Of Making Many Books There is No End Recommendation #9

There are many good volumes of sermons for someone to choose from but I would like to suggest one or two that are perhaps lesser known yet noteworthy.

(1) Hugh Martin’s Christ For Us. Hugh Martin, Nineteenth Century Scottish theologian, authored many worthwhile books, among which are: Jonah: A Commentary, The Life of Simon Peter, The Abiding Presence, and Christ For Us. The stregnth of Christ For Us is its short series of sermons and devotional writings. There are two sermons I would particularly like to recommend. The first is titled “The Plague of the Heart” and is taken from 1 Kings 8: 38. It is an exposition of one particular verse in Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the completion of the Temple. The verse comes in the context of Solomon praying for the people of God. He asks the LORD to remove the plagues that He has sent on Israel when they realize the plagues in their hearts and pray to the LORD confessing their sins. The other sermon is titled “Heart Plagues Cured” and is the Gospel centered solution to the plague in the heart. These two sermons form a masterful pair of expositions on the Law and the Gospel. They are true gems of experimental relgion and Christological Old Testament preaching. I think you will find that they reflect something of the value of Rev. Martin’s work. Banner of Truth Magazine has included a great article on the life and work of Hugh Martin online. This can be found here.

(2) Geerhardus Vos’ Grace and Glory. Though Geerhardus Vos cannot be classed with Hugh Martin or the Puritans for a quality of experimental religion he certainly can be classed with them, and sometimes surpasses them, for his Christological emphasis. Vos taught us best that the glory of Jesus Christ is to be seen on every page of Scripture. The sermons in this collection are edifying and thought provoking. At times they read more like a lecture than a sermon perhaps, nevertheless, they are heart stirring and mind expanding. If you only have time to read one or two I would recommend “Rabboni,” “Christ’s Deliberate Work,” and “Our Holy and Glorious God.”

These sermons have been recently replublished by Solid Ground Christian Books. There is still a nice hardcover edition by Banner of Truth either in print or available on Abebooks or Bookfinder or some other wonderful book-buying site. You can find the Solid Ground edition at a very reasonable pirce here.

The previous posts in the series Of Making Many Books There is No End Recommendation can be found here.