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BANNER OF TRUTH- PURITAN PAPERBACKS
Thomas Brooks, John Flavel, Thomas Goodwin, Thomas Manton, George Swinnock, I.D.E. Thomas, Ralph Venning, Thomas Watson
WE HAVE GATHERED MORE THAN A DOZEN BRILLIANT PURITAN PAPERBACK TITLES FROM BANNER OF TRUTH.
(1) AN ARK FOR ALL GOD'S NOAH'S: In a Gloomy Story Day by Thomas Brooks
We live in difficult days and in trying times. This book, with its quaint yet vivid title, points us to the One in whom Christian men and women have always found the strength to persevere come what may. Taking Lamentations 3:24 as his starting-point – ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him,’ – Thomas Brooks expounds the attributes of God with the aim of comforting those who have felt not only the stresses and strains of daily life but also the searing pain of loss in its various forms. God, he says, ‘is a portion that is exactly suited to the condition of the soul in its desires, needs, wants, longings and prayers. All the soul needs is found in God. There is light to enlighten the soul, wisdom to counsel the soul, power to support the soul, goodness to supply the soul, mercy to pardon the soul, beauty to delight the soul, glory to ravish the soul, and fullness to fill the soul.’
‘All true comfort and happiness is only to be found in having an all-sufficient God for your portion.’
(2) HEAVEN ON EARTH: Assurance in the Christian Life by Thomas Brooks
‘All saints shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some saints enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth. That saints might enjoy two heavens is the project of this book.’ — JOSEPH CARYL
The subject of assurance is one of the most important elements in Christian experience. Heaven on Earth exposes that there is no higher privilege than to be a child of God and to know it, for assurance brings joy to worship and prayer, and provides strength and boldness to our witness. Correspondingly, failure and weakness in all these areas can often be traced back to a lack of assurance, or even false assurance. This work of Thomas Brooks, first published in 1654, deals with all of these aspects of assurance in a way that is both biblical and pastoral. Brooks ‘scatters stars with both his hands’ wrote C.H. Spurgeon. His teaching is clear, thorough and greatly needed in the present spiritual climate. Brooks both explains what true assurance is and guides the reader in how it may be fully experienced.
(3) THE SECRET KEY TO HEAVEN: The Vital Importance of Private Prayer by Thomas Brooks
‘The power of religion and godliness lives, thrives, or dies, as closet prayer lives, thrives, or dies.’ This was the deeply held conviction of Thomas Brooks. As a pastor who knew his people well, he feared that many Christians did not understand the ‘necessity, excellency, and usefulness’ of private prayer, and that many lived in ‘too great a neglect of this indispensable duty.’
Focusing on our Lord’s words about ‘closet prayer’ in Matthew 6:6, Brooks supplies us with a masterful treatment of a vitally important aspect of the Christian’s life. His aim is intensely practical: ‘to preserve and keep up the power of religion and godliness both in men’s houses, hearts, and lives.’
(4) SMOOTH STONES TAKEN FROM ANCIENT BROOKS: Selections from the Writings of Thomas Brooks by C.H. Spurgeon
‘As a writer, Brooks scatters stars with both his hands: he hath dust of gold; in his storehouse are all manner of precious stones.’ So wrote C.H. Spurgeon in his Preface to this book. He counted Thomas Brooks among his favourite Puritan authors, and it is not hard to see why. Brooks’ popularity lies both in his subjects – practical truths, central to the Christian life – and in the manner of his presentation. He is ever direct, urgent, fervent, full of Scripture, and able to choose words which make his sentences stick in one’s mind.
This book is a collection of sentences, illustrations, and quaint sayings from this renowned Puritan. Gathered by Spurgeon out of the 6 volume set of Brooks’ Works, it remains an excellent introduction to both the man and his writings.
(5) ALL THINGS MADE NEW: Living the Christian Life by John Flavel, selected and edited by Lewis Allen
Numerous stories are told from John Flavel’s life of how people ‘happened to meet him’ and came away deeply thankful to God, full of resolve to walk with Christ as a result. The same is true of encounters made with Flavel’s writings, as in All Things Made New.
Flavel spent almost his entire ministry in a busy town serving working people. He believed that the gospel impacts and shapes every thought, every feeling, every ambition, emotion, desire, success, tragedy and joy. Christ makes all things new for the believer, and teaches us to follow him with confidence, until that day when he truly renews all things. To read Flavel is to catch and to be changed by the same vision.
(6) CHRIST SET FORTH: As the Cause of Justification and as the Object of Justifying Faith by Thomas Goodwin
First published in 1642, Christ Set Forth — one of Thomas Goodwin’s most beloved and enduring works — is a book full of theological riches and penetrating pastoral insights. Addressing, from an exposition of Romans 8:34, the pastoral problem that many believers stray in their faith by looking into their own hearts for signs of grace instead of looking away from themselves to Christ, Christ Set Forth is primarily a book written to encourage Christians. As Scott Berggren says in the Foreword,
It is a guidebook for keeping one’s heart and faith pointed in the right direction, towards Christ himself. In it Goodwin pushes aside anything that might displace Christ in one’s heart. In chapter after chapter he sets forth the glory of Christ and his work as mediator as the only object of one’s faith and affection.
(7) FLOWERS FROM THE PURITAN'S GARDEN: Illustrations and Meditations from Thomas Manton by C.H. Spurgeon
Do you ever underline helpful passages in books you are reading? This is exactly what C. H. Spurgeon used to do when reading the Puritans. Whilst reading Thomas Manton, he was struck time and time again by the ‘solid, sensible instruction, forcibly delivered’ that he found there.
To Manton’s thoughts, Spurgeon added his own; the result being, as Spurgeon put it, that he cleared Manton’s house of all his pictures, and then hung them up in frames of his own. These newly framed pictures are exhibited in Flowers From a Puritan’s Garden, which Spurgeon intended to be used as an aid to meditation and prayer. Preachers will also find inspiration in these Manton-Spurgeon combinations for sensible and clear sermon illustrations.
(8) THE INCOMPARABLENESS OF GOD: In His Being, Attributes, Works, and Word by George Swinnock
George Swinnock is one of the easiest Puritan authors to read. He is theological yet his doctrine is expressed in vivid fashion and, while he is practical, his counsel is marked by a keen sensitivity to the doctrines taught in Scripture. Thomas Manton commended his work as coming ‘from one both of a good head and heart.’ In this exposition of Psalm 89:6, which looks at the incomparable being, attributes, works, and word of God, Swinnock is not content to let the truth lie on the surface of the mind. He drives it home to the heart, using powerful arguments, colourful illustrations, and personal applications. His great desire is for the reader to come to know, enjoy and love the incomparable God of the Bible. ‘He who knows God aright is fully satisfied in him; when he once drinks of the “fountain of living waters,” he thirsts no more after other objects.’
‘The holiness and happiness of the rational creature consists in these two: his holiness, in conformity to God; his happiness, in communion with him. And these two have a dependence on each other. They only who are like him, can enjoy him.’
(9) THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF PURITAN QUOTATIONS selected by I.D.E. Thomas
The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations does not belong to the ordinary run of anthologies but is a masterful selection by an author who has given many years to his work. The 1500 quotations from a wide range of Puritans have been chosen with great care, and arranged under topical headings. They form an ideal introduction to the writings of the great and godly men of the 17th century, and will prove to be devotional reading of the highest quality. Those who are already familiar with the Puritan writings will find the ‘Treasury’ to be a perfect stimulus to further reading.
(10) THE SINFULNESS OF SIN, The Plague of Plagues by Ralph Venning
We cannot understand the Christian gospel until we know what sin is. Yet modern secular counsellors urge us to ignore both the word and what it tells us about our rebellion against God and his law. Sadly, the church too often serves as an echo chamber for such cheap and short-sighted wisdom. It’s literature spreads the deceptive message that all is well. But it is only when we begin to see our sinfulness that we are able to discover God’s forgiveness.
Although The Sinfulness of Sin was written three hundred years ago, it remains an oasis of truth in a desert of lies. First published in the aftermath of the Great Plague of London and entitled Sin, The Plague of Plagues, this book gives a crystal-clear explanation of what sin is, why it is so serious, and what we need to do about it. Here is reliable medicine for a fatal epidemic.
(11) ALL THINGS FOR GOOD: A Practical Exposition of Romans 8:28 by Thomas Watson
Thomas Watson’s book All Things For Good provides the biblical answer to the contemporary question; Why do bad things happen to good people?
Thomas Watson, the 17th century minister of St. Stephen’s Walbrook, believed he faced two great difficulties in his pastoral ministry. The first was making the unbeliever sad, in the recognition of his need of God’s grace. The second was making the believer joyful in response to God’s grace. He believed the answer to the second difficulty could be found in Paul’s teaching in Romans 8.28: God works all things together for good for his people.
First published in 1663 (under the title A Divine Cordial), the year after Watson and some two thousand other ministers were ejected from the Church of England and exposed to hardship and suffering, All Things For Good contains the rich exposition of a man who lived when only faith in God’s Word could lead him to such confidence.
Thomas Watson’s exposition is always simple, illuminating and rich in practical application. He explains that both the best and the worst experiences work for the good of God’s people. He carefully analyses what it means to be someone who ‘loves God’ and is ‘called according to his purpose’.
(12) THE GREAT GAIN OF GODLINESS: A Practical Exposition of Malachi 3:14-16 by Thomas Watson
C.H. Spurgeon had a well-stocked library of around 12,000 volumes. However, one rare book was not to be found amongst that valuable collection: Thomas Watson on Malachi 3:16-18. With a note of sadness in his voice he said to his College students: ‘This volume would be a great find if we could come at it, for Watson is one of the clearest and liveliest of Puritan authors. We fear we shall never see this commentary, for we have tried to obtain it, and tried in vain’.
In this reset and lightly edited edition you can now read the book that was on Spurgeon’s ‘wish-list’! The Great Gain of Godliness is Watson’s exposition of Malachi 3:16-18. In it he aims ‘to encourage solid piety and confute the atheists of the world, who imagine there is no gain in godliness.’ This book has all the hallmarks of Thomas Watson’s other writings: a combination of rich spirituality, nourishing doctrine, and sane practical wisdom coupled with fascinating illustrations and a very pleasant style.
(13) THE LORD'S SUPPER: The Mystery of the Lord's Supper Briefly Explained by Thomas Watson
To Thomas Watson, the Lord’s Supper was a visible sermon, a mirror in which to gaze on the sufferings and death of Christ. ‘God, to help our faith, does not only give us an audible Word, but a visible sign.’ But more than this, the Supper was a time in which to partake of the benefits of Christ’s death by faith, to be fed and cherished by the Lord in his own banqueting house, and to obtain a foretaste of the glory which will be fully realized only in heaven. Watson’s aim was to stimulate greater love to Christ in His people, and to enhance their appreciation of the Supper as a spiritual feast for all believers. His fine exposition shows the rich provision made in the Supper for all who love the Lord, while it also lays bare the emptiness of all mere sacramentalism.
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(1) AN ARK FOR ALL GOD'S NOAH'S: In a Gloomy Story Day by Thomas Brooks
 SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(2) HEAVEN ON EARTH: Assurance in the Christian Life by Thomas Brooks
SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(3) THE SECRET KEY TO HEAVEN: The Vital Importance of Private Prayer by Thomas Brooks
SGCB Price: $7.50 (list price $10.00)
(4) SMOOTH STONES TAKEN FROM ANCIENT BROOKS: Selections from the Writings of Thomas Brooks by C.H. Spurgeon
SGCB Price: $7.50 (list price $10.00)
(5) ALL THINGS MADE NEW: Living the Christian Life by John Flavel, selected and edited by Lewis Allen
SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(6) CHRIST SET FORTH: As the Cause of Justification and as the Object of Justifying Faith by Thomas Goodwin
SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(7) FLOWERS FROM THE PURITAN'S GARDEN: Illustrations and Meditations from Thomas Manton by C.H. Spurgeon
SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(8) THE INCOMPARABLENESS OF GOD: In His Being, Attributes, Works, and Word by George Swinnock
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(9) THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF PURITAN QUOTATIONS selected by I.D.E. Thomas
SGCB Price: $8.25 (list price $11.00)
(10) THE SINFULNESS OF SIN, The Plague of Plagues by Ralph Venning
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(11) ALL THINGS FOR GOOD: A Practical Exposition of Romans 8:28 by Thomas Watson
SGCB Price: $6.75 (list price $9.00)
(12) THE GREAT GAIN OF GODLINESS: A Practical Exposition of Malachi 3:14-16 by Thomas Watson
SGCB Price: $6.75 (list price $9.00)
(13) THE LORD'S SUPPER: The Mystery of the Lord's Supper Briefly Explained by Thomas Watson
SGCB Price: $6.00 (list price $8.00)
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