- The books reviewed here are available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones 1899-1981, by Iain H Murray, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, paperback, 476 pages, £11.00.
The opening words of Iain Murray’s preface explain his purpose in writing another book on Dr Lloyd-Jones: “This book is a recast, condensed and, in many parts, rewritten version of my two volumes D Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years (1982) and The Fight of Faith (1990). Since those dates, the life of Dr Lloyd-Jones has been the subject of comment and assessment in many publications and I have taken that into account. The main purpose of a further biography, however, is to put Dr Lloyd-Jones’ life before another generation in a more accessible form” (p xi).
Mr Murray has compressed the 1190 pages of the two-volume work into just 458 pages in the book under review. It is not an easy matter to condense material and still retain a balanced biography. This he has achieved admirably. The period embraced in The First Forty Years (1899-1939) had 381 pages, in the abridged edition it has 183 pages, while the period covered in The Fight of Faith (1939-1981) had a massive 809 pages and is now dealt with in just 275 pages. It will be seen from this that the most extensive abridgement has taken place in detailing the latter half of Lloyd-Jones’ life, yet it is in this period that Mr Murray has interacted most with the literature produced since he completed The Fight of Faith 23 years ago.
As a biographer Mr Murray’s skill consists in not only detailing the history but also bringing out what is heart-warming and edifying. The now well-known outline of Lloyd-Jones’ life is retold: his upbringing in mid-Wales, his antipathy to boarding school, his father’s bankruptcy and the move to London, where the family set up a dairy business. Mr Murray then outlines his short but distinguished medical career, in which he eventually became Chief Clinical Assistant to Thomas Horder at St Bartholomew’s in London. This is followed by his call to the gospel ministry, which began in an industrial part of South Wales at Forward Movement Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Aberavon. After a ministry of just over 12 years at Aberavon, which witnessed many conversions, he became the assistant to George Campbell Morgan, the minister of Westminster Chapel, London. Following Campbell Morgan’s retirement in 1943, Lloyd-Jones was the sole minister at the Chapel and from that vantage point in the capital of the United Kingdom he was to have a decisive influence on the recovery of the Reformed faith in England and Wales until his death in 1981.
Mr Murray explains how Lloyd-Jones, in the last 50 years of his life, was at the centre of almost all the organisations that were at the heart of the change in English and Welsh Evangelicalism; these included student work with the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, the beginning of London Bible College, the Evangelical Library, the Puritan Conference, the commencement of the Banner of Truth Trust, the Evangelical Movement of Wales, the Bala Ministers’ Conference, the Westminster Ministers’ Fellowship and in later life the setting up of the London Theological Seminary. Considerable attention is given to the events leading up to his call for Evangelical unity in October 1966 at Westminster Central Hall, when he and Rev John Stott were in open disagreement. The chapter dealing with this has been extensively revised in the light of further publications since The Fight of Faith was published in 1990. In addition, Lloyd-Jones’ view of the ecumenical movement and his opposition to Romanism and its dangers are fully detailed.
As one might expect there is a considerable emphasis in the biography on sermon preparation and preaching and there are many testimonies to Lloyd-Jones’ outstanding ability as a preacher. In 1942 he delivered an evangelistic sermon, with the raising of Jairus’ daughter as its theme, at Trinity College, Cambridge. The Master of Trinity, the historian G M Trevelyan in cap and gown, was present along with a colleague, Professor G D Broad. After the address, Trevelyan made his way to the speaker and, removing his cap, said with considerable emotion, “Sir, it has been given to you to speak with great power”. Broad, less impressed, was later to tell a student, “If the Master hears that man much more he is going to be converted” (p 229). An Anglican testimony regarding Lloyd-Jones’ preaching is from R V G Tasker, Professor of New Testament Exegesis at King’s College, London, whose life had been revolutionised by hearing Lloyd-Jones in 1947. After hearing him preach at Westminster Chapel, he commented, “This is preaching on a grand style; by the time we Anglicans have concluded our little homilies the Doctor is just emerging from his introduction” (p 333).
The biography concludes with a moving account of the way Martyn Lloyd-Jones faced death. During a visit to him shortly before he died, Iain Murray spoke to him about a believer that he knew who all his life had been like Bunyan’s Mr Fearing yet passed on with great joy. Mr Murray then commented to the Doctor, “How wonderful it would have been if he had lived like that”. Lloyd-Jones response had an element of disapproval: “But don’t underestimate dying! Death (with great emphasis) is ‘the last enemy’. Men may live well who do not die victoriously” (p 446).
