Archives for December 2014

The following post was written by my teaching assistant, Paul Smalley:

Logos Bible Software has compiled a digital collection of twenty-six books under the title, The Select Works of Joel R. Beeke. If you are interested in this product, then you should know that Logos will be offering a special sale on it at the end of this year. Ordinarily priced at $315.95, the collection will be discounted to $249.95, a twenty percent savings. The sale will begin on December 26 (Boxing Day for our British friends) and run through January 5. The Select Works include the following books which, by the grace of God, Dr. Beeke authored, co-authored, or edited, amounting to over 6,000 pages of Reformed, experiential material:

• Encouragement for Today’s Pastors: Help From the Puritans, by Joel R. Beeke and Terry D. Slachter
• Prepared by Grace, for Grace: The Puritans on God’s Way of Leading Sinners to Christ by Joel R. Beeke and Paul Smalley
• A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones
• Living Zealously by Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle
• The Beauty and Glory of the Holy Spirit edited by Joel R. Beeke
• The Beauty and Glory of Christ edited by Joel R. Beeke
• Bringing the Gospel to Covenant Children by Joel R. Beeke
• Developing a Healthy Prayer Life by Joel R. Beeke and James Beeke
• Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer edited by Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Najapfour
• Contagious Christian Living by Joel R. Beeke
• Calvin for Today edited by Joel R. Beeke
• Living by God’s Promises by Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle
• Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty-First Century edited by Joel R. Beeke and Anthony T. Selvaggio
• Calvin, Theologian and Reformer by Joel R. Beeke and Garry J. Williams
• Family Worship, by Joel R. Beeke
• The Soul of Life: The Piety of John Calvin edited by Joel R. Beeke
• A Habitual Sight of Him: The Christ-Centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin edited by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones
• Heirs with Christ: The Puritans on Adoption by Joel R. Beeke
• The Family at Church by Joel R. Beeke
• The Heritage Reformed Congregations: Who We Are and What We Believe by Joel R. Beeke
• Reformation Heroes by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn
• Meet the Puritans by Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson
• Jehovah Shepherding Sheep: Sermons on 23rd Psalm by Joel R. Beeke
• Knowing and Living Christian Life: Weekly Devotions by Joel R. Beeke and James D. Greendyk
• Gisbertus Voetius: Toward a Reformed Marriage of Knowledge and Piety by Joel R. Beeke
• Puritan Evangelism: A Biblical Approach by Joel R. Beeke

I am so excited—a dream of 40 years is beginning to be fulfilled! Just moments ago, William Perkins (1558-1602), the father of Puritanism, arrived! He’s even more handsome than I thought—volume 1 that is. Edited well by Stephen Yuille (Derek Thomas and I are serving as general editors of the 10-volume set), this volume (a 820-page gold mine) contains Perkins’s Sermon on the Mount and his Combat between Christ and the Devil. Both make great reads for pastors and educated church members. Next up: volume 2 on Galatians, which the editor Paul Smalley is just completing his first pass on, scheduled for print next summer. Share this great news with your friends! You can order a copy for only $38 from Reformation Heritage Books.

The Scriptures give us many directives about how to pray in general and with what attitude to pray specifically. Here are eleven different attitudes the Christian is to have when he prays.

Believing. Mark 11:24 says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Prayer requires faith—a believing in God, a trusting in God, and a placing of our expectations in God.

Penitent. The prodigal son illustrates what it means to pray openly as an unworthy supplicant (Luke 15:21). When we conceal things from God, it creates unrest and anxiety, but an open confession fosters rest. True rest in God through prayer is experienced when we confess our failures, relate our problems, and open our hearts in His presence.

Fervent. In Genesis 32:24–28, Jacob “wrestled through the night.” We must pray fervently, not wrestling in our own strength, but earnestly clinging to Christ, saying: “I will not let thee go except thou bless me” (Gen. 32:26).

Humble. Remember the publican in Luke 18:13. He thought himself not even worthy to lift his eyes up to heaven, but beat his breast saying: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Each us is unworthy as well, yet like the publican we must humbly plead with God for mercy.

Bold. Note Hebrews 4:16. Genuine humility and genuine boldness are not opposites. The publican’s prayer was truly humble, yet he came and prayed to God. As a bold beggar he had courage to enter the King’s dwelling. Praying boldly is praying freely and humbly, knowing that we pray in Christ. We have a High Priest to intercede for us as we pour out our hearts in His presence.

