The Upper Room, by J C Ryle, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 415 pages, £15.00, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
The Banner of Truth has recently published a newly re-typeset edition of this book. It was originally published in 1888 and this is the Banner’s seventh edition since 1970. Often when books are re-issued, a new Bible translation is used; so it is good to see that the Authorised Version, as used by Ryle, is retained in this edition.
The book is a collection of sermons and addresses which Ryle sent to the press in the last years of his ministry. He says in his preface: “There are many thoughts in this volume which I do not wish to leave behind me in the precarious form of separate single sermons, addresses, lectures and tracts. I have therefore resolved to gather them together in the volume I now send forth, which I heartily pray God to bless, and to make it a permanent blessing to many souls.” The blurb tells us that here “reliable advice, grounded in biblical principles, is offered to ministers and congregations, parents and children, young and old, converted and unconverted”.
The book begins with a sermon from Acts 1:13, the text from which the title is taken, “They went up into an upper room”. Ryle speaks of who was there and of Peter’s wonderful address. “This”, he says, “was the first place of meeting of Christians for worship of which we have any record. . . . The ‘upper room‘, we should remember, was the forerunner of every church and cathedral which has been reared in Christendom within the last 18 centuries.”
The sermons and lectures cover a variety of different subjects, delivered with Ryle’s usual clarity and evangelical fervour. There are interesting sections on the duties of parents and the rights and duties of lay Churchmen. There are question and answer sections, one on regeneration and another on the Lord’s Supper. He has a particular concern for the well-being of young men, who he feels are particularly at risk, and the section, “Thoughts for Young Men”, is extensive and comprehensive.
Some of what Ryle writes could have been written today. He preached a sermon in 1879 on 1 John 5:4,5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” In it he says, “The subtle influence of the world, nowadays, seems to infect the very air we breathe. It creeps into families like an angel of light, and leads myriads captive, who never know that they are slaves. The enormous increase of . . . wealth, and consequent power of self-indulgence, and the immense growth of a passionate taste for recreations and amusements of all kinds; the startling rise and progress of a so-called liberality of opinion, which refuses to say anybody is wrong, whatever he does, and loudly asserts that, as in the days of the Judges, everyone should think and do what is right in his own eyes, and never be checked, all these strange phenomena of our age give the world an amazing additional power, and make it doubly needful for Christ’s ministers to cry aloud, Beware of the world!”
The chapter dealing with “The Duties of Parents” is based on Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. In a footnote he says, “I have sometimes been perfectly astonished at the slowness of sensible Christian parents to allow that their own children are at fault or deserve blame. There are not a few persons to whom I would far rather speak about their own sins, than tell them their children had done anything wrong.” He warns parents to remember children are born with a decided bias towards evil, and therefore if you let them choose for themselves, they are certain to choose wrong.
Parents should train their children in the way they should go, not the way they would. They should train them with affection and patience, with an awareness of the importance of the task, and that the child’s soul is to be considered above all. They should train their children to a knowledge of the Bible, a habit of prayer, habits of diligence and regularity in the public means of grace, a habit of faith (that is, believing what the parent says is correct), habits of obedience, to speak the truth always and to redeem the time. Parents should fear over-indulgence and remember how God trains His children. They should remember continually the influence of their own example, being always aware of the power of sin and the promises of Scripture. Finally, parents should train their children with continual prayer for a blessing on all they do.
In the section dealing with the Lord’s Supper, Ryle clearly explains the spiritual significance of the sacrament and outlines and explains a number of misconceptions concerning it. He describes those who should and should not sit at the Lord’s Table. In another prescient statement he says that most lay people “think all earnest, eloquent, zealous, hardworking clergymen cannot be far wrong. And when you tell them that there is an avowed determination among many clergymen to unprotestantise the Established Church, to go behind the Reformation, and to bring back the Romish mass and the confessional, you are too often smiled at as an alarmist and are not believed. . . . Too many are crying ‘peace, peace’, where there is no peace, and insisting that very earnest clergymen should be allowed to do what is right in their own eyes, to break the law, and to be let alone. In short, unless a change comes soon, our candlestick will be taken away, and our Church will be ruined.”
In the chapter on regeneration, Ryle with great clarity refutes the popish doctrine that regeneration accompanies baptism. As one would expect, Ryle’s writings reflect his position as a cleric in the Church of England but, notwithstanding this, in The Upper Room Christian doctrines are clearly described in easily understood language. As the publisher states, the material exhibits “the robust evangelical doctrine and down-to-earth application characteristic of Ryle’s style”. His books, sermons and expositions of the Gospels have been popular for generations, and this volume does not disappoint; it is enjoyable, instructive and full of practical religion. We would recommend that those who do not have this book should buy a copy, and that those who do should renew their acquaintance with it.
F R Daubney