Yearly Archives: 2006

The longer I am a Christian, the more my heart and mind are gladdened by the truth of God’s unassailable sovereignty. Far from being a forbidding doctrine that fills me with a sense of dread, it is a doctrine that breathes security and sweetness to my soul. It is nothing less than tragic, however, that […]

A Scottish Christian Heritage is the title of Iain Murray’s latest book (Banner of Truth Trust, 2006, Hb, 403 pages). This may not be Iain Murray’s most important book, but it could be his most inspiring and enjoyable one. The title could lead one to think initially that this book is a record of Scottish […]

248 Women responded to adverts which LIFE placed in six women’s -magazines (including Woman’s Own, Chat and Pick Me Up) between April and early July 2006 inviting people to tell us about their abortion experiences, Of these, 111 were interviewed on the telephone and answered a prepared questionnaire. Fifteen sent emails. 134 texted us – […]

Genesis 3:8-19 “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ He answered, ‘I […]

The best man at my parents’ wedding on June 25 1935 was Harold J. Ockenga. Carl McIntire officiated. They and my father, Robert S. Marsden (1905-1960), had left Princeton Theological Seminary with J. Gresham Machen in 1929 to be in the first class at Westminster Theological Seminary. Machen himself had been asked to officiate, but […]

In sixth form, my friends and I discovered the nineteenth century writer JS Mill, and in particular his famous slogan; “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”. How wise, insightful and civilized, we thought. In the last few years, however, I have become rather less keen on Mr. Mill and […]

It is with much regret we record this month the death of Mr George Campbell, formerly postmaster at Kilmore, Oban, which took place suddenly at 35 Scotia Street, Glasgow, on January 2. Mr Campbell, who had reached the advanced age of 82 years or upwards, was the youngest and last-surviving of three worthy brothers, who […]

Do you believe that you must confess every known sin to God?For many years earlier in my ministry, I made statements such as the following:“In order to be restored to fellowship with God and to be filled with the Spirit you must confess every known sin to God.”What am I to think of such instructions […]

Rightly did wise Solomon declare that God made men upright, but they have sought out devices (Eccl. 7:29). The devices, subtleties, and complexities in which fallen man boasts and upon which he relies were no part of the first man whom God made and declared to be very good before his fall. It was when […]

In Romans 1:18-32 the apostle Paul describes to us in vivid colours the terrible predicament of man lost in sin. He begins by telling us about God’s attitude toward human depravity; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (v.18). God’s […]

There can be no more solemn subject than a lost eternity. Yet, as we are obliged to receive all of God’s revelation, we must believe it. Especially in an age when the word hell is rarely used except as a swear word, we must give the subject due emphasis. Yet one suspects that there is […]

William Carey and the Missionary Vision, is the title of a book written by Daniel Webber, and published by the Banner of Truth Trust, paperback, 128 pages. Few missionaries are better known than Carey, who sailed for a lifetime of devoted labour in India in 1793. One modern writer is quoted as saying: “More than […]

Sixteen years had passed since the last revival in Northampton under Solomon Stoddard when, at the end of 1734, there were again the beginnings of a work of grace; five or six people ‘were to all appearances savingly converted’. By early 1735, people throughout the town where speaking about ‘the great things of religion, and […]

Frequently I find myself longing for a decent hymn book. Finding one that is non-charismatic, reformed, evangelistic, and with the emphasis on the Holiness of God and the Lordship of Christ, rather than on ‘me’ is hard enough, but add to that the need for the hymns to be relatively easy to sing, in understandable […]

Come with me in your imagination to the Mendip Hills in Somerset. The year is round about 1763 – Toplady was incumbent at Blagdon for two years between June 1762 and June 1764. Toplady is taking a walk in the Mendips, a storm is brewing so he quickens his pace. The clouds gather and the […]