Alexander Moody Stuart, A Memoir, Partly Autobiographical, by Kenneth Moody Stuart, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 474 pages, £17.00.
Moody Stuart is probably best known today for his book The Three Marys – on Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus; and Mary Magdalene. The memoir is by his son, and Principal John Macleod said of the book under review: “There are few ministerial biographies that are better worth reading than Moody Stuart’s Life”. This may be somewhat high praise, but the book is certainly well worth reading.
Alexander Moody Stuart was born in Paisley in 1809. After studies in Glasgow and Edinburgh, he was licensed to preach in 1831. It was only towards the end of 1832 that he obtained a permanent position – as a missionary on Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast. The account of his work there is largely autobiographical and what he says about his time in this fishing community probably provides us with the best biographical chapter
6Quoted in Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold, p 319.
7Quoted in Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold, p 322.
8Quoted in Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold, p 319,320.
9John Newton, Works, vol 2, Banner of Truth Trust reprint, 1985, p 327-8.
1Both books reviewed here may be obtained from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
in the whole book. His two-year spell on the island included an outbreak of cholera, and prayer meetings were held each day “to pray for the sick and dying”, to bless the outbreak of cholera to the people’s spiritual life, “and to ask for the preservation of those who were in health”. He believed that there had been some conversions under his ministry on Holy Island and he said in humility, “For these I shall for ever bless the Lord”, but he added that there was no “reaping of a harvest in the body of the people, of which I was both unworthy and unfit to be the instrument”.
Early 1835 brought Moody Stuart to Edinburgh as assistant to Robert Candlish, in St George’s church. Before long, Moody Stuart became minister of a new charge, which became known as St Luke’s. He was to continue in that congregation until old age caused him to leave off preaching in 1887. His son notes that “in the experimental, subjective, and searching character of his preaching he was more allied to the Highland divines such as Dr Kennedy of Dingwall, so that many Highlanders used to be attracted to St Luke’s”. He also notes that his father did not hold the pre-millennial view, which some of the better-known evangelical ministers in Scotland subscribed to – such as the Bonar brothers.
For a long time, Moody Stuart was Convener of the Free Church’s Jewish Mission Committee. He took great interest in its work and visited some places in eastern Europe, such as Budapest, where that work was carried out.
The story is told of Thomas Grant, later a minister in Tain, who was awakened to a concern for his soul as a boy: “He had heard so much about Mr Moody Stuart that he thought if he could hear him it would do him good. Learning that he was to preach in Huntly he went from Keith, but arrived late and found a crowd outside the place of meeting who could not get in. With the ardour of youth he determined to press his way in, hoping to find some vacant corner, and when at last he got in he found an empty space in front of the preacher, where he established himself just as the speaker with his finger on his forehead gave out his text, ‘Yet there is room’. The sermon made a deep and helpful impression upon him, and he realised from it that there was room in the Kingdom of Christ for all who would press into it.”
The fact that “Rabbi” John Duncan chose St Luke’s as his church should recommend Moody Stuart to us. Duncan often thanked his minister for his sermons, but he could also offer brotherly criticism, as when he told him: “You said today that the divine Son left His Father’s bosom and came into our world. When the Son came into our world, He came out from the bosom of the Father, but He never left it; He remained there always.” And Moody Stuart accepted the truth of Duncan’s remarks.
A chapter in the book is entitled, “A Man of Prayer”. One of the instances
used to illustrate his prayerfulness comes from his diary. It was a time of severe drought, and he noted, “I had a sense of guilt in not having prayed more earnestly for rain, and now it seemed further off than ever. This set me to seek the effectual fervent prayer that availeth much, and I pleaded with much earnestness, remembering that even for temporal blessings there is only good in intense supplication if it is with childlike submission to the will of God, and if we resign not only the object prayed for but likewise the prayer itself to the will of our heavenly Father.” He expected an answer within a day or two, but in fact there was heavy rain that very afternoon. He went on: “O for another such shower on the souls of many, and the God of heaven, who sendeth rain upon the earth, desireth much more to pour out His Spirit upon us”.
Another chapter contains “Memorable Sayings”. Let us note three of them: “In everything greater or less the Lord has taught me, ‘Thou hast destroyed thyself’, yet in everything great or little He has said to me, ‘But in Me is Thine help’”. “He brings us into difficulty that He may help us out of it, and that we may know our own helplessness.” “Men often speak of faith as if it were the easiest thing in the world: of all things in the world it is the most difficult. It is impossible to man; it is the gift of God.”
Moody Stuart was the author of several books, including Capernaum, from which a series of extracts appeared recently in this Magazine. Another noteworthy publication was his commentary on the Song of Solomon; Rev Donald MacLean regarded it as the best exposition of this book of Scripture.
The reprinting of this volume is to be welcomed, especially as it now appears in a clear, modern typeface. It contains well over 100 pages of new material, including sermons and addresses – among them addresses that Moody Stuart gave as Convener of the Jewish Mission Committee.
In The Power of the Spirit, Sermons on Matthew, Mark & Luke, by John Calvin, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 320 pages, £15.00. The Introduction to this book tells us, “Of the many sermons which Calvin preached on the Synoptic Gospels, only the first sixty-five were recorded and published, under the title, Sermons on the Harmony or Concordance of the Three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke (1562). Eighteen of these sermons appear here, for the first time in an English translation. They focus on the events of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee: His baptism, His testing by Satan, the calling of His first disciples, His teaching and His works of healing.”
These sermons are eminently readable and, as one would expect from Calvin, full of instruction and good matter. Disappointingly, the translator, Robert White, formerly an academic in the University of Sydney, has taken
the liberty of causing Calvin to address the Most High as “you” and “your”. Otherwise, the translation flows easily, which makes the sermons a pleasure to read. They contain many beautiful exhortations such as this, “From Christ we must draw all the goodness we have. If we come thirstily to drink at this spring, we will be fully satisfied, but we cannot look within ourselves for what comes to us from somewhere else.”
The sermons begin with John the Baptist’s call to repentance and conclude with a sermon on the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. Each sermon begins with a short prayer and concludes in the same way. Throughout the sermons, comparisons are made between true doctrine and the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church; Calvin was a preacher of his time and was deeply concerned to teach his hearers the errors of the Papacy. The motto of Rome is, “Always the same”; so we too should take note.
In the first sermon we are told that “the real object of faith is our Lord Jesus Christ. Until we have Him to point the way, it is impossible for us to believe in God. As we said before, the distance is much too great, and we would faint 100 000 times before we got close to half-way along the road, if Jesus Christ did not forestall us so as to lead and guide us to God His Father. He is the true object of faith. That is, just as those who shoot with a gun or with a bow have a target, so faith’s true target is Jesus Christ.”
Since the gospel is the key which opens the kingdom of heaven to us, since it is God’s power of salvation to all who believe, Calvin says, “The gospel has all these powers and uses, but if we remain wallowing in our filth and obsessed by earthly things, and if we are not consciously moved so that we come in obedience to God – ah! we will discover that the gospel is a fan. What will it do? It will separate out the chaff, throw it onto the dung heap and burn it with fire – a fire which will never go out!”
In the sermon on the Saviour’s baptism, he says, “This is a principle common to all sacraments, which we do well to remember. Baptism reveals that water serves to lead us to the spiritual washing of our souls . . . . Similarly in the Supper, the bread is a token that our souls are fed by the substance of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the wine is a sign to us that we taste and drink of Him. Thus, the sign described for us here attests our Lord’s gentleness, kindness and mildness, which assure us that, because He is so well disposed, we should not hesitate to come through Him to the throne of God, knowing that it is no longer a throne of terror and strict justice, but a throne of grace, as the apostle says in Hebrews (Heb 4:16).”
On the subject of “the gospel to the poor (Lk 4:16-19)” he says, “Without the preaching of God’s Word, the world is completely lost. We must always remain accursed, having no hope of salvation. Is God willing to have pity on
us and to demonstrate in a tangible way His mercy towards us? Then He sends us His word, so as to summon us to faith and to draw near to us; and not only to draw near but to enter in and dwell within us!”
He tells us that if God is said to stretch out His arms all day long to a thankless and rebellious people (Is 65:2), let us make sure that such rebukes are not addressed to us, and that whenever the gospel is preached we come to God, believing that He is calling us and will always welcome us.
The concluding prayer after the last sermon is, “Now let us cast ourselves down before the majesty of our good God, acknowledging our faults and beseeching Him so to make us feel them that we may be humbled before Him and may sigh for our sins. Above all, may He deliver us from our bondage to Satan and cleanse us from all our filth, clothing us with the purity of His righteousness. And may we endeavour to glorify His holy name as long as we live, and to obey His holy commandments by which He is pleased to rule over us.” A wonderful prayer to close any book of sermons and a prayer to live by!
There is much in this volume of sermons that is heart-warming. It is well produced and a welcome addition to any Christian’s bookshelf.
F R Daubney
Protestant View
Pope Unites Rome with Sikh, Muslim and Hindu Religions
It is somewhat intriguing to note the number of times that certain leading Roman Catholic theologians and other papal apologists in different parts of the world, when speaking or writing of Pope Francis, express their frustration, irritation and annoyance at what they deem to be his unguarded and heretical comments. The poor followers of Rome should by now have been used to having leaders who were both incompetent and inconsistent: she has had so many in the past that Pope Francis’ behaviour should not be considered extraordinary.
Pope Francis is deemed by many to be a most humble and charismatic leader and to have brought to the “Holy See” a breath of fresh air. However, like all his predecessors, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, who most solemnly has deceived and is deceiving millions for eternity.
The Pope has characterised his tenure of office by endeavouring to portray the organisation he leads as winsomely different from what it has been in the past: that the old and unbending institution of the Middle Ages is not only gradually imitating and imbibing the ungodly culture of the world around it
in the twenty-first century but leading the vanguard of even greater apostasy by also seeking to be hand-in-glove with all the other world religions, which no doubt it purposes, in process of time, ultimately to dominate and rule.
Addressing young people from different heathen cultures attending a multi-faith assembly in Rome, Pope Francis recently stated that every religion was a way to God and arrived at God. The rather convoluted way in which this was stated in English (through a translator) was, “Because every religion is a way to arrive at God. Sort of a comparison, an example would be they’re sort of like different languages in order to arrive at God. But God is God for all. And if God is God for all, then we’re all sons and daughters of God . . . There’s only one God and each of us is a language, so to speak, in order to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths”.
How we ought to pray for the deliverance of the multitudes in heathen darkness, be they overwhelmed by the beguiling evils of Romanism or under the formidable influences of the many other deviously false and antichristian systems of iniquity (by whatever name they may be known) that evidence rebellion against man’s good and gracious Creator! In the mercy and grace of God, may many be brought to see the damnable errors with which they have been beguiled, and may they flee to the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Saviour of sinners, in whom alone they may find the mercy of the true and living God!
DPR