Interceding. Moses prayed on behalf of Miriam when she had leprosy (Num. 12:1–2, 10, 13). Love to others must be evident in our prayers. We must remember the temporal and spiritual needs of our neighbor. If we truly love others, we will love to pray for them. We must be like Job—he prayed continuously for his family members (Job 1:5).

Dependent. Romans 8:26–27 speaks about depending on the Spirit who makes intercession for us. So often we struggle with self instead of resting in God. We need to be weaned from self-reliance and look to the one who gives, hears, and answers prayer.

Expectant. Elijah prayed to God for rain and then sent his servant to see if there was any sign of it (1 Kings 18:41–46). He sent his servant seven times—Elijah had great expectation in God! Expectant prayer conquers discouragement and waits upon the Lord. James 1:6–7 tells us to ask with unwavering faith.

Childlike. We must ever go to God in Christ as little children would their father. “What is that child-like inclination?” Thomas Manton asked. It is this: “The soul cannot keep away from God, and that is an implicit owning him as a father: ‘Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me’ (Jer. 3:19). It is a child like act to look to him for all our supplies…. As when a child wants anything, he goes to his father.” In another place, Manton said, “Children do not use to make starched speeches to their fathers when they want bread, but only express their natural cry…. A word from a child moves the father more than the orator can move all his hearers” (Manton, Works, Vol. 1, 34, 28).

Thankful. This is strikingly portrayed in Psalm 136. In this psalm, “give thanks unto the Lord for His mercy endureth forever” is repeated twenty-six times. We must not only be thankful for clear answers to prayer and for blessings for which we did not pray, but our thankfulness must penetrate deeper. We are also called to be thankful for these things that distress us or events that are not to our liking. Think of Paul and Silas’s gratitude, even while in the inner prison!

Persevering. The Canaanite woman prayed this way (Matt. 15:21–28). When she did not receive an answer to her prayer, she persevered, crying all the more urgently after Christ. She begged Christ to let her “eat of the crumbs” from the Master’s table. Persevering prayer does not give up on the Lord, but pleads upon His promises.

William Gurnall’s book, The Christian in Complete Armour, is a treasury of spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Not only does it offer an exposition of the classic Scripture text on spiritual warfare (Eph. 6), but in so doing it opens and applies virtually every aspect of the doctrines of salvation and sanctification. It is a feast for the soul.

However, Gurnall’s book is also massive, weighing in at almost 1200 pages in the Banner of Truth reprint. How to consume such a large meal? The answer is one bite at a time. There is a reading plan that divides the book into portions of only four or five pages a day, five days a week (to download it, click here). If you have not read Gurnall before, then I challenge you to make this part of your personal devotions for 2015. By the end of the year, you will have finished the book!

Many thanks are to due to Zack Ford for developing this plan.

Conference at Parkland Reformed Church

I had a great, quick trip to Alberta over the first weekend of December. Moses Wright picked me up from the Edmonton airport. I had a great talk with him for the hour drive to the Dibbet home where I stayed for the weekend. A graduate of PRTS and a former neighbor, Rev. Scott Dibbet is the pastor of the Free Reformed Church in Lacombe, Alberta. He has been serving there for three years with God’s evident blessing. The church appears to have grown spiritually and has doubled in size. It was great to be with him and his wife, Becky, and their five children, Merissa, Caleb, Abby, Zach, and Emma.

Pastor Scott Dibbet with Sons and Hunting Trophies

The weekend conference was organized by the Parkland Reformed Church of Ponoka, a United Reformed Church of 350 people pastored by Rev. Mitch Ramiksoon for the last nine years. He and his wife Doris were originally from Trinidad, and are delightful to speak with. On Friday evening, I gave an address to 200 conference attendees on “What the Puritans Can Teach Us About Building a Godly Marriage.” On Saturday, I gave three addresses on childrearing: “How to Bring Children to Christ”; “How to Rear Children in the Faith”; “How to do Family Worship.” The attendees, whose responses were very encouraging, were mostly marital couples who came from a variety of Reformed churches within a two hour radius. They bought more than $4,000 worth of books.

On Saturday I enjoyed supper and fellowship at the home of good friends, Brian and Sharon Beevaart. Sharon has cancer, but so far is doing remarkably well. Please pray that God may wondrously heal her completely. We were joined by Roelof Janssen and his wife Theresa for supper. Roelof runs the book ministry of Inheritance Publications, so this made for much lively discussion as we shared experiences with each other.

Brian and Sharon Beevaart (left), Roelof and Theresa Janssen

On Sunday I preached twice for the URC of Ponoka and once for the FRC of Lacombe, spent some time with the Dibbet family, and then visