Our book review is a follow-up to Meet the Puritans reviewed in the July/August edition of the Elim Refresher. The topic is prayer, published in one volume as three essays titled Prayer by John Bunyan, The Return of Prayer by Thomas Goodwin, and The Saint’s Jewel by Thomas Shepard.
Prayer, our first essay, contains the topics: what prayer is; praying with the Spirit; praying with understanding; and the application of prayer. In typical Bunyan style, we have this quote:
This coming to God through Christ is the hardest part that is found in prayer. A man may more easily be sensible of His works, aye, and sincerely to desire mercy, and yet not be able to come to God by Christ. The man that comes to God by Christ must first have the knowledge of Him . . . This Christ, none but the Father can reveal. And to come through Christ, it is for the soul to be enabled by God to shroud itself under the shadow of the Lord Jesus as a man shrouds himself under a thing for safeguard. Hence it is that David so often terms Christ his shield, buckler, fortress, rock of defence, etc.
The Return of Prayer contains these topics: dedication and purpose; the coherence of the words in Psalm 85:8; God’s people look for answers to their prayers; prayers for the church; prayers for others; prayers with others; common directions helpful in prayer; preparation of our hearts for prayer; the effects of mercy on the heart; considerations to quiet the heart; and a reproof for those who expect no answer to prayer. These topics are overlapped into 10 chapters. Goodwin, like Bunyan, is very persistent, running through his deductions again and again. Here’s an example:
You are to consider that God does not hear you for your prayers’ sake, though not without them but ‘for His names’ sake’ and His Son’s sake and because you are His child; as the mother when her child cries, suppose it is a weak child, does not neglect to hear and relieve it, but tenders it, not because it cries more loud, but because it cries, and pities it the more the weaker it is. As though the performance itself is weak, yet considered as a prayer, it may be strong, because a weak prayer may set the strong God to work as faith for the act of it, as produced by us, may be weak, yet because its object is Christ, therefore it justifies: so it is in prayer: it prevails not because of the performance itself, but because of the name which is put in, even Christ’s name.
The third essay, by Thomas Shepard, is actually a sermon based upon Acts 2:39, For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself and Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. This essay, titled The Saint’s Jewel, seeks to show how to apply these promises.
Now, I know that King James English takes a little getting used to, but this small, thin paperback is a good place to start. Especially The Saint’s Jewel: it’s a must-read!
Posted on September 1st, 2008 by Scott
Filed under: From the Church Library
