THE ROARING OF THE LION – A Commentary on Amos by Ray Beeley.
Published by, The Banner of Truth Trust.
Paperback, 117 pages, £3.95.
Available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE.
THIS is the second edition of this compact commentary on the Prophecy of Amos, which was last published in 1970 with the simple title Amos. The new title seems to be taken from Amos 1:2, “The Lord will roar from Zion”. As Matthew Henry has said, “The lion roars before he tears. God gives warning before He strikes.” As the text quoted is a fitting introduction to the Prophecy, so the title is a suitable one for the commentary on it.
The author, a retired minister of the Wesleyan Reformed Church, says that the book began as a series of notes that he compiled as part of his own personal Bible study. At the very outset he declares his high regard for the Bible: “the Holy Bible, this wonderful Book which He (God) caused to be written by His chosen men”. This reverential strain is continued throughout the book. We commend his use of the Authorised Version of the Scriptures.
In the first chapter the author gives the historical and religious background to the Prophecy, and in the second he gives a brief general view of the Prophecy. He then divides the text of the Prophecy into ten sections and gives an exposition of each, verse by verse, and sometimes word by word. He explains difficult passages with the aid of numerous references to other parts of Scripture and quotes from reliable, reformed commentators. At times he refers to the Berkeley version of the Bible, which we cannot commend, and has occasional quotations from uninspired hymns which add little to the book.
At the end of each chapter there is a meditation in which he makes personal application of the text to the reader. This we found to be a gripping, and possibly the most useful, part of the book. Here are a few examples:
“Do I enjoy close companionship with the Lord through prayer, reading the Word and other means of grace? Is my time with Him the most sacred and the most important part of my day?”
“I may continue to subscribe to the form of sound words’ when all manner of wordly thinking has entered into my life.”
“Am I concerned (to use an expression from one of the ancient fathers) to eat, drink and sleep eternal life?”
“Am I ready to follow Christ, whatever other loyalty I have to discard on the way?”
“Am I in the Church, in the place of His appointment, or is it the King’s Chapel, I being the King?”
“Keep in mind the importance of God’s Word. If you neglect it He may withdraw it.”
“How do I spend the Lord’s Day? Perhaps I am not like the people denounced here, but is my heart obsessed with material and personal consideration, or is it well-pleasing to God?”
Speaking of the relation of Amos to the Word of God he says, “He knew it well and used it to interpret and answer the problems of his day. We should likewise study the Word of God diligently, store it in our minds, and apply it to the situations of our day and age.”
This last quotation speaks to ministers: “It is worth noting how many of the great men of the Old Testament were herdsmen or shepherds. The occupation suggests certain characteristics required in the useful man of God:
1. Patience to keep at a routine job day after day.
2. Watchfulness lest any of the flock go astray or intruders seek to kill or steal.
3. Discipline against self-indulgence which might slacken watchfulness.
4. Steadfastness born of reliance on God to face loneliness and danger without fear.
5. Devotion to duty for seeking the lost which may prove a painful and tedious task requiring unremitting application.
6. Courage to face marauders or wild animals. It was as a shepherd that David faced the lion and the bear.”
This readable commentary on the prophecy of Amos is not intellectually taxing but is spiritually challenging, and for this reason alone it could be beneficial reading. For the general reader it gives an adequate overview and clear explanation of the Prophecy, and as such we commend it.
(Rev.) D. J. MacDonald
CHRIST FOR US – Sermons of Hugh Martin
Published by, The Banner of Truth Trust.
Paperback, 261 pages, £3.95.
Available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE.
HUGH MARTIN was one of the best ministers of the mid nineteenth century in Scotland. His books, such as The Shadow of Calvary, at one time published by the Free Presbyterian Church’s Publications Committee, have always been highly thought of. A contemporary reviewer of his work on The Atonement declared, “The author brings to bear extraordinary powers of reasoning, warmed and animated by a soul that has felt the blessedness of an interest in the blood of the atonement.” One could come to the same conclusion by reading these sermons.
