The avowed purpose of this study is an Interpretation of the Book of Revelation, otherwise known as the “Apocalypse” – its literal designation in the Greek being equivalent to an “unveiling.” No studied attempt will be made either at exegesis or exposition, except incidentally in certain strategic texts, or distinct parts, which necessarily involve the question of interpretation.

Notwithstanding the name Apocalypse, literally translated, signifies an “unveiling,” yet it is a “sealed” book to multitudes of earnest Bible students. It falls little short, seemingly, of irony in its professed object as an “unveiling,” while as a matter of fact in its practical understanding by the church in all ages it is a concealing. The reason of this confusion of thought is due largely to the fact that many regard it as a prophetic revelation of the future, instead of an “unveiling” of the purpose of God in the Christian Dispensation.

The vast majority of devout people have nevertheless always received from individual texts, and detached portions, comfort in sorrow, resignation in trial, and inspiration in life’s conflicts, which have rendered it invaluable in the religious experiences of the saints in all the history of the church – perhaps a larger service than if they had been furnished instead merely a key to its interpretation. In other words, the lack of a full understanding of its scope has never interfered with its practical value to the child of God as an unfailing consolation in deepest distress. Nevertheless, it was written and intended for study, meditation and understanding. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,” is its initial promise, (Revelation 1:3). Equally significant is its closing threat against violating the integrity of its message, (Revelation 22:18-19).

Among the Church Fathers Chrysostom makes no allusion to it. Luther undervalued it; and so did Calvin, chief of the Reformers, notwithstanding his voluminous commentaries on other books of Scripture. Was it Spinoza – or Immanuel Kant – who avowed that its author was a fit subject for the lunatic asylum? Each writer who offers a new interpretation is regarded with similar suspicion, and must first of all overcome the suggestion of presumption as guilty of “rushing in where angels fear to tread,” – and where the greatest of Biblical scholars have confessedly failed.

Despite these unfavourable considerations, the author makes no apology for this contribution to the study of the Apocalyptic literature of the church. “Revelation,” once the most confused and confusing to him of scriptural writings, is now a new book as clear as crystal. His confusion in the past was due largely to the fact that the Judgment Scene occurred seemingly in the wrong place – at the end of the sixth chapter and in several other unaccountable places, rather than appropriately at the end of the book. Instead, therefore, of a meaningless, haphazard arrangement of its contents, the Book of Revelation is now to him a perfect unity, the most methodical and symmetrical of all the inspired writings. His interpretation doubtless will be compelled to run the gauntlet of possible rejection by reason of this very contention, that Revelation is the most perfect in conception and unique in its arrangement of any book written either by sacred or secular authors.

The first insight into its meaning was furnished by a hint of Professor William Milligan, of Aberdeen, Scotland, nearly forty years ago. In his treatise, “The Revelation of St John,” he suggested the thought that it consisted of a series of visions, each in the form of a panorama, not occurring in historic succession, but as repetitions of the same events in entirely new settings from different angles, each having a distinctive object in the various presentations. It was not entirely original with Milligan – being as a matter of fact centuries old – but interestingly and forcefully presented. Obligation to him is hereby acknowledged for the seed-thought, that developed in the mind of the author into a conception of its meaning, which he first published as a newspaper article in 1892 during his pastorate in Macon, Georgia.

No apology is offered Professor Milligan for this adaptation of valuable material – much of it being common property – which, however, will differ from him in important details. Many other authorities have aided this study, which call for no acknowledgment, but their contributions will appear as quotations.

This contribution to the difficult subject of Apocalyptic literature is given publicity, not as propaganda in the interests of any theory of the Millennium, but that others may be similarly benefited by this suggested key to a clearer understanding of the scope and purpose of the Apocalypse; or, at least, that they may be stimulated to further research as to “the mind of the Spirit” in its production.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Samuel Leslie Morris
Atlanta, Georgia

Copyright. Used with Permission. Taken from The Drama of Christianity: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation by Samuel L. Morris. Available at Trinity Book Service

It is too notorious that excessive sorrow for sin is not the ordinary case of the world. A stupid, blockish disposition is the common cause of men’s perdition. The plague of a hard heart, and a seared conscience, keeps most from all due sense of sin, or danger, or misery, and all the great and everlasting concerns of their guilty souls. A dead sleep in sin deprives most of the use of sense and understanding; they do some of the outward acts of religion as in a dream; they are vowed to God in baptism by others, and they profess to stand to it themselves; they go to church, and say over the words of the creed, and Lord’s Prayer, and commandments, they receive the Lord’s Supper, and all as in a dream. They take on them to believe that sin is the most hateful thing to God, and hurtful to man, and yet they live in it with delight and obstinacy; they dream that they repent of it, when no persuasion will draw them to forsake it, and while they hate them that would cure them, and will not be as bad and mad as they who feel in them any effectual sorrow for what is past, or an effectual sense of their present badness, or an effectual resolution for a new and holy life. They dream that there is a judgment, a heaven, and a hell, but would they not be more affected with things of such unspeakable consequence if they were awake? Would they be wholly taken up with the matters of the flesh and the world, and scarce have a serious thought or word of eternity, if they were awake? Oh how sleepily and senselessly do they think, and talk, and hear of the great work of man’s redemption by Christ, and of the need of justifying and sanctifying grace, and of the joys and miseries of the next life; and yet they say that they believe them! When we preach or talk to them of the greatest things, with the greatest evidence, and plainness, and earnestness that we can, we speak as to the dead, or to men asleep; they have ears, but hear not, – nothing goes to their hearts.