Whilst we welcome the volume as an important addition to the growing literature on Dr Lloyd-Jones, of which Iain Murray has made the most significant contribution, a note of caution must be made. Lloyd-Jones’ witness was, in a number of areas, quite different from that of the Free Presbyterian Church. We merely list some of these areas with little or no comment:
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His doctrine of the Church was far different from that of Scottish Presbyterianism (see pp 380-381). This is also highlighted in some detail in Appendix 3 to The Fight of Faith, pp 789-791. Westminster Chapel had no elders and, though a Congregational church, few decisions were taken by the church meeting.
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Lloyd-Jones held to a “second-blessing” type of theology (see pp 426-431). In 1986 the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church sounded a clear note of warning against this defective aspect of his teaching (see The Free Presbyterian Magazine, vol 91, pp 201-202).
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His willingness to co-operate with Arminians (see p 329). This appears to have been a significant factor in Lloyd-Jones’ disagreement with Professor John Murray on whether the early Leicester Conference should leave Arminianism as an “open question” if the Conference were to draw up a creedal statement (see The Fight of Faith, pp 499-501).
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Though Lloyd-Jones opposed Billy Graham, this was due only to his disagreement with calling for public decisions and co-operation with modernists and not his Arminian theology (see p 337). This is in very marked contrast to the article by Rev Donald MacLean who opposed Dr Graham on his Arminianism as well as his calling for decisions and co-operation with liberals (see The Free Presbyterian Magazine, vol 71, pp 3-8).
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His approval of uninspired hymns and organ music in public worship (see pp 301-304).
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The celebration of Christmas (see pp 258-259).
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The approval of women praying at public prayer meetings (see p 252).
It is rather surprising that Mr Murray has not interacted far more with R T Kendall’s autobiography2 which contains, from the reviewer’s perspective, far more damaging comments on “the Doctor” than the statements in some of the books that Mr Murray has chosen to controvert.
- See R T Kendall, In Pursuit of His Glory, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, pp 23-34. Iain Murray reviewed this book in the Banner of Truth Magazine, issue 486. The review, which is excellent, heavily critiques Kendall for the way he changed Westminster Chapel from what it was in Lloyd-Jones’ day. He does not, however, interact significantly with the assertions of Kendall in the pages highlighted.
This condensed life of Dr Lloyd-Jones meets the Banner of Truth’s usual high standards of production and has a remarkably low price for such a large and sturdy paperback. If you possess the two-volume life, it is still worthwhile to buy this updated, condensed edition. For those coming to Lloyd-Jones for the first time, this book would be a good place to start. However, Iain Murray’s two-volume biography still remains the definitive life of Dr Lloyd-Jones and it would be a great pity if the larger work were to be replaced by this volume.
Roy Middleton
Old Paths, by J C Ryle, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 408 pages, £15.00.
Many of us will already be familiar with an older edition of this book and can fondly recall reading messages on such subjects as Inspiration, Our Souls, Few Saved, Dead or Alive, The Holy Ghost, The Heart, Faith and Repentance. The great hallmarks of J C Ryle, vicar of Stradbroke in Suffolk from 1861 to 1880 and Bishop of Liverpool from 1880 to 1900, is his simplicity of language and his clear and earnest application. His concern for the truth and for the salvation of his fellow sinners comes out very powerfully in those 19 messages, which he believed would be more likely to be read if put in a single volume than if put out as individual tracts.
It is difficult to choose an extract out of the wealth of riches in those papers, but a typical example of Ryle’s writing is to be found in the paper entitled, “Our Hope”:
“Let us beware of supposing that any hope is good which is not founded on Christ. All other hopes are built on sand. They may look well in the summer time of health and prosperity, but they will fail in the day of sickness and the hour of death. ‘Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ’ (1 Cor 3:11).
“Church-membership is no foundation of hope. We may belong to the best of churches, and yet never belong to Christ. We may fill our pew regularly every [Lord’s Day] and hear the sermons of orthodox, ordained clergymen, and yet never hear the voice of Jesus, or follow Him. If we have nothing better than church-membership to rest upon we are in a poor plight: we have nothing solid beneath our feet.
“Reception of the sacraments is no foundation of hope. We may be washed in the waters of baptism, and yet know nothing of the water of life. We may go to the Lord’s table every [Lord’s Day] of our lives, and yet never eat Christ’s body and drink Christ’s blood by faith. Miserable indeed is our condition if we can say nothing more than this! We possess nothing but the outside of Christianity: we are leaning on a reed.
“Christ Himself is the only true foundation of a good hope. He is the rock, His work is perfect. He is the stone, the sure stone, the tried corner stone. He is able to bear all the weight that we can lay upon Him. He only that buildeth on Him shall not be confounded (Deut 32:4, Is 28:16, 1 Pet 2:6).”
This reprint is warmly recommended. It will be of special help in establishing those who are young in the faith in the doctrines which Ryle deals with.
(Rev) W A Weale