Prepared by Grace, for Grace, The Puritans on God’s Ordinary Way of Leading Sinners to Christ
by Joel R Beeke and Paul M Smalley, published by Reformation Heritage Books, paperback, 311 pages, £13.99 from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
This book was written in reaction to attempts by academic writers in secular universities – notably Perry Miller – to explore the idea of preparation for conversion in Puritan writing. Miller, who died in 1963, was a professor at Harvard. This volume refers to his argument that the Puritan emphasis on the doctrine of preparation – when under conviction of sin – was an attempt to get around the doctrine of divine sovereignty and “give human effort a place in the predestined world” (p 10). But how can people who have never experienced the saving work of the Holy Spirit write helpfully on that work?
One question that arises is, Where do the common operations of the Holy Spirit end and His saving work begin? Or, What is preparatory to conversion? Perhaps the best answer comes in a quotation from Wilhelmus à Brakel: “If one were further to ask if he must and can know the moment when he exercised faith for the first time, I would answer that he neither has to know this time nor is able to know this with certainty. If he were to begin with the first serious conviction, in all probability he did not have faith as yet. If he were to begin with the moment when, for the first time, he exercised faith consciously and in a most heartfelt manner, he would reckon too late, but in all probability he already had faith. I maintain that one cannot, or rarely can, know the precise moment when faith begins and when regeneration occurs. It is also not necessary to know this, and it is sufficient if, upon good grounds, from God’s Word and from a proper knowledge of one’s heart and deeds, one may conclude that he believes and is regenerated.”
And Thomas Hooker is quoted: “That soul which was secured by any other means, save only by Christ, was never truly wounded for sin. . . . But if the soul were truly wounded for sin, then nothing can cure him but a Saviour to pardon him, and grace to purge him.”
There are many other helpful quotations from a wide selection of Puritan writers, and the authors themselves provide a balanced discussion of an important subject. There is certainly a place for refuting inaccurate analyses of religious writings from the past, yet we may perhaps derive more spiritual benefit by reading the actual books, when these are currently available, which were produced by the godly writers of previous centuries.
Power in the Pulpit
by Henry C Fish, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, booklet, 27 pages, £1.50, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian ookroom. Fish may not be this reviewer’s favourite writer, but this is an excellent booklet. He fully acknowledges the need for the truth to be applied by the Holy Spirit if it is to be effective, but here he focuses on “the conditions of power in the pulpit, in its human aspect”.
He refers first to the matter in preaching; it must be “religious truth”. He advocates the use of actual Scripture in sermons and emphasises that the preacher must “dwell much” on man as a sinner and Christ as the Saviour, if there is to be power in his preaching.
The author’s second main point is the manner of preaching, referring both to the structure and the delivery of the sermon. He stresses the need for plainness, simplicity and directness.
The final point is the man himself. Fish quotes an old divine: “A minister’s life is the life of his ministry”. He must have piety, knowledge, courage, experience, industriousness, sympathy, earnestness, prayer and faith.
The book closes with a “note on preaching and prayer”, from the interesting book by Owen Jones: Some of the Great Preachers of Wales (republished by Tentmaker Publications). The men referred to in this note were well known for their prayerfulness and for their power in the pulpit. May this booklet not only encourage ministers to seek the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit to accompany God’s Word, but also to cultivate these other aspects of their work which the Lord has often been pleased to use.