One would think that a man that reads in Scripture, and believes the everlasting glory offered, and the dreadful punishment threatened, and the necessity of holiness to salvation, and of a Saviour to deliver us from sin and hell, and how sure and near such a passage into the unseen world is to us all, would find it hard to moderate and bear the sense of such overwhelming things. But most men so little regard or feel them, that they have neither time nor heart to think of them as their concern, but hear of them as of some foreign land, where they have no interest, and which they never think to see. Indeed, one would think by their senseless neglect of preparation, and their worldly minds and lives, that they were asleep, or in jest, when they confess that they must die; and that when they lay their friends in the grave, and see the skulls and bones cast up, they were but all this while in a dream, or did not believe that their turn is near. If we knew how to awaken sinners, they would come to themselves, and have other thoughts of these great things, and show it quickly by another kind of life. Awakened reason could never be so befooled and besotted as we see the wicked world to be. But God has an awakening day for all, and he will make the most senseless soul to feel, by grace or punishment.

And because a hardened heart is so great a part of the malady and misery of the unregenerate, and a soft and tender heart is much of the new nature promised by Christ, many awakened souls under the work of conversion think they can never have sorrow enough, and that their danger lies in hard-heartedness, and they never fear excessive sorrow until it has swallowed them up; indeed, though there be too much of other causes in it, yet if any of it is for sin, they then cherish it as a necessary duty, or at least do not perceive the danger of excess: and some think those to be the best Christians who are most in doubts, and fears, and sorrows, and speak almost nothing but uncomfortable complaints; but this is a great mistake.

1. Sorrow is excessive when it is fed by a mistaken cause. All is too much where none is due, and great sorrow is too much when the cause requires less.

If a man thinks that something is a duty, which is no duty, and then sorrows for omitting it, such sorrow is all too much, because it is undue, and caused by error. Many I have known who have been greatly troubled, because they could not bring themselves to that length or order of meditation, for which they had neither ability nor time; and many, because they could not reprove sin in others, when prudent instruction and gentle direction was more suitable than reproof. And many are troubled, because in their shops and callings they think of anything but God, as if our outward business must have no thoughts.

Superstition always breeds such sorrows, when men make themselves religious duties which God never commanded them, and then come short in the performance of them. Many dark souls are assaulted by those in error, and told that they are in a wrong way; and they must take up some error as a necessary truth, and so are cast into perplexing difficulties, and perhaps repent of the truth which they before owned. Many fearful Christians are troubled about every meal that they eat, about their clothes, their thoughts, and words, thinking or fearing that all is sinful which is lawful, and that unavoidable infirmities are heinous sins. All such as these are troubles and sorrows without cause, and therefore excessive.

2. Sorrow is excessive when it hurts and overwhelms nature itself, and destroys bodily health or understanding. Grace is the due qualification of nature, and duty is the right employment of it, but neither of them must destroy it. As civil, and ecclesiastic, and domestic government are for edification and not for destruction, so also is personal self-government. God will have mercy and not sacrifice; and he that would not have us kill or hurt our neighbour on pretence of religion, would not have us destroy or hurt ourselves, being bound to love our neighbour but as ourselves. As fasting is a duty no further than it tends to some good, as to express or exercise true humiliation, or to mortify some fleshly lust, and so on, so is it with sorrow for sin: it is too much when it does more hurt than good. But of this next.

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Originally published in 1682 entitled The Cure of Melancholy and Overmuch Sorrow, by Faith. Baxter carefully distinguishes between the different categories of sadness and depression and outlines their spiritual, environmental and physical causes. Clear sympathy with the sufferer is tempered by a firm directness in addressing wrong, inappropriate and harmful thinking. The place of faith in the believer’s response to feelings of melancholy is carefully drawn out – redirecting the focus to the greatness and benevolence of God, the compassion of the Saviour, and the truthfulness of the Word of God. The necessity of taking practical action with the help of others is also covered. Baxter is keenly aware of the part that illness plays in melancholy. His advice regarding medical help, though at times perceptive, is outdated now and has been omitted from this edition of the book, in which the language has also been carefully updated. Vital reading for pastors from a true shepherd of souls.

Contents Introduction 7 1. 

When Sorrow is Excessive 9 2. 

How Excessive Sorrow Swallows Someone Up 13 3. 

The Causes of Excessive Sorrow 19 4. 

The Cure of Melancholy 37

Used with Permission. This book is available at Trinity Book Service

For some time now, our website www.heraldofgrace.org has made available excerpts from books, sermons, and magazines, as well as articles and essays on a variety of biblical subjects. The authors of these materials include figures from history, as well as current pastors and writers who have given permission to post their materials. More recently, we have seen the need to make available in printed form a similar collection of articles and excerpts, to be arranged thematically. We have called this new serial publication Herald of Grace.

We are now pleased to be able to offer the first issue, with the theme Reformation Continues…. Of course, the 2017 Quincentenary memorial activities and events are now old news. Nevertheless, for biblical Christians the work of reformation, both personal and ecclesiastical, does not and must not end.

The Psalmist (Psalm 119:59) described this continual work of reformation in these words: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies.

In the New Testament, James (James 1:25) described it as looking into the perfect law of liberty and continuing, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work.

This first issue of Herald of Grace features articles designed to remind us of some of the key biblical issues which were emphasized during the historical Reformation movement, but which are in continual danger of being forgotten and neglected.

Other articles focus on specific areas of ongoing biblical reformation which call for the attention of God’s people today, in the 21st century.

We pray that God may bless these articles as a means to help His people to stimulate one another to love and good works. 

Available at Trinity Book Service

The Lord Jesus Christ loves His people, and this is seen throughout the events surrounding the death and raising of Lazarus in John 11. Each of the seven gentle but compelling messages contained in this book focuses on themes calculated to bring consolation to those undergoing the trials associated with sickness, death and bereavement. Unbelief and mistrust are handled faithfully, together with Christ’s revelation of himself as the resurrection and the life, and His tears at the tomb of Lazarus.

Introduction: Bethany - The Tomb of Lazarus

The following description of modern Bethany is extracted from a very interesting volume, published by the Board of Publication, entitled “Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, from the Church of Scotland, in 1839.” The authors of the volume were the Rev A A Bonar and the Rev R M M’Cheyne. It seems to form an appropriate Introduction to this little volume. – [Editor of The Presbyterian Board of Publication.&91;

Descending and leaving the Jericho road, we came quite suddenly upon Bethany, called by the Arabs Azarieh, from the name of Lazarus. We found this ever-memorable village to be very like what we could have imagined it. It lies almost hidden in a small ravine of Mount Olivet, so much so that from the height it cannot be seen. It is embosomed in fruit trees, especially figs and almonds, olives and pomegranates. The ravine in which it lies is terraced, and the terraces are covered either with fruit trees or waving grain. There are not many houses, perhaps about twenty, inhabited, but there are many marks of ancient ruins. The house of Lazarus was pointed out to us, a substantial building, probably a tower in former days, and selected to bear the name of the House of Lazarus by traditionists, who did not know how else than by his worldly eminence such a man could draw the special regard of the Lord Jesus. They did not know that Christ loveth freely.

The sepulchre called the Tomb of Lazarus attracted more of our attention. We lighted our tapers, and descended twenty-six steps cut in the rock, to a chamber deep in the rock, having several niches for the dead. Whether this be the very tomb where Lazarus lay four days, and which yielded up its dead at the command of Jesus, it is impossible to say. The common objection, that it is too deep, seems entirely groundless, for there is nothing in the narrative to intimate that the tomb was on a level with the ground, and besides, it seems not unlikely that there was another entrance to the tomb further down the slope. A stronger objection is, that the tomb is in the immediate vicinity of the village, or actually in it; but it is possible that the modern village occupies ground a little different from the ancient one. However this may be, there can be no doubt that this is “Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha, nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.” (John 11:1, 18).

How pleasing are all the associations that cluster around it! Perhaps there was no scene in the Holy Land which afforded us more unmingled enjoyment: we even fancied that the curse that everywhere rests so visibly upon the land had fallen more lightly here.

In point of situation, nothing could have come up more completely to our previous imagination of the place to which Jesus delighted to retire at evening, from the bustle of the city, and the vexations of the unbelieving multitudes – sometimes traversing the road by which we had come, and perhaps more often coming up the face of the hill by the footpath that passes on the north of Gethsemane. What a peaceful scene! Amidst these trees, or in that grassy field, he may often have been seen in deep communion with the Father. And in sight of this verdant spot it was that he took his last farewell of the disciples, and went upward to resume the deep, unbroken fellowship of “his God, and our God,” uttering blessings even at the moment when he began to be parted from them. (Luke 24:51). And it was here that the two angels stood by them in white apparel, and left us this glorious message, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Used with Permission. Taken from Comfort in Sickness and Death: The Sickness, Death and Resurrection of Lazarus by Robert Murray M'Cheyne. Click here to obtain this book.

The Good Work Begun 
by Thomas Vincent 

There are many evil works of men, such as are all sins. The work of grace is the good work of God. There are some good works which are wrought by us; this is the good work which is wrought in us. There are some works of grace, and gracious acts of God towards us, which produce only a relative change, such as God’s justification of our persons, his adoption of us and admitting us into his family, but this is a gracious work of God upon us, whereby he effects a real change within us; and although the grace within us is always accompanied with the grace outside us, yet it is really distinct from it. This good work of grace is begun in regeneration, or the new birth, when God effectually calls us by his Word and Spirit, and powerfully turns us from darkness to light, and from the reign of sin into the subjection and obedience of Christ. It is carried on in the work of sanctification by which sin, which in the first work of grace is dethroned and mortally wounded, is more and more mortified, and the spiritual life which has begun is maintained, and the soul is more and more quickened and enabled to live unto righteousness.

In the first work, the seed of grace is planted in the soul by the Spirit, which in the work of sanctification springs up and brings forth the fruit of holiness and obedience. In the first work of grace, all the distinguishing features and members of the new man are formed in the soul, which in sanctification are more and more shaped and fashioned after God’s image, and the new man grows up from its infancy more and more towards the stature and strength of a perfect man in Christ. In the first work, all the habits of grace are infused together into the soul, which in the work of sanctification gather strength and show themselves in their lively and vigorous exercise.

We are now to speak of the first work of grace, or the good work as it is begun by the Lord. When the Lord effects a gracious change in the soul, he finds the sinner empty and void of all good, filled with the guilt and smeared with the defilement of sin, and, even though sin grievously wounds his conscience, he finds him spiritually unaware, and though he is in danger of everlasting ruin, he finds him asleep and secure.

Firstly, the Lord meets with him and puts a stop to his course and career of sin, by hedging up his way, as it were, with thorns. By his providence he brings the sinner under the preaching of the Word, and there he shows him his evil work and the transgressions in which he has run to excess and exceedingly provoked his holy eye against him. The Lord in his Word sounds his trumpet of judgment, and awakens him out of his carnal security by the loud thunderings and dreadful lightnings of the law. He convinces the sinner of his guilt and what sin deserves, and the danger which he is in of the eternal damnation and destruction of hell, of which such impenitent and unbelieving sinners as he is are liable. As a result of this, conscience, which before had been lulled to sleep by the devil and deceitful lusts, begins to be startled and takes up its whip to lash, and its sword to prick and to wound the sinner, so that in distress he cries out, “O what shall I do to be saved? ”

God at first sends his Spirit (in order to prepare the soul for this gracious change) to be a spirit of bondage to awaken the sinner to fear (Romans 8:15). The Spirit does, as it were, bring a warrant from heaven, and like a sergeant claps the sinner on the back, and arrests him for all the insults and indignities which he has thrown at the King of heaven, for all the treasons and rebellions which he has practised. The sinner, having nothing to plead, is unable to make his escape, for where could he fly from God’s Spirit? This spirit of bondage lays him up in prison, as it were, puts chains and shackles upon his feet, and then passes the sentence of the law upon him that he must die! It lets him know that he is cursed (Galatians 3:10), is condemned already (John 3:18), and that the execution is not far off.

Thus the sinner is brought into great distress and perplexity of mind. He looks about him for help, but all succour fails him. He struggles and would gladly break the bonds which are upon him, but he finds himself the more entangled. He endeavours to divert his grief, and throw away his troubles, but he is the more perplexed and wounded. Then he seeks after something to appease God’s anger and to quiet the clamours of his conscience. So he flies to duties and to ordinances; he prays and hears, and reads, and turns from his former ungodly company and practices, and frequents the company of the saints and servants of God, joining with them in all religious observances and exercises. But still he finds (if God works on him effectually) that none of these can remove the guilt of one sin, and that his righteousness is imperfect, which results from even the strictest performance of any duties. Therefore he looks upon himself as worthless and helpless in himself, and perceives that it does not lie in the power of any creature to help him.

But learning of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is mighty and able to save to the uttermost all those who come to God by him (Hebrews 7:25), being made acquainted with the perfect righteousness of Christ, and the full satisfaction which by his death he has given to God’s justice for man’s sin, and having a free offer made of this to him, and a gracious invitation to come to Christ that he might have pardon and life by him, being powerfully drawn by the Spirit, he is inclined and enabled to come to him and lay hold on him, by which he is joined to Christ and receives life from him. Thus the good work of grace is begun, the nature of which will appear in the second section.

Used with Permission. Taken from The Good Work Begun: Spiritual Counsel for Young People from a Puritan Pastor by Thomas Vincent. Click here to obtain this book.

The design of this book, say some, is to give us the genealogy of David. This certainly could not be the chief design either of Samuel, who is generally supposed to be the writer of it, or of the Spirit of God, in giving us this history. The genealogy of David from Judah is contained in very few verses, and we find it in several other parts of Scripture. Every part of the book affords rich entertainment and useful instruction. What would we give for a piece of family history, equally ancient and authentic, of any of our own nation, or rather that nation, whatever it was, from whence we have derived our origin? The Holy Bible was not written to gratify our curiosity, and yet what book was ever written that can equally gratify laudable curiosity about the occurrences and manners of former ages?

