Highly recommended!

“Only a prayer meeting!”

    C H Spurgeon,

Are the prayer meetings in decline? Is there a low view of the importance of them? The church in this country is experiencing difficulties and yet the prayer meeting is suffering. These things ought not to be. When reading through the book of Acts we cannot fail to see that the early Church placed great importance upon the gathering of the people for prayer. It, being instituted by our Lord, therefore is of great concern to us. C H Spurgeon contended hard for the prayer meeting, which thankfully was heeded by many in his day. In this book there are a number of addresses, sermons and illustrations which have been gathered together, to encourage Christians to pray. The book begins with Spurgeon's address in which he declares those now familiar words; 'only a prayer meeting!' Listen to Spurgeon; 'What a company we have here tonight! It fills my heart with gladness, and my eyes with tears of joy, to see so many hundreds of persons gathered together at what is sometimes wickedly described as “only a prayer meeting.” It is good for us to draw nigh unto God in prayer,and specially good to make up a great congregation for such a purpose.” At the last prayer meeting our glorious King was in the midst; were you there? If not, can you honestly say, He understood and accepted my absence.

May the Lord stir us up to pray!

 

New arrival!

In His infinite wisdom, our Lord graciously gave to the Church, a wonderful manual of praise, commonly called the Book of Psalms. It has never been surpassed, nor can be, though many have thought otherwise. No one can deny, if they seriously read the Bible, that the singing of Psalms has an important place in the Worship of God. Sadly

the singing of Psalms is never, or rarely heard in many congregations. Even from a non exclusive psalm singing position, which as you know is not the position I take, this ought not be. In their own arguments many have believed in the singing of Psalms, yet in practice they are generally at odds with themselves. As God has made abundantly plain that the Psalms are to be sung in worship, where they have been neglected, a recovery is urgently needed. Thankfully there are some signs of hope, for which we give God the praise, however much more must be done for God's glory. Any book that has been compiled by good men who advocate Psalm singing has to, and must be recommended. 'Sing a new song, Recovering Psalm singing for the twenty first century', fits into this category.

As a little taster, the three main parts of the book are as follows;

Part 1 Psalm singing in History.

Part 2 Psalm singing in Scripture.

Part 3 Psalm singing in the twenty first century.

We are grateful to Joel Beeke, Anthony T Selvaggio and all who worked on and contributed to this excellent book.

May it be, that under God, we live to see a wonderful recovery

“Sing unto him, sing psalms unto

him:” Psalm 105 : 2

For further details
click on following link.

 Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty First-Century

Commemorative Booklet

www.trinitarianbiblesociety.org

2011 marks the 400th Anniversary of the Authorised, (King James) Version. Despite numerous versions since its appearance, and the many unwarranted criticisms made upon it, the Authorised version remains the best and most accurate English translation we have in circulation today, and which is still widely in use. Even the New King James Bible, which, is probably about the best of the modern translations cannot compare with the Authorised Version. 

To mark the 400th Anniversary, the Trinitarian Bible Society have published a short but very informative booklet, entitled, “The Authorised Version, A Wonderful and Unfinished History” . The author is C.P. Hallihan. 

After a useful timeline, there follows five chapters covering such subjects as the Manuscripts, John Wycliff and the English Bible, the Hampton Court Conference and the printing of the Authorised Version. In the sixth and final chapter entitled itself, “The Last Chapter?”, we are left with considering that this is an unfinished story. God is still blessing the use of this wonderful and accurate translation of His Holy word; not only to the salvation of many, but to the blessing of many a congregation and individual believer. 

At the end of the book come the 'Appendices.' The first concerns the 1604 Directive, and the last concerns the men who were chosen to form the committee responsible for this wonderful translation. 

In this booklet, we have before us a concise but extremely helpful reminder of an unfinished history under the providential hand of God, concerning the Authorised Version. 

I heartily recommend this booklet, but particularly the Authorised Version which this booklet sets forth. May God continue to use this faithful translation of His word to the salvation of the lost sinners, and to the blessing of many a congregation and individual believer.

The Diary of Kenneth Macrae

Any man, aged eighty at his death, having a procession a quarter of mile long, consisting of men only, and following his coffin to his grave, deserves some attention.

Rev. Iain Murray has, for The Banner of Truth Trust, edited Mr. Macrae`s diary, covering a period of his fifty years in the Christian ministry. The diary appeared in book form, 535 pages, in the year 1979, but sadly, it is now out of print. This reviewer makes no apology for having read the diary four times.

Kenneth Macrae was born on November 4th. 1883, in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland. His earliest memories were of Fort George, the military garrison on the Moray shore. His father was a recruiting officer for the Seaforth Highlanders. In 1899 Macrae entered the civil service, obtaining a first class certificate in electricity and telegraphy. 

His conversion took place in this manner: he writes, “I went from church to church, and got nothing. God took His own way of liberating me”. In 1964, he again wrote, “I hereby put on record, that since the LORD, in His sovereign mercy, entered my heart on the lonely summit of Bell`s Hill in the Pentlands, on that memorable afternoon - 9th. August 1909 – I have ever sought to serve Him as my only LORD”.

Macrae attended St. Columba`s Church in Edinburgh, and entered the university in 1911, and the Free Church College soon after. In 1915 he was called to the Free Church congregation of Lochgilphead, which lies on the shores of Loch Fyne. This is how Macrae sums up his eight years of ministry there: “Thus ended the most blessed time I have ever had in my life. I had been inclined to think that the LORD was so grieved by the sins of His people that he had ceased to evidence gospel power in any marked degree. This is a great lesson for me: the power of prayer. Blessed be the LORD for giving such a wretched sinner such a sight of His power”. Mr. Macrae went on to be the minister at Kilmuir in Skye from 1919 to 1931, where he experienced much blessing from God. From 1931 until his death in 1964, he exercised his outstanding ministry in Stornaway on Lewis, where hundreds of young people, for two generations, loved him, and waited on his ministry from Sabbath to Sabbath, as if spell-bound.

What was the secret of his power over the young?  Was it compromise in matters of doctrine and worship, so common today? No, it was a strict faithfulness to the Word of God and the doctrines of grace. But, like Daniel of old, he often had to plough a very lonely furrow, and pay the price for his convictions, but he was always the stalwart Christian gentleman, calm in debate, and honest in self examination. Macrae was truly a champion of the Reformed Faith, who loved reverent worship, and the singing of unaccompanied Psalms exclusively in worship. 

Now he has gone to his reward, and who will take up the Macrae mantle today? Has God His man hidden somewhere in a prison as Joseph was? How urgent the need to train young ministers in the Reformed Faith today, and so we should pray with the psalmist:

                           “Instead of those thy fathers dear

                            Thy children Thou mayest take,

                               And in all places of the earth

                               Them noble princes make”.

Gary A Jerrard

A View of the Covenant of Grace
by Thomas Boston





Thomas Boston, a truly prolific Puritan writer, lived only to the age of 56 years. He was licensed to preach in 1697, and was ordained to the gospel ministry at Simprin in 1699. “With joy”, he says, “I saw myself in Simprin as in a nest, under the shadow of Christ's wings”.

His volume, “A View of the Covenant of Grace”, is thoroughly Scriptural, (as are all his works), and to read it is a spiritually enriching experience. It is undoubtedly one of the best books on the Covenant of Grace, and it ought to be read more widely than it is. Boston emphasises the importance of the Covenant of Grace, as it underlies the theme of the whole of Scripture. The doctrine is strongly Trinitarian, emphasising the sovereignty of God, preserving the truth of human responsibility, affording the possibility of true experimental religion, guaranteeing the believer's perseverance in grace, and his eternal security.

It is the Covenant of Grace that establishes the unity and the continuity of the true Church. Hebrews 9:15, “And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance”.

This book is in print as part of Volume 8 (which also includes "Human Nature in its Fourfold State") of the Works of Thomas Boston.

Publisher: Sovereign Grace Publishers (September 2001)

ISBN-10: 1589602064

ISBN-13: 978-1589602064

 For the Month of December, 2010 

Free Bible to residents living the New Forest, Hampshire. (UK)

Brown's Dictionary of Bible Characters Ed Stonier

John Brown was born in 1722, and, by the will of God became an eminent Bible theologian. His Dictionary is Christ centred, and covers practically everything, making it useful for gospel preachers.

From this Dictionary, Geoffrey Stonier, (International Director of Preacher's Help), has extracted the most significant Bible names, to produce this helpful volume. After a comprehensive memoir, (43 pages long, by John Brown's grandson), Mr. Stonier begins with Aaron and ends with Zuph.

Hundreds of Bible names are helpfully arranged in alphabetical order, and once we start to dig into these pages, they will light up with spark and fire. Names perhaps previously skimmed over begin to develop special spiritual relevance.

John Brown's Dictionary demonstrates to us that we can so easily miss priceless information which could make our knowledge of God's grace in redemption so much the more vibrant.The volume ends with a helpful index of some sixty three authors quoted in Brown's Dictionary.

Publisher: Christian Focus Publications (March 2009)

ISBN-10: 1845502663

ISBN-13: 978-1845502663

New Arrival


The Sound hearted Christian
William Greenhill

For more details click on following link:
Heritage Books. Joel Beeke


Publisher's Description: Nearing the end of his life and ministry, William Greenhill left his congregation a parting gift and lasting testimony of his pastoral care for their souls—he published The Sound-Hearted Christian. This book developed from a series of sermons Greenhill preached on Psalm 119:18, “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.” Greenhill shows that a sound heart is watchful and attentive, recognizing that our soul is our greatest possession. After demonstrating the excellence and desirability of a sound heart, he challenges us to test the soundness of our heart. He then directs and motivates us to get and keep a sound heart. The book ends with several appended sermons on faith, Christ, and God’s Word, which serve as further encouragements to establishing and maintaining a sound heart.

"Greenhill’s exposition of sound-heartedness is superlative. His chapters on how to keep and retain a sound heart are themselves worth the price of the book. The five additional sermons included in this volume are incredibly rich and clear in content, and help promote sound-hearted Christian living. Taken together, The Sound-Hearted Christian and these appended sermons form an outstanding, practical summary of how to live coram Deo (in the presence of God) from the inside out. If you are a Christian who yearns to walk before God with biblical, Christ-centered, spiritual vitality and practical reality, I know of no book more valuable than this one."

Joel Beeke

Walking as he Walked : 
Joel R. Beeke
Reformation Heritage Books and Bryntirion Press, 133 pages.


Here are four excellent sermons preached by Dr. Beeke at the Aberystwyth Conference in 2006 under the title, “Walking as He Walked”. There is also a helpful Study Guide after the sermons. Pastor Geoffrey Thomas in his introduction to the book says, “Dr. Beeke is in a class of his own when it comes to exegetical and expository preaching. He never disappoints. He is always fresh, illuminative, and instructive”. To this assessment we would concur.

The theme “Walking as He Walked” is drawn from 1 John 2:6, which reminds us that those who abide in Christ should “walk, even as He walked”.
 
Dr. Beeke quotes the Puritan William Fenner, “None of us in this life will walk so purely, so unspottedly, so steadily, so effectively as Christ walked, although this is our goal while running the Christian race”. How adequately this sums up our daily walk as Christians.

In these sermons we are shown how we can be more conformed to the image of Christ in four of the most difficult areas of the Christian life: cross bearing, office bearing, sorrow, and endurance.

In the first sermon on “Cross Bearing”, Dr. Beeke considers, from Mark 15:24 and Luke 23:26, how Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Jesus before the crucifixion. We are shown Simon as a cursed, coerced, and conquered cross bearer.

We are reminded of Charles Simeon, preacher at Holy Trinity, Cambridge for fifty four years, who had been feeling very discouraged for some time in 1796. He had felt “persecuted on all sides”, and had asked, “What is the point of going on?” He wanted to resign his position, but then, he read Mark 15:21, “Simon bore his cross after Jesus”, and so Charles Simeon continued on in his ministry at Holy Trinity.

We are called upon to bear our cross, willingly without complaining, and without shame. We are to keep our eyes on Christ, and on the joyful promise of His reward, the crown of life.

Bearing our cross as “Office Bearers” is the theme of the second sermon. We are referred to Luke 22:31-32, where we read of the sifting of Simon Peter by Satan. We who are leaders in the Lord`s work are encouraged by Dr. Beeke to daily flee to Christ, and to defy Satan, remembering Romans 16:10, “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all”.

The third sermon concerns “Sorrow”, and we are asked to consider the Saviour`s “tears” from John 11:35 at Bethany, Luke 19:41 at Jerusalem, and Hebrews 5:7 at Gethsemane. Allow me to quote Dr. Beeke, “What about your tears; are they motivated by sympathy for those in need? Are you truly touched by their circumstances? Does your heart go out to the mourning, the needy, the handicapped, and the lost? Do you have a big evangelistic heart? Are you walking as Jesus walked?

The last sermon concerns “Endurance”. We are shown from Hebrews 12:1-3 how to endure as a Christian. We are reminded that in the letter to the Hebrews there are ninety six references to “endurance”. The Christian life is like a race, we must lay aside every weight that might hinder us in our spiritual progress, upon which Dr. Beeke quotes Dr. Ollyott, who says, “For some of you this will mean cancelling your subscription to the internet, getting rid of your TV, not reading certain books and magazines. For others it may mean giving up football, or some other sport. It is SIN that is the great enemy in the Christian race!”

It is to be noted that each sermon includes an invitation to the unsaved to follow in the Saviour`s steps.

May I add a personal note of delight to see the Scripture references in this new book taken from the Authorised King James Version (1611) especially on the eve its four hundredth anniversary.

As the Rev. Maurice Roberts observes, “we are encouraged to gird up our loins, take up His cross, and press on through the thorns, until we come into His glorious presence above: no cross, no crown”.

May the love of Christ constrain us to follow in the Master`s footsteps until we see His blessed face.

Gary A Jerrard