pp. Hdbk. £15.95.
Fully in keeping with the series of study commentaries to which it belongs, this up-to-date treatment is devout, scholarly, easy to read, faithful to Scripture, edifying to saints, and pastorally sensitive. If you can afford it, buy it. It will stand you in good stead when faced with current problems and difficult characters in the Church!
The First Fifty Years by Noel Gibbard. 198pp. Hdbk. £9.95.
This book, a translation of an account originally written in Welsh, is a history of the Evangelical Movement of Wales for the last fifty years. "During the years 1947-1952, an unusual number of people in Wales came to know the Lord Jesus Christ". This remarkable time of blessing, characterized by evangelistic zeal and a burden for souls, resulted in the formation of what became the Evangelical Movement of Wales, "a small stream" that has "flowed over the whole of Wales".
We follow the growth of the Movement from its exclusively Welsh beginning of small fellowships (seiats) and evangelism, through to the development of the English work; with its magazines, youth camps, conferences, ministerial fellowships, theological training college, printing press, evangelistic and missionary work and Affiliation of Evangelical Churches.
The accounts of God's personal dealings with individuals, extracts from conference addresses, letters and diaries, the chapter on the theological basis of the Movement with the longing for Revival and God's dealings in Providence, make this book much more than a historical record. Many of the people and places mentioned will hold precious memories for Welsh Christians.
The Welsh language and nationhood; moral, ethical and social problems and the Movement's involvement in these issues are included, while in the last chapter, the author deals with the various critics of the Biblical and Christ-centred stance of the Movement over the years, acknowledging honestly its mistakes and restating its readiness "to walk the path of submission and repentance."
This is a challenging and informative book, giving us a glimpse of a unique work of God, without which Wales today would be a dry and parched land.
Apostasy, Destruction and Hope by Roger Elsworth. 272pp. Pbk. £8.95.
Here is a fine example of an author drawing from an old book (2 Kings) lessons that are compellingly contemporary. Despite the cessation of miracles today (unlike Elijah's) and the absence of revival (unlike Josiah's), God's law that we reap what we sow; that apostasy will always bring judgment, and repentance restoration; that God calls for faithfulness and a ministry of rebuke, however lamentable the times in which He has placed us; and that His purpose shall stand, despite all the cunning and power of His enemies; are principles still at work in God's dealings with men and nations. This sober, well-written and convincing commentary reminds us of all this, and much more. A valuable asset to both our understanding of Scripture and our present duty to the only true God.
Other paperback titles sent by Evangelical Press are:
The Lamb is all the Glory by Richard Brooks. 217pp. N.P; Why I am a Christian by Kent Philpott. 160pp. £7.95; Esther by Peter Bloomfield. 190pp. N.P.; Thirsting Soul by Roger Fellows (a somewhat misleading title). 160pp. £7.95; Opening Up Ephesians by Peter Jeffery. 102pp. £4.95; Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement by Dan Lucarini. 141pp. N.P.
The Spirit and the Church by John Owen, abridged and made easy to read by R.J.K.Law. 196pp. Pbk. £3.75.
This superb abridgement brings within easy reach of all who find Dr Owen's cumbersome style difficult some of the great Puritan's finest teaching. In a day when thousands are claiming to have received new revelations of the Spirit, this exposition of the inseparability of Scripture and the Spirit's saving work is calculated to retrieve or keep all candid readers from the delusion. Owen's thesis, that in order to believe the divine Scriptures with a divine faith we need nothing less than a divine work of the Spirit in our souls, is cogently argued from Scripture itself. It demonstrates that all external means whatever are insufficient to produce such a faith. A section on the Spirit's work in prayer renders so many other treatments of the topic redundant. Other sections, on the Spirit's gifts and comfort, are equally profitable. Dr Law is to be commended for his incisive and lucid re-rendering of Owen in modern terms without compromising one iota of his teaching.
Preaching by Albert Mohler. 21pp. Pbk. £1.25.
This printed version of the author's lecture addressing the current 'crisis' in preaching is a critique of those (especially from Vanderbilt Divinity School in the United States) who blatantly reject Biblical inerrancy and the preaching based on it, as well as others who cunningly claim to preach the Bible while rejecting its inerrancy. Although the lecture confines itself to these enemies of the faith without casting its net wider, it is informative and helpful to all who confront modern self-centredness, individualism and relativism.
