Books, Journals, and Tapes: Adults Ask… (21)

Please accept our apologies for the delay. Time has been the major factor.

In the past twelve months there have indeed been some very significant developments in Reformed/Puritan reprinting. At least four new excellent reprinting ventures have been undertaken and Banner of Truth Trust has again provided us with numerous classics.

Naphtali Press

Naphtali Press of Dallas, Texas is a newly formed company which has begun to reprint classics of the Reformed/Puritan faith in quarterly journal form, entitled Anthology of Presbyterian and Reformed Literature. The first issue of eighty pages contained portions of the following scarce works: Alexander Henderson, Sermons before Parliament; James Durham,5ermons on Death; Paul Bayne, Commentary on Colossians; and a treatise on Backsliding.

Issues this year include substantial portions of William Cunningham, On Church and State; James Durham, Sermons on Isaiah 53; Samuel Miller, Clerical Manners: Religious Conversation and Visitation; Samuel Rutherford, Separation from a Corrupt Church; John Welsh, Sermons on Repentance. Also, a rare, significant portion of Puritan Robert Boyd’s classic on the doctrine of predestination, as extracted from his Latin commentary on Ephesians, is presently being translated and will appear in this journal shortly.

To any lover of our forefathers, it is obvious from the list of names above that this journal is a gold mine of rich biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical truth. It is a “must” for any serious-minded reader who loves our invaluable inheritance. We feel grateful to editor Christopher Coldwell, and those who co-labor with him, for this excellent work, and wish them God-speed in their efforts.

Dr. I.R. Beeke is pastor of the First Netherlands Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The magazine is 8¼” × 11”, attractively printed in double column format. US subscriptions are $21 per year; non-US, $25 (in US funds). Send enquiries and remittance to: Naphtali Press, P.O. Box 141084, Dallas, TX 75214. Very highly recommended.

Soli Deo Gloria Publications

A second reprint venture which is most encouraging is progressing well under the leadership of Don Kistler in Pennsylvania. To date, three major classics have been reprinted — all of which are excellent and have been unavailable in reprint form for more than a century. These include Jeremiah Burroughs, The Saints’ Happiness, Together with the Several Steps Leading Thereto (a classic series of lectures on the Beatitudes; 264 pages, double-column; retail, $14.95); Jeremiah Burroughs, A Commentary on Hosea (a classic work of 700 double-columned pages of exposition, described by one forefather as “masterly — a vast treasure house of experimental exposition”; retail, $39.95); Matthew Mead, The Almost Christian Discovered; Or the False Professor Tried and Cast (211 pages of excellent, practical material for close and prayerful self-examination by a renowned Puritan; retail, $12.95). Of Matthew Mead, historian Edmund Calamy states, “He was much admiring God’s mercies under His afflicting hand, saying ‘Every thing on this side of hell is mercy, and the mercies I receive are greater than my burdens.’” (Two additional volumes by Mead which beg reprinting to date are The Good of Early Obedience and The Soul’s Espousal to Christ.)

All three of these formerly scarce, but now happily reprinted, volumes are highly recommended. Burroughs and Mead are writers of the highest caliber.

For these and future classic reprints, write Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 3505 5th Avenue, Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (for discount rates, write Bible Truth Books, P.O. Box 2373, Kalamazoo, Ml 49003).

Simpson Publications

A new publishing effort has reprinted B.B. Warfield’s classic, The Plan of Salvation, which examines various views of salvation and concludes that the Cal-vinistic view is most consistent with Scripture. The teachings of Humanism, Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Wes-leyanism, and Calvinism are perceptively and scripturally examined. This $10.95, 112 page hardback is presently being offered for $5.95 by Trinity Book Service, P.O. Box 569, Montville, NJ 07045.

Still Waters Revival Books

A fourth new publishing effort launched to reprint the works of our forefathers is Still Waters Revival Books, 12810-126 St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5L 0Y1. Recently they have produced the well-known classic by Dr. Owen’s friend, Christopher Ness, An Antidote Against Arminianism, which needs to be spread far and wide in our day. Contains an excellent refutation of free will and universal redemption doctrine, as well as very readable, positive presentations of the doctrines of predestination, conversion, and perseverance of the saints. (126 pages; $6.55 US/$7.95 Cdn — available for discount rates through Bible Truth Books).

Banner of Truth Trust

As usual, Banner of Truth Trust was enabled to produce several valuable, attractively-bound titles in recent months (including several reprints), such as: Dr. James W. Alexander, Thoughts on Preaching (332 pages; $14.95 — largely for ministers); Paul Helm, The Last Things (160 pages; $5.95 — practical and helpful on the end times, heaven, and hell, etc.); George Lawson, The Life of Joseph (576 pages; $22.95 — a well-known classic); John Calvin, Jeremiah and Lamentations (5 vols.; $99.95 — Calvin remains a renowned commentator); The Works of David Clarkson (3 volumes of 500+ pages each; $74.95 per set — Clarkson was colleague to and successor of John Owen; these volumes contain mostly sermons which have been rightly described as “expositions that are faithful to biblical teaching, by careful analysis and exposition, and by copious application”); lain Murray, Australian Christian Life from 1788 (384 pages; $22.95 — excellent and unique in its field of study); B.B. Warfield, Biblical Doctrines (674 pages; $24.95) and Studies in Theology (690 pages; $24.95 — Warfield is profound but difficult for the average layman); Memoirs of Thomas Boston (576 pages; $23.95 — a classic that will reap rich dividends for the patient reader); Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance (128 pages; $4.95 — a much-needed and very readable experiential work); Alexander Smellie, Men of the Convenant (664 pages; $18.95 — an able history of the renowned Con-venanters in Scotland from 1660 to 1688); William Curnall, The Christian in Complete Armour (1000+ pages, 3 volumes; $20.85 per set — a renowned, lengthy classic finally abridged and printed in modern English; excellent for those who have difficulty reading quaint Puritan language); Sinclair Ferguson, John Owen on the Christian Life (316 pages; $22.95 — the study of this major Puritan’s theology as related to practical Christian living; some background knowledge of theology required). Again, these retail prices may be substantially reduced by ordering through Bible Truth Books, P.O. Box 2373, Kalamazoo, Ml 49003.

We are humbled and grateful that God continues to enable Banner of Truth Trust to print and reprint several volumes of great value each year, as well as that the hunger for orthodox books is rising so rapidly throughout the world that room has been made for additional publishers to reprint portions of our rich heritage. The reprinting, purchasing, and reading of the Reformed/ Puritan classics is certainly one of the most hopeful signs observable on the darkened horizons of our day.

Recently I heard that someone was publishing a conservative journal devoted to Reformed music. Is this true? If so, could you inform us of the address and subscription rates?

You have in mind no doubt a new quarterly, entitled Reformed Music Journal, launched in January, 1989 under the co-editorship of P. Janson and N. Vanderpol, both of whom have academic degrees in music. The pioneer issue contains several excellent articles, including the commencement of an informative series on “The History of the Origin of the Genevan Psalter.” Subscription rates for Canada are $15.00 (Cdn. funds); for United States, $15.00 (US funds); for International, $17.00 (Cdn. funds). Administration: Brookside Publishing 3911 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada V2S 6A9. [Note: Brookside has also commenced publishing a conservative Reformed journal for office-bearers called Diakonia, under the editorship of Dr. J. Visscher, which may be recommended with reservations.]

You may also be interested in knowing that there is a growing movement in several conservative Presbyterian and Reformed denominations for exclusive psalmody (i.e., the singing of only Psalms and their variations in worship services). In fact, an inter-denominational effort is under way to promote exclusive psalmody via a Psalmody Conference planned for August 1 – 3,1990, to be held at Bon-darken Assembly Grounds in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Seven plenary sessions (e.g., “The Scriptural Regulative Principle of Worship,” “The Place of Psalm Singing in Public Worship,” “ The History of Psalmody and Development of Hymnody,” “Christ in the Psalms,” etc.), and five seminars (e.g., “Using Psalms in Private and Family Worship,” “Pitfalls of Hymn Singing,” etc.) will be held at the conference. For further information, contact Rev. J. W. Stodghill, Chairman, Psalmody Conference, Route 2, Box 42, Heath Springs, South Carolina 29058.

Please accept my enclosed donation for the translation of Brakei’s “Redelijke Godsdienst” For many years we have been hoping that “Father Brakel” might be translated. May the Lord make it so that it may be a rich blessing not only for our generation, but also for those to come. I have two questions, however. What about Brakel’s last part on “Openbaringen van Johannes” [The Revelation of St. John] and will there be a possibility of selling enough copies?

Thanks for writing and for your donation. We hope to translate only Brakel’s dogmatics, and not the appended 400 page exposition of the book of Revelation.

Concerning sales, we need not worry. Several thousand sets may be sold quite readily as there is a growing hunger also among many outside of our congregations for translated classics from the Dutch Reformed tradition. Rev. Kersten’s Reformed Dogmatics sold more than 2000 sets outside of our denominational circles; we expect this two-volume work to sell even better as it is a classic of several centuries.

Do you know of anything written against Howard J. Van Til’s The Fourth Day — that book which has created such a stir in Grand Rapids and in the Christian Reformed Church by trying to accommodate Scripture to science?

Several good papers have been written but are largely unavailable to the public. The best, recent title I know of to counteract The Fourth Day is Samuel E. Waldron’s A Critique of Howard j. Van Til’s The Fourth Day. Waldron deals concisely with the fundamental issues at stake in this 44-page booklet, and “insists that any tampering with Genesis 1–11 leaves us with a decapitated Bible.”

Available from Truth for Eternity Ministries, 3181 Bradford NE, Grand Rapids, Ml 49506 at $2.25 each (10 or more @ $1.75; 100 or more @ $1.50).

My father, formerly an avid reader, is no longer able to read, but his hearing is good. Could you tell me where I could locate sound, good books for him spoken on cassettes?

Our denominational “The Tape Room,” 540 Crescent NE, Grand Rapids, Ml 49503, has several available volumes spoken on tape (Bunyan, Huntington, Winslow, etc.). A larger source of supply, however, is Chapel Library, 2803 West Wright St., Pensacola, FL 32505 [Phone 904-438-6666], which has developed a list of more than 200 titles spoken on tape (including such authors as Alexander, Philpot, Perkins, Edwards, Calvin, Charnock, M’Cheyne, Ryle, Zanchius, Henry, Watson, Krum-macher, Whitefield, Manton, Owen, Shepherd, Ambrose, Newton, etc.) These tapes may be borrowed cost-free up to fifteen at one time.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen