W.J. Seaton

My Dear Friends,

We hear a great deal of talk about “Feeding the Mind”, and whereas we would agree wholeheartedly with the principle involved in such a project, we would, nevertheless, desire to see a more discerning spirit in the choice of the material on which the minds are going to be fed.

Be that as it may, however I want to turn your attention to this very basic fact of the Christian life, that, if we fail to read, we fail to feed our minds on the things of Christ. This is not a “push” to try to get Christians to read their Bibles – the necessity of that should go without saying; but it is an effort to try and point you to the great benefits which lie before us in our day, and which are greatly neglected. Never before have there been so many of the great books of the faith obtainable at such a reasonable cost, and we forfeit a great treasury of comfort and inspiration when we fail to avail ourselves of the experiences of the saints of the past.

In a day like this, with so much turmoil around us in the world, what a comfort it is to read in a book like “The Mystery of Providence” by John Flavel of how God has dealt with His people in the past. There, we see, of a truth, that we are “hidden in the hollow of His hand”, and that He has been “our dwelling place in all generations”. On the back cover of one of the editions of that book the question is asked: “Do we believe that everything in the world and in our own lives down to the minutest detail is ordered by the Providence of God?” When we read the pages inside the covers we are brought to a greater appreciation of this truth.

Who would not think it worthwhile if they got but one taste, to buy a volume of Spurgeon’s sermons and digest one a week, even? We hear a lot of Spurgeon in our day, but what we do hear seems to show that the people who quote his humour know little of the real man, and especially nothing of the truth that he preached. Read him for yourself and you will not begrudge either the money or the time spent.

Most Christians, I am sure, would love to see revival coming to the Church again, but there is more in the preparation for revival (humanly speaking) than churning out some kind of an automatic prayer: “Lord, revive us again”. Read the accounts then of God’s working in reviving blessing in the past, and see the general features which preceded, and the great and remarkable times of refreshing which followed, and I believe that we will be both more intelligent in our approach to the subject, and more zealous in our desire to see the Lord making bare His arm.

Then again, there is the “Evangelism through Books”, if we could use this phrase. How many men and women have been converted and brought to Christ through reading the likes of Joseph Alleine’s “Alarm to the Unconverted”? One of that author’s other books, “Covenant Comforts”, was once stolen from a book barrow in Yorkshire, and afterwards brought back to the owner with the remarkable confession that it had been the means of the thief’s conversion. And just listen to the formidable list of the effectiveness of the written page quoted by Geoffrey William’s of the Evangelical Library.

“…A priceless book written by the Puritan, Richard Sibbes, was on a certain day read by Richard Baxter, who was greatly blessed by it. Baxter wrote his “Call to the Unconverted”; this profoundly influenced Philip Doddridge, who, in turn, wrote “The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul”, which brought Wilberforce to serious thoughts of eternity. Wilberforce wrote his “Practical View of Christianity”, which fired the zeal of Legh Richmond, who wrote “The Dairyman’s Daughter”, a book that brought thousands to the Lord. Among them was Thomas Chalmers. God opened his eyes through the reading of this little book. Surely, that list in itself should make us enthusiastic to “study to show ourselves approved”.

Let me give you a list of suitable and worthwhile books to read; some of them are of a bygone age, and may give a little difficulty to begin with, but after a few pages you will find the language will come quite naturally.

John Bunyan —Pilgrim’s Progress; The Holy War; Grace Abounding
David Dickson —Psalms
John Newton —Out of the depths
John Foxe —Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
Samuel Rutherford —Life and Letters.
George Whitefield —Life and Sermons.
Robert M. McCheyne —Life and Remains.
C.H. Spurgeon —The Early Years; Sermons (New Park Street Pulpit)
A. W. Pink —The Sovereignty of God.

Any of these will repay you a hundredfold. Burn a little midnight oil, and the light will grow!

W.J. Seaton, courtesy of Wicket Gate.