All the books reviewed and otherwise mentioned here can be obtained from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom
Alexander Shields, by Matthew Vogan, published by the Scottish Reformation Society in their Scots Worthies series, paperback, 42 pages, £5.00. Shields may not have been one of the best-known Covenanter ministers, but he sincerely sought to be faithful to the principles of the Covenanting movement. Born around 1660, he did not come into prominence until near the end of the period of persecution. Shields spoke effusively of the success of the gospel under field-preachers such as John Blackadder and John Welsh: through their preaching, Christ’s “conquest was glorious, captivating poor slaves of Satan, and bringing them from his power unto God, and from darkness to light, wherein many were truly converted, more convinced, and generally all reformed from their former immoralities: that even robbers, thieves and profane men were some of them brought to a saving subjection to Christ”. Shields himself may well have got good for his soul at such meetings on remote moors.
He graduated MA in 1675 from Edinburgh University but found it necessary in 1679 to flee to Holland, where he completed his studies for the ministry. Shields was in London in 1684, and was licensed to preach by a group of Scottish Presbyterians ministers. He became a regular preacher to a congregation in the city, but was arrested for holding what was claimed to be an “illegal conventicle”. After some weeks’ imprisonment, Shields was sent to Scotland, where the authorities felt they had more liberty to torture prisoners. After a number of interviews with persecuting councils, Shields was sent to the Bass Rock, used as a prison for Covenanting ministers.
After being brought back to Edinburgh he escaped from prison and joined James Renwick, the noted Covenanter leader. Shields took his share of field-preaching, and in one sermon, pressing sinners “to close with Christ”, he insisted: “Take a look of precious Christ that is here offered unto you . . . or else we must denounce wrath and everlasting woe against you. . . Then make no excuse, but close the bargain with all your hearts, and let all your other lovers be gone, and embrace Him only in this gospel.”
The Glorious Revolution, following William III’s landing in Britain and the flight to France of James VII and II, brought freedom to the Covenanters. Shields was ordained in the Church of Scotland as a chaplain to the Cameronian Regiment. He accompanied the disastrous Scottish expedition to Darien (in Panama) in 1699. Large numbers of the would-be colonists died; famine forced the survivors to abandon Darien and sail for Jamaica. There Shields died of a fever in June 1700; he was only 40. A colleague paid him the following tribute: “His worth was little known or prized by the most of those he had sojourned and laboured among in the work of the gospel, of whom they were not worthy. This stroke [his death] was an awful frown of providence upon that poor company which he was taken from, and had so often and affectionately exhorted, reproved and admonished.”
This little book sums up the testimony of a worthy man who sought to honour the Lord fully in a very difficult period. It is both well written and attractively produced and, though Shields may not now be known by many, one welcomes this effort to keep his memory alive.
The Power and Sympathy of Christ, Expository Thoughts, with Notes, on the Eleventh Chapter of St John’s Gospel, by J C Ryle, published by the Banner of Truth Trust in their Banner Ryle Classics series, paperback, 154 pages, £6.00. The material in this book was first published separately in 1889 under the title Bethany, but it had already been made available 20 years earlier, as part of volume 2 of Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on John. Most of John 11 deals with illness and death and, in particular, with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. This book might therefore be particularly helpful to someone who is suffering from illness or has experienced bereavement.
All seven volumes of this series on the Gospels are available in hardback from the Banner of Truth.
Ryle notes in his Preface: “We live in the dying world . . . Year after year the gaps in our family circles increase.” And he asks, “Can we begin too soon to look steadily at such great subjects as sorrow, sickness, death, the grave, and the power and sympathy of Christ? I think not.” Accordingly, in a world where “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward”, the book could usefully focus people’s attention on the difficult circumstances which they are likely to meet later, if not sooner – and, for those who trust in the Saviour, the refuge they can continue to find in Him.
In his Expository Thoughts on Luke and John, Ryle first enlarges on a few themes in the passage he is considering. So, in the first section (verses 1-6) of the book under review, Ryle considers the following points: “True Christians may be sick and ill as well as others”; “Jesus Christ is the Christian’s best friend in the time of need”; “Christ knows best at what time to do anything for His people”. Ryle then goes on to deal with more detailed matters on a verse-by-verse basis. These “notes” are in smaller, but perfectly-readable, type. The book concludes with several pieces of poetry which suit the situation of believers facing death and illness.
Here are some examples of the profitable remarks to be found in this book: “Grace does not exempt us from trial. Sickness, on the contrary, is one of God’s most useful instruments for sanctifying His saints, and making them bear fruit of patience, and for showing the world that His people do not serve Him merely for what they get of bodily ease and comfort in this life.” “Every true Christian has a Friend in heaven, of almighty power and boundless love. He is thought of, cared for, provided for, defended by God’s eternal Son. He has an unfailing Protector, who never slumbers or sleeps, and watches continually over his interests.” “The sharpest sting of death is the sense of unpardoned sin.” “Man’s unbelief is a far more deeply-seated disease than it is generally reckoned. It is proof against the logic of facts, against reasoning, against argument, against moral suasion. Nothing can melt it down but the grace of God. If we ourselves believe, we can never be too thankful.”
As these quotations indicate, the book is written in that clear, straightforward style for which Ryle was noted. May it do much good!