Book Reviews

‘The lectures are shot through with the ready wit and wisdom of C. H. Spurgeon. . . But there is also a high seriousness in these addresses. Spurgeon’s aim was to train men to be earnest, soul-winning preachers of the Gospel. He is deeply searching in his treatment of subjects like the minister’s self watch, […]

In the preface to his book Soul-Depths & Soul-Heights: Sermons on Psalm 1301 (published by the Banner of Truth) Octavius Winslow, the popular nineteenth-century writer and preacher, tells us that he had not met with ‘any consecutive exposition of this Psalm’ other than John Owen’s. He believed that treatise ‘left room for a more simple […]

I was somewhat hesitant in writing this review of John R. Muether’s Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman (CVTRAC) since I fear that you, the reader, could have devoured three-quarters of this biography of Cornelius Van Til (CVT) in the time it took you to read my review. (This assumes, among other things, the […]

‘Not so much a Reformer or theologian, more a preacher…there is no agonizing over hermeneutics, and comparatively little time is given to exegesis and exposition. Calvin simply reads the words off the page, providing clear direct commentary, and applies them.’ [Paul Helm on Calvin’s Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1-7] The following […]

Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck have written the book Why We’re Not Emergent (by two guys who should be) (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008; 256 pp.) I start to get really nervous when I hear others speak in unqualified, glowing and glorious terms about a book or speaker. Nothing can be that good, I say to […]

A review article by Os Guinness of Frank Schaeffer’s Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back [New York: Carroll & Graf, 2007], 304pp, ISBN 978-0-78671-891-7. If asked what is the deepest relationship imaginable, many […]

The following are links to some blogs where comments on or reviews of Banner of Truth titles have been posted April 11-30, 2008. The views expressed are of course those of the respective bloggers. . . For each title mentioned, a link is also provided to the appropriate page of the Banner online Bookstore, where […]

One book was destined to become a spiritual classic almost as soon as it was published. Thomas Chalmers called it ‘the best book I ever read.’ And John Owen said of it that there was more divinity in it than in all his writings. I am referring to William Guthrie’s little classic, The Christian’s Great […]

A book entitled Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson has just been written by D. A. Carson, and published by Crossway Books (2008, 160 pp, pbk, $15.99, ISBN 978 1 43350 199 6). For most gospel labourers, the title of this book will need no explanation. It is the […]

  The Divine Spiration of Scripture: Challenging Evangelical Perspectives   by A.T.B. McGowan Apollos (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press), 2007, 229pp. £14.99, ISBN: 978-1-84474-220-2 In this slender volume Dr. McGowan has given us much to consider. He offers historical and theological surveys: of the Enlightenment, the rise and fall of liberal theology, the influence of […]

This article provides a number of links to blogs where comments on or reviews of Banner of Truth titles have been posted. The previous article in the series was added to the website on 19 February 2008. This one covers web reviews posted since that time. The views expressed are of course those of the […]

To those of us who were blessed to be born in the latter half of the twentieth century, it seems unthinkable that there was a time when quality Reformed literature was not readily available on demand. John J. Murray’s book Catch the Vision [Evangelical Press, 2007] traces the roots of those privileges, showing the disfavour […]

What follows is a number of links to blogs where comments on or reviews of Banner of Truth titles have been posted. The first of these articles was added to the website at the end of January 2008. This article covers web reviews posted since then. As has been stated previously, it should be noted […]

A review article on Reinventing English Evangelicalism 1966-2001: A Theological and Sociological Study, by Rob Warner (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007), which appeared in The Banner of Truth magazine, March 2008. A complaint against this reviewer’s Evangelicalism Divided1 was its incompleteness as a history of English evangelicalism in the second half of the twentieth century. The […]

This is the first in what we hope will be a regular feature in the ‘Articles’ section, where we will provide links to a selection of websites at which reviews of or comments on Banner of Truth titles have been posted. It should be noted that the views expressed are those of the respective bloggers. […]

Lectures on Revivals*, by W B Sprague, is published by the Banner of Truth Trust, and has been reset, updating its appearance from their 1958 edition; the book was first published in 1832. Besides the nine lectures, there is an appendix of nearly 200 pages containing 20 letters from noted divines from whom the author […]

26 pages, one for each letter of the alphabet, telling very simply, familiar stories from the Bible. Big bold print with illustrations which I loved, drawn with ink and coloured pencil that give a special feel to the pictures. G for Goliath, used on the cover, is a prime example. He is big and fierce […]

Samuel Rutherford lived and preached in the first half of the seventeenth century and yet his life and work are still held in high regard. First published in this form in 1909 this beautifully presented little book is one to treasure and keep close for referring to continuously. These short pieces taken from Samuel Rutherford’s […]

With outlines of the illustrations in A Bible Alphabet this book is for young children to colour in the pictures for themselves. It would be useful if they have had A Bible Alphabet read to them previously, as that will mean they are familiar with the stories portrayed. With letters and words to colour in, and words to copy […]

With some illustrations in colour, others in black and white, this book glorifies our Creator God. Big bold words written in rhyme accompany expressive illustrations beautifully drawn in ink and coloured pencil. Based on the Bible telling of the Creation of the World, Alison Brown has drawn a delightful and child friendly portrayal of Genesis […]

R. L. Dabney’s Systematic Theology1 was first published in 1871. The first Banner of Truth edition appeared in 1985, and has been reprinted a number of times by the Trust. Robert Dabney is generally considered, with his senior contemporary, J. H. Thornwell, the second great theologian of the Southern Presbyterian Church2 in the USA in […]

One of the major social concerns in our day is that of unruly, disrespectful children. Some youngsters are pampered and spoilt. They think that they can get away with anything and resent discipline. Others have been neglected by parents who put their career ambitions before family life. The politicians and child care experts do not […]

A hundred years ago, H. C. G. Moule, the Anglican Bishop of Durham, said in his simple but elegant commendation of The Loveliness of Christ that it was ‘a small casket stored with many jewels’, and expressed the hope that it would have a wide circulation. These pages contain short extracts from the letters of […]

This is indeed a first-class book and it is a real pleasure to see it in print again, so attractively produced inside and out. David Dickson, best known for his commentary on the Psalms, was one of Scotland’s most notable ministers. He came to the parish of Irvine in 1618 and his time there included […]

By far the best spiritual biography of David that I have read, Walter J. Chantry’s David: Man of Prayer, Man of War1 is an exemplar of biblical depth, pastoral insight, and contemporary relevance. It will no doubt find a welcome home in the hands of busy pastors looking for fresh material on the life of […]