The Valley of Vision ed Arthur Bennett. 405pp. Leather. £19.95.
This beautiful presentation edition of an earlier Banner of Truth title is full of sincere and Scriptural prayers and devotions. Its authors were all Puritans or heirs of the Puritans, while the headings and lay-out are the work of the editor. For those who find written prayers helpful (and let us remember that the Psalms are written prayers) this compilation would make an attractive gift.
Jesus, The Way by Dr Sadler. 80pp. Pbk. £2.50 each, incl. p & p. 3-4 copies £2.00 each. 5-9 copies £1.70 each. 10+ copies £1.30 each.
Despite its brevity this guide to the way of salvation is faithful to Scripture, lucidly written, relevant and savoury. However simple, it is far from shallow, and it honours the sovereign grace of God in salvation streaming to us through Christ alone. Warmly recommended both for individual and group study. Incidentally, Dr Sadler's Mystery, Babylon the Great, which we reviewed favourably in a previous issue of Peace and Truth, is still available (now in its 2nd edition) at £5 inc. p&p.
An Autobiography by Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher. 350pp. Pbk. N.P.
This moving work, for which some of us have waited a long time, is a photolitho reprint of the T & T Clark 1869 edition. The print is clear and the binding firm. The unostentatious narrative tells of an immensely gifted child, reared in a cultured, nominally Christian but very formal home, who was both "predestined to theology" (his own words) and chosen to become Prussian Court Preacher, wielding an immense influence for good on his generation. His majestic presentation of the great themes of Scripture earned for him the title of "the Dr Chalmers of Germany." The narrative not only humbly recalls the time when God became for Krummacher "the living God" who came near to man as "the Hearer of Prayer and the Director of Battles"; it also gives us cameos of some of the godly poor whom Krummacher esteemed far above the unregenerate in the literary circles of the day; accounts of revivals in the Rhine and Ruhr valleys; the author's conflicts with the "chopped straw and husks" of 19th century German Rationalism, "veiled under a light Biblical white-wash"; the ministries of his fellow-labourers in Christ's vineyard at the time (eg Pastor Krall's sermons: "good, home-baked catechism bread, solid and nourishing"); the violent, anti-royalist 1848 Revolution ("a merited judgment" and the visible "hand-writing of a holy and righteous God" according to Isaiah 29.14); Krummacher's deep attachment to the early Evangelical Alliance and to King Friedrich Wilhelm, "a genuine believer in Christ"; his greatly-blessed ministry in the Trinity Church at Berlin; his foreboding of Germany's future; and much else of real value. The heart of this truly Christian lion is frankly, graphically, delightfully but un-selfconsciously unfolded to us in this beautiful autobiography. Having recently read all Krummacher's works currently available, your reviewer recommends them as sound and edifying. It is certainly time for this great German champion of the Reformed Faith to become better known in Britain and the English-speaking world generally.
[The following extract from a letter of F.W.Krummacher does not appear in his autobiography. It sheds some light on the Christian character of his king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia.]
23 October 1858
Dear Brothers,
If a note of sadness fills my last letter, as you say, it is because of the heavy trial that has fallen on our dear king, and through him onto the nation, the church and me also. The day before he left Sans-Souci, I spent half an hour with him in the queen's private room. As I entered he approached me with a firm step, shook my hand and said: "Dear Krummacher, I am glad that before I leave for Meran [now Merano, in Italy] where the doctor has ordered me, though I would much rather remain here, I have the opportunity to see you again. Krummacher, you find me very sad." And then he revealed the feelings of his heart! His deepest sorrow was over his failure to do what he wished for his people. Yet he was perfectly resigned to God his Lord. He often asked me in the humblest spirit: "Krummacher, do you believe the Lord will have mercy on me?" Then, after I comforted him with words which poured out of my heart like a stream, he looked up to heaven, and sighed and wept loudly. Calmer and more joyful, he then said: "I resign myself into the Lord's hands. Let Him do with me what seems good in His sight." When I told him: "The Lord has always been with your majesty; He has crowned your reign with great and countless blessings," he grasped my hand and said: "Yes, I will hope in Him; He will receive me graciously." . . . . My leaving him was very moving. "Bear me still on your heart in prayer," he begged as he shook my hand. Now, as I reflect on the comfort I offered him, I realize I almost forgot that I stood before my king. He was a brother to me! Oh, how dear the king is to me!
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