This book is one of those which were written by inspiration of God, and must therefore be exceedingly profitable to us, if we read it with a due attention to those instructions which it is designed to impress on our minds. It is not one of those books in which we are to look for new instructions. The religion recommended in it is that which had been already taught by Moses; but it impresses deeply upon the mind of the attentive reader many truths highly conducive to holiness, and to the happiness even of the present life.

Read this history, not to gratify your curiosity, but to improve your hearts. Remember that you are bound, by the authority of God, to imitate the meekness and gentleness of Christ and of his saints. The grace revealed in the gospel teaches us to deny every lust of the flesh and of the mind, and to practise every lovely virtue. The power of the Holy Spirit can subdue our rough tempers, and beautify us with those graces of holiness by which the gospel of Christ is adorned; and his own Word is the great means which he uses for fulfilling in us the good pleasure of the divine goodness. Not only faith, but every fruit of the Spirit, - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, - are produced through the Word of truth; and the short history of Ruth is as really a part of the Word of truth, as those books which give us the history of our Lord’s life and death.

The female sex may likewise learn from this book a lesson of great use to them - how they may preserve their beauty, and make themselves amiable in old age. It is the glory of those ‘trees of righteousness which are planted in the house of the Lord, to bring forth fruit in old age.’ It is the privilege of those women who are adorned with the beauties of holiness, that old age does not wither, but improves their beauties. Sarah’s face was so lovely at ninety years of age, that her chastity was brought into danger at the court of Gerar. The daughters of Sarah, in the most advanced period of their lives, possess beauties more charming, and less dangerous. Naomi was not less lovely than Ruth, and, had Elimelech been alive, she would have been as dear to him when she was approaching to the grave, as in the day when he first received her into his arms.

The male sex, as well as the female, may derive useful instruction from this book. Consider Boaz as a master, as a friend, as a neighbor, as a man of consequence and wealth, as an honest man. In all these respects, you will find him worthy of esteem and imitation.

If young and old, rich and poor, masters and servants, do not find useful instruction in this book, the fault it their own. It is easily understood, and scarcely needs a comment for explanation. But it may be useful to have some of those practical instructions which it contains set before us, that we may be assisted in meditating upon this part of the Word of God. It was doubtless, one of those books of Scripture in which David found such delightful and nourishing food to his soul.

O that the Holy Spirit, who wrought so powerfully in the heart of that blessed man, would work in us the same temper! Then we would find a fast for our souls in every portion of Scripture. Our days would be a continual festival, because we could always find food ready at hand, more delightful to our taste than honey from the comb.

- From the Introduction to Lectures on the Book of Ruth

George Lawson (1749-1820) was for forty-nine years the minister of the Scottish Secession church in Selkirk. He became renowned as a writer alongside his preaching and this volume is drawn from his lectures through Ruth.

This readable treatment principally applies the narrative to family relationships and has much to say to Christians in our day. First published in 1805, this edition has been carefully re-typeset for re-issue from an edition dated 1816.

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When it was first reported to me that a series of addresses on “The Pilgrim’s Progress” had been discovered, I rejoiced as one that findeth great spoil, for I hoped that after enriching the pages of “The Sword and the Trowel” these fragrant flowers might be gathered together into a delightful nosegay. In the mercy of God, my hopes have been fulfilled. Month by moth, the “Pictures” have appeared, for nearly a year and a half, in the Magazine, and abundant testimony is to hand that they have proved welcome to its readers. And now the full time has come for the issue of the book, and here it is―a sparkling circlet now that the gems are strung together.

Three additional “Pictures” will be found herein, to wit: “Christian at the Cross,” “Christian and Apollyon,” and “Vanity Fair.” It is not a little surprising that no trace could be found of any reference in the course of the lectures to these outstanding features of the story. It does not follow, however, that the great preacher passed them by. Possibly they were not reported, or the manuscripts may have gone astray. A little search in C.H. Spurgeon’s Sermons and other works secured sufficient, and, I venture to think, appropriate material for the missing sketches. So in love with John Bunyan, and so akin to him in faith and thought and language was the Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, that I am persuaded another volume could be compiled comprising “Pictures” of other striking scenes and characters in the glorious allegory. Who can doubt that abundant material could be found in “The Spurgeon Library” for “Pictures” of “Christian under Mount Sinai,” “Hill Difficulty,” “Doubting Castle,” “Little-Faith,” “Beulah Land,” and “Valiant-for-Truth,” for instance?

There is internal evidence that these addresses were delivered at Monday evening prayer-meetings with the special purpose of edifying such as had just begun to go on pilgrimage. “You young converted,” said the preacher again and again, in his personal and incisive style. Nevertheless, the more advanced in his congregation, I am certain, were eager and delighted listeners, too. So will it be with this book. Here is milk for babes and meat for men. Moreover, the meat is such that the “babes” will enjoy a taste of it, and the “men” will be all the better for a sip or two of the milk.

C.H. Spurgeon was a past master in the art of commenting. Who that ever heard him did not rejoice as much in his exposition of the Scriptures as in his prayers and sermons? He has commented in print on the Psalms (The Treasure of David), and on Matthew (The Gospel of the Kingdom), and on Manton (Illustrations and Mediations, or Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden); and here we have his Commentary on The Pilgrim’s Progress, “that sweetest of all prose poems” as he himself describes it.

It is easy to see that the Commentator is in sympathy with his Author, and that he loves his task. If Mr. Spurgeon were ever prevailed upon to fill up a page of the once-popular Confession Album, I am pretty sure that his answer to the query, “Who is your favourite author?” was, “John Bunyan.” He has spoken of him over and over again as “my great favourite,” and has left it on record that he had read The Pilgrim’s Progress at least one hundred times. The reason for his liking is not far to seek. They both loved “The Book of Books.”

Urging the earnest study of the Scriptures, C.H. Spurgeon once said: “Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord―not crawl over is surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavoured with the words of the Lord. I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim’s Progress―that sweetest of all prose poems―without continually making us feel and say, ‘Why, this man is a living Bible!’ Prick him anywhere; his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.”

Moreover, the language of The Illustrations Dreamer was to the mind of the Tabernacle Pastor. They spake the same tongue. In an address delivered in 1862 on the occasion of the restoration of Bunyan’s tomb, Mr. Spurgeon assured his hearers that Bunyan’s works would not try their constitutions as might those of Gill and Owen. “They are pleasant reading,” said he, “for Bunyan wrote and spoke in simple Saxon, and was a diligent reader of the Bible in the old version.”

It was doubtless my dear father’s intention to publish these addresses, for he had commenced the revision of them. Would that he had been able to accomplish this task. They would have been much more perfect then. As it is, we have them very much as he uttered them. There is no mistaking his voice in these sententious sentences.

I fancy that if he had been spared to issue these homilies, and to write an introduction, he would have urged his readers, as he did his hearers on the occasion referred to above, to raise a monument to John Bunyan in their hearts, to become his descendants by imbibing the truth that he taught, and to keep his memory green by living in his Faithful.

May the perusal of these pages create a love for the book which they explain and apply, as well as for the Book with which both the writers were “saturated.”

- Thomas Spurgeon (Clapham, 1903)

About the Author C.H. Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers". This despite the fact that he was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, against liberalism and pragmatic theological tendencies even in his day.

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The Christian’s life is one of ups and downs. This is also true of the significant characters in the biblical record. This collection of messages on the life of David focuses on some key high and low points in his spiritual experience and is full of practical application.

C.H. Spurgeon regarded this book as an example of experimental preaching of the highest order.

The historical books of the Old Testament are the objects of repeated attacks. One of the best methods of defending them and preserving our belief in them is to use them diligently for practical religious purposes. If our acquaintance with them be very imperfect, and our study of them very infrequent, the spiritual profit we derive must be scanty. The less good we get from them the more difficult it is to maintain a living faith in their Divine authority. On the other hand, the more the histories of Scripture are read, the more it will be seen how true they are to human life and experience; how full they are of revelations of God and man; and how rich they are in lessons of wisdom for all generations. If by using them we find that they are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” it will be no impossible task for us to believe that “they were given by inspiration of God.” By their fruits in our own hearts and lives we shall judge them, knowing that men do not gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles.

It is with the hope of promoting, in some measure, an increased use of Old Testament histories that the following studies in the life of David are published. Only a few of the incidents of his eventful career have been taken, and these are not more fruitful in instruction than many of those which for lack of space have been left unnoticed. There will be a good recompense for the labour of writing, if what is here written sends its readers to the Bible with the determination to learn afresh all that can be learnt of the man after God’s own heart.

About the Author

Charles Vince (1823-1874) was an English Baptist minister serving in Birmingham for many years. Alongside his work as a pastor, he was widely respected for his contribution to the civil life of the city.

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Among the manifold responsibilities and privileges of being a scripturally-recognized elder in Christ’s church who is set apart to “labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 5:17), no function in that office is of greater importance than that of the preaching and teaching labors of the man of God.  

This book begins with the articulation of seven basic axioms that apply to every species of biblical preaching and teaching, and moves forward to identify the three basic categories of legitimate sermons. Then a working framework for the actual construction of sermons, including introductions and conclusions, is set before us. The concluding section focuses on the “Act of Preaching” itself. In these chapters, such things as the place of emotions, physical action, the use of vocal powers, and the benefits and liabilities of a sermon manuscript are thoroughly discussed.

The author sets a treatment of these various subjects that is drawn primarily from the contents of the Bible, the insights of general revelation, and the confirming voice of proven guides from past generations.

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About the Author
Albert N. Martin was one of the founding pastors of Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, NJ, where he labored for 46 years. Pastor Martin faithfully expounded the scriptures with a Christ-exalting focus and with passionate, penetrating, and pointed application at Trinity as well as at its annual pastors’ conferences. His ministry was also sought in churches and conferences throughout the States and around the world. In June 2008, he retired from his pastoral labors and relocated to Michigan with his wife, Dorothy, where he now resides while continuing his labors of counseling, writing, and preaching.

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Unit 3   The Sermon: Its Content & Form I

Ch. 1 The Heart and Soul of Our Preaching (1) – Axiom 1
Ch. 2 The Heart and Soul of Our Preaching (2) – Axiom 1
Ch. 3 Preaching Most Needed by Our Congregation – Axiom 2
Ch. 4 Perspicuity of Form & Structure (1) – Axiom 3
Ch. 5 Perspicuity of Form & Structure (2) – Axiom 3
Ch. 6 Applicatory Preaching (1) –Axiom 4
Ch. 7 Applicatory Preaching (2) –Axiom 4
Ch. 8 Illustrations in Preaching – Axiom 5
Ch. 9 Simplicity in Preaching (1) – Axiom 6
Ch. 10 Simplicity in Preaching (2) – Axiom 6
Ch. 11 Length in Preaching –Axiom 7
Ch. 12 Use of the Manuscript in Preaching (1)
Ch. 13 Use of the Manuscript in Preaching (2)

Unit 4   The Sermon: Its Content & Form II 

Ch. 1 Sacred Rhetoric
Ch. 2 Topical, Textual, and Consecutive-Expository Sermons
Ch. 3 Topical-Expository Sermons
Ch. 4 Textual-Expository Sermons
Ch. 5 Consecutive-Expository Sermons
Ch. 6 The Sermon Introduction (1)
Ch. 7 The Sermon Introduction (2)
Ch. 8 The Body of a Topical-Expository Sermon
Ch. 9 The Body of a Textual-Expository Sermon (1)
Ch. 10 The Body of a Textual-Expository Sermon (2)
Ch. 11 The Body of the Consecutive-Expository Sermon (1)
Ch. 12 The Body of the Consecutive-Expository Sermon (2)
Ch. 13 The Conclusion of the Sermon (1)
Ch. 14 The Conclusion of the Sermon (2)
Ch. 15 A Preaching Ministry Permeated with the Fragrance of Christ

Unit 5   The Act of Preaching 

Ch. 1 The Act of Preaching
Ch. 2 The Formative Perspectives of Sermon Delivery
Ch. 3 The Preacher in Relationship to God in the Act of Preaching
Ch. 4 The Preacher in Relationship to Himself in the Act of Preaching
Ch. 5 The Preacher’s Emotional Constitution and Activity (1)
Ch. 6 The Preacher’s Emotional Constitution and Activity (2)
Ch. 7 The Preacher’s Emotional Constitution and Activity (3)
Ch. 8 The Preacher’s Vocal Powers and Their Employment in the Act of Preaching (1)
Ch. 9 The Preacher’s Vocal Powers and Their Employment in the Act of Preaching (2)
Ch. 10 The Preacher’s Physical Action in Preaching
Ch. 11 The Preacher and His Relationship to His Hearers as He Preaches
Ch. 12 The Preacher and His Relationship to His Paper
Ch. 13 The Preacher in His Relationship to the Physical Context of His Preaching

Scripture Index
Topical Index
Author Index

Overall title for the series of 3 volumes: Pastoral Theology

Volume 1: The Man of God: His Calling and Godly Life 
Unit 1: The Call of the Man of God 
Unit 2: The Life of the Man of God

Volume 2: The Man of God: His Preaching and Teaching Labors 
Unit 3: The Sermon: Its Content and Form, Part I 
Unit 4: The Sermon: Its Content and Form, Part II 
Unit 5: The Act of Preaching

Volume 3: The Man of God: His Shepherding, Evangelizing, and Counseling Labors 
Unit 6: The Work of Government, Oversight, and Shepherding, Part I 
Unit 7: The Work of Government, Oversight, and Shepherding, Part II 
Unit 8: The Work of Evangelizing and Counseling

Important qualifications:

This list of recommended books is not intended to be a comprehensive list. Rather, it is a selected recommendation of some of the books that are carried by Trinity Book Service. The purpose of this is to give pastoral guidance and counsel with respect to reading material to the following groups within the congregation:

1. For those who are relatively new among us, to acquaint them with books that ought to be part of a good, growing family library, regardless of the presences or ages of the children within that family.
2. For every child of God who is serious about his or her growth in grace and recognizes the place of good reading material in pursuit of that growth.
3. For those who are seeking to lead family worship in an interesting, edifying and realistic way, recognizing the different ages and capacities of the children while they are still at home.
4. For every child of God who is serious about his evangelistic privileges and responsibilities, and who desires to have materials that will help him in pursuit of that crucial privilege and responsibility.

BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES LISTED ABOVE

1. A Basic Home Library of Biblical Knowledge

- One good commentary on the whole Bible, such as the six volumes of Matthew Henry or the three volumes of Matthew Poole

- Strong’s or Young’s Exhaustive Concordance (Strong’s Concordance has a number system that enables the student to see the different Greek and Hebrew words that are used, while Young’s Concordance categorizes into groups the various Hebrew and Greek words)

- Survey of the Bible by William Hendricksen

- Moody’s Atlas of Bible Lands

- Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary

- A Dictionary of Theological Terms by M.E. Manton

II. General Edification for the Serious Christian

A. Theological

- A New Systematic Theology by Robert Reymond (a reference work)

- Outlines of Theology by A.A. Hodge (a reference work)

- Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

- Knowing God by J.I. Packer

- The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson

- Grace Unknown by R.C. Sproul

- Five Points of Calvinism by Jack Seaton (a booklet)

- A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Confession by Sam Waldron

- A String of Pearls by Fred Malone

B. The Christian Life

- The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

- Holiness by J.C. Ryle

- The Thought of God by Maurice Roberts

- Practical Religion by J.C. Ryle

- Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

- Abridged editions of John Owen’s writings (These come in two levels, the most elementary being published by Grace Publications, and the next level published by the Banner of Truth Trust)

- Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd Jones

- Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Donald Whitney

- The Lord’s Day by Joseph Pipa

- Banner of Truth booklets such as:

- Living the Christian Life by A.N. Martin

- A Life of Principled Obedience by A.N. Martin

III. A Basic Library for Family Worship

A. The Biblical Basis for Family Worship

- Thoughts on Family Worship by James W. Alexander

- Family Worship by Kerry Ptacek

B. Practical Helps for Family Worship

1. For very young children

- Big Book of Questions and Answers - Sinclair Ferguson

- Big Book of Questions and Answers About Jesus - Sinclair Ferguson

- Bible Stories for Bedtime - Carine Mackenzie

- All of Carine Mackenzie’s individual Bible story booklets

- The Life of Jesus - Carine Mackenzie

- Followers of Jesus - Carine Mackenzie

- Children’s Story Bible - Anne deVries

- My First Book of Questions and Answers - Christian Focus (or any edition of the Children’s Catechism)

2. All others

- Hymnbooks

- Small Talks on Big Questions by Selah Helms and Susan Thompson (2 Volumes)

- The Shorter Catechism, A Baptist Version - Published by Simpson or by Grand Rapids

- Expository Thoughts on the Gospels by J.C. Ryle

- Proverbs by Charles Bridges

- The entire Let’s Study series by the Banner of Truth (for older children and adults)

- Morning Exercises and Evening Exercises - William Jay

- For individual book studies - the entire Welwyn series of commentaries

- Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus commentaries by Nancy Ganz

IV. Helps for Fulfilling Our Evangelistic Privilege and Mandate

- Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer(This book is a must to place the evangelistic duty and activity within a solid biblical and theological framework)

- Tell the Truth by Will Metzger(No finer “how to” book written from a sound theological perspective by someone who has engaged in the work of evangelism in a concentrated way for many years)

- All of the materials of John Blanchard - Ultimate Questions, an excellent evangelistic booklet, while Right with God is an amplification of that booklet.

- A Bad Record and a Bad Heart and What is a Biblical Christian? By A.N. Martin

- Most of the tracts in our tract rack

The following is a list of books of church history and biography which ought to be included in any Christian’s home library, whether one is a new believer of well advanced in the knowledge of Christ.

- Sketches of Church History by S.M. Houghton

- Five English Reformers by J.C. Ryle

- Christian Leaders of the 18th Century by J.C. Ryle

- Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

- A Mighty Fortress by Jim Cromarty (a modern biography of Luther)

- The Life of John Bunyan (two biography are available)

- The Life and Diary of David Brainard by Jonathan Edwards

- Five Pioneer Missionaries by John Thornbury

- The Life of Spurgeon by A. Dallimore

- The Early Years and The Full Harvest - The two-volume autobiography of Spurgeon edited by Iain Murray

- George Müller by Roger Steer

- The Life of M’Cheyne by Andrew Bonar

- My Heart in His Hands by Sharon James (a biography of Mrs. Judson)

- The entire biographical series printed by Youth With a Mission (These books come in several reading levels and are a MUST for our children, that they may be acquainted with the great names of those whom God has used throughout the centuries in the work of the Gospel)

- Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

- King of the Cannibals by Jim Cromarty (the thrilling life and ministry of John Paton, missionary in the South Sea Islands)

- It is Not Death to Die by Jim Cromarty (a gripping biography of Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission)

- Singing in the Fire by Faith Cook (All of Faith Cook’s other mini-biographies)