Yearly Archives: 2006

There were five stages in the great change. Step one: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (v.2). Immediately God looks away from the heavens and describes for us the raw state of the newly created earth. Moses, the scribe of God, tells us that the earth […]

Genesis 1:1-5 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, […]

Back in 1957 a British archaeologist opined in an American magazine: “Nearly all the really important questions, the things we ponder in our profoundest moments, have no answer”. No doubt she was thinking of such questions as: Does God exist? Why are we here? and, What happens to us after death? But, in spite of […]

“No amount of activity in the King’s service will make up for the neglect of the King Himself.” “Pray for me, that I may be made holier and wiser, less like myself, and more like my heavenly Master; that I may not regard my life, if so be I may finish my course with joy. […]

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones died on March 1, 1981. As we remember him in this issue, it is right that our leading article should be by a writer who never knew him in his lifetime. A quarter of a century after his death, the large majority of those around the world who treasure his books and […]

The Promise of the Future, by Cornelis P.Venema For over 20 years, the standard amillennial textbook in Reformed colleges and seminaries has been Anthony Hoekema’s classic work The Bible and the Future. This state of affairs may soon change because of the recent publication of a new book by Cornelis Venema entitled The Promise of […]

The Life of John Brown, with select writings, was edited by William Brown, and has been published by the Banner of Truth Trust. It was originally published in 1856 as the Memoir and Select Remains of the Reverend John Brown, and this book is composed of: (1) a short memoir of a Scottish shepherd who […]

As there must be not less than fifty books by Dr Lloyd-Jones currently in print, there is some danger that the most vital among them may be missed. But how is any differentiation possible? Would any selection of those works thought to warrant first attention simply be the result of a subjective impression? Can any […]

Wilkins did not believe the Bible. In fact, he scoffed at religion and boasted that he had never been in a place of worship for 30 years. John Ashworth (1813-1875), who lived in the same northern town, Rochdale, became concerned for Wilkins’ soul (cp.Calman, (A.L.) Life and Labours of John Ashworth. Third edition. 363 pp. […]

It was a beautiful spring day with a promise of new life and flowers. Out in the sunshine children were playing while mothers were cleaning their homes and sweeping the sidewalks. Some of the children were on their way to attend Bible class, a class we held each week for children who attended neither church […]

A few details about Matthew Henry’s life (1662 – 1714) will be of interest. His grandfather was ‘keeper of the orchard’ at Whitehall, London, and he took his father’s Christian name for his surname ‘after the Welsh manner’. The earlier surname was Williams. Philip Henry, Matthew’s father, achieved fame as a nonconformist minister and diarist. […]

In his preface to this little book subtitled, “Good News for the Vilest of Men”, Bunyan states that one reason which moved him to write the book was: “to invite and encourage the worst to come to Christ”. He goes on, “I have been vile myself but have obtained mercy; and I would have my […]

God’s word is full of “very great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). One of his most precious promises is found in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Our gracious God has committed himself to teaching, guiding and […]

Baruch Maoz was born into a Jewish family in Boston, Massachusetts on December 30, 1943. In 1952 his parents divorced. A year later, Baruch immigrated to Israel with his mother and younger brother. At an early age he concluded that there was no God. In 1961, while serving in the Israeli army, Baruch was introduced […]

The following beautiful lines were written by a young woman in Nova Scotia, an invalid for many years with spinal disease, and a great sufferer, but in whom the grace of God was most wonderfully manifested. My life is a wearisome journey,I’m sick with the dust and the heat,The rays of the sun beat upon […]

Lieutenant General Sir William Dobbie (July 12, 1879 – 1964) was an officer of the British Army, who served as the military governor of Malta during World War II. Dobbie was a member of the Plymouth Brethren and was a veteran of the Second Boer War and World War I. He was also the former […]

At a marriage service Mr. Spurgeon said to the bridegroom, “My dear friend, don’t you begin to feel proud because Paul says that the husband is the head of the wife. Solomon says that ‘a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband;’ and the crown is the top of the head. Still, the governing […]

How do we overcome by faith in the evil day? What was the experience of David in Psalm 13. There are only six verses in this psalm, and it opens in this way, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must […]

When a doctor steps into the room and tells you, “I’m sorry . . .it’s malignant,” you have heard words that are about the hardest for anyone to hear. They are words that pack an emotional wallop, and can shatter your sense of wholeness in an instant! I’ve heard those words three times. The first […]

Geerhardus Vos’ Biblical Theology is well known to Banner of Truth readers and is foundational to understanding his writing. Recently an anthology of Vos’s writings has been published and the book has been reviewed by Sinclair Ferguson in New Horizons January 2006, the magazine of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. A Geerhardus Vos Anthology is edited […]

“Having turned away from Jewish and Christian faith, a Europe based solely upon the Enlightenment cannot long survive. The Europe that is declining in population is a Europe more rational than Europe has ever been, more scientific, less religious, less pious, more mundane, wealthier, more consumerist, more universally close to living etsi Deus non daretur […]

Several years ago I attended a huge rally at a Baptist church in Calgary, Canada. Tony Campolo was the main attraction. I had heard one of his humorous CDs but hardly knew the man. I figured he was your typical “evan” and was prepared for an evening of humourous fundamentalism. To great applause Campolo came […]

It is rather audacious to claim that we are reformed. It can also be misleading when we call ourselves Reformed Churches. For this might imply that we believe that our denominations are truly reformed; or, even worse, that at some point in the past we were or became reformed and that the task of reform […]

Contemporary Western culture wants a Jesus who either stays a cute baby in a manger or who grows up to rail against pollution or gun control, big business or labour unions. Absent from contemporary thought is the wonderful and terrible declaration that God, eternal Jehovah, shattered the silence of centuries, rent the heavens, and invaded […]

Review Article The author of “The Life and Labours of Asahel Nettleton”, Bennet Tyler, was a pastor for many years in South Britain, Connecticut, where he knew Asahel Nettleton (1783-1844) intimately. He eventually became the president of Dartmouth College. He is famous for his polemics against the liberal Nathaniel Taylor and the New Haven theology, […]