“Jehovah Shepherding His Sheep,” Sermons on the Twenty-third Psalm By Rev. J. R. Beeke
This volume of sermons is an elaborate work after the thorough, methodical manner favoured by the Dutch divines. Each verse of the psalm is dissected and made the subject of 3 to 5 sermons in which every word of the text is minutely examined and the spiritual experience of the believer drawn out. The sermons are steeped in the writings of the Reformers and Puritans and the Scottish Divines are given a prominent place such as Hugh Binning, Halyburton, John Brown of Haddington and even McCheyne is noticed, etc., along with Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Whitefield, Flavel, Bunyan, etc. of whose writings extensive use is made. The preacher complains of the “doctrinal shallowness” of the present day. “There is little true religion left in our modern world,” he says. There is no shallowness here, however. On the words of verse 1, ‘I shall not want,’ room is found for a somewhat full discussion of the theological problem of the relation of the Predestination of God to the fall of man. The distinction is moral as the Divine Decrees are eternal. Infralapsarianism, ‘below the fall’ insists that the decree of Divine Predestination must morally follow the divine decree of creation and the fall. Supralapsarianism, ‘above the fall,’ teaches that the Divine Predestination must morally precede the decree of creation and the fall. The former view is regarded as a ‘loving act of grace in which God decreed to save certain individuals whom He already viewed as created and fallen,’ while the latter is ‘a pure, sovereign act of good pleasure in which God decreed to elect certain individuals and reprobate certain individuals.’ The Dutch view adopted by Beeke is the latter, while Infralapsarianism has always been the Augustinian, Reformed and our Westminster Confessional view. These sermons were prepared for public reading in congregations without a stated pastor, a practice which seems to be quite prevalent in the Dutch Churches of Holland and America. Each sermon is scaled down to suit the needs of each congregation. Illustrations, discussions, extensions, etc. are enclosed within brackets, to be omitted, if need be, without impairing the flow of the sermon. It was said of the Erskines, that after they had delivered several sermons on any text of scripture, they left the subject threadbare for anyone following them. This is true also of the present volume which is thoroughly evangelical, richly experimental, and eminently scriptural. The price is $13-50, discount price $7-50. Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing Committee, 1020, N. Main Avenue, Sioux Centre, Iowa 51250.
If any criticism may be allowed, it is that among the divisions and numerous sub headings of the sermons, the true meaning of the text is apt to become obscure. It would also, we think, have been an improvement if the appendix at the end of the book, consisting of sermons, preached on special occasions, such as the dedication of Church organs and buildings, the ordination of ministers, and farewell addresses had been omitted. This applies also to the 9 line drawings that accompany the text. With these reservations, it may be said that this large, handsome volume of 451 pages, selling with a discount rate for churches and church people of $7-50, is offered at a remarkably low price. Those who can find time to study this weighty volume will be amply rewarded for their trouble and patience.
A.F.M