A biographical introduction is followed by 15 sermons, only four of which have ever been published before. One of these, entitled Promise, Precept and Prayer, was printed in this magazine some years ago. It is based on the three texts: Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 36:26 and Psalm 51:10. Martin introduces his subject in these sublime words: “In all [these texts] the one unvaried topic of regeneration is placed before us; but in passing from one to another the point of view from which we look upon it is changed. In the first, it is presented to us embodied in a command, Make you a new heart and a new spirit.’ In the second, it is embodied in an offer, A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.’ In the third, it is embodied in a supplication, Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.’ The first comes from God the Lawgiver; the second comes from God the Redeemer; the third comes from man the suppliant. The first is the loud and authoritative voice of Majesty; the second is the still small voice of Mercy; the third is the humble, earnest voice of Entreaty. In the first, God presents His authority and demands His right; in the second, God presents His mercy, and makes offer of His gift; in the third, man presents to God his own offer again, and pleads for its fulfilment. The first is an utterance from the throne of justice; the second is an utterance from the throne of grace; the third is an utterance from its footstool. The first is a precept; the second is a promise; the third is a prayer.”
The Person and work of Christ have a prominent place in these sermons. One on Romans 6:6 begins as follows: “The two great evils which perplex the believer are the guilt of sin and the power of sin – its guilt, defiling his conscience and subjecting him to the anger of God; its power, corrupting and enslaving his heart and preventing him from serving the living God. His relief from both these evils is by the cross of Christ. From the guilt of sin the cross of Christ delivers him, for while in sin there is an efficacy to awaken the wrath of God and to disturb the conscience, making it like the troubled sea which cannot rest, there is in the blood of the cross a still greater efficacy to propitiate or pacify God and to purge the conscience from dead works. But from the power of sin also the cross of Christ delivers the believer, for it is the source or channel of an efficacy greater than the strength of our depravity, invincible though that depravity be under our own management. And this superior efficacy checks the triumph, overthrows the dominion, and breaks the bondage of sin, so that the believer is set free to be the servant of righteousness and of God.” And he concludes his discourse triumphantly, pointing to the true source of the believer’s safety: “With [Christ] therefore, being crucified, I nevertheless live, and, behold, I am alive for evermore; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, after the power of a life that is endless, and the security of a life that is hid in God.”
Towards the end of the book there are two powerful sermons on the plague of the heart (1 Kings 8:38). Martin points to such heart sins as covetousness, over-burdening care, vain thoughts, and the great difficulty of maintaining a spiritual savour in the mind of those divine things which the souls really loves. Then he goes on to warn of the difficulties in recognising the plague of one’s own heart: it has affected the very faculty by which its presence can alone be detected. Besides, there is the blinding influence of self-love and the singular deceitfulness of sin. “But”, he says, “if the difficulties of discovering the plague are great, the dangers of not discovering it are as great”: heart plagues are infectious and they spread also to others and contaminate them. So Martin points to the duty of examining our hearts to detect our heart plagues. And he goes on, “The discovery of heart plagues may be effected by examining the life and character of Christ. The cure of them will be found in His death. It is the death of Christ alone that has virtue in it to heal our plagues, to mortify and slay our lusts. All your resolutions, all your wise plans of surmounting and expelling your plagues, will never succeed unless you bring them continually to the cross of Christ.” Further, we “should cherish a deep sense of the evil of these plagues”. And he directs us, “Be persuaded that no heart plague can be cured unless you take your position decidedly within the covenant of grace and act upon its constitution and arrangements. . . . For the covenant of works can afford you no help or encouragement whatever.” Finally, “study universal sincerity in all duty and in resistance to all sin” and “remember that all your success is from the Holy Spirit”.
This volume gives us sermons which combine concentrated doctrinal teaching and practical application. We give it a warm welcome.
(Rev.) K. D. Macleod
Return to Table of Contents for The Free Presbyterian Magazine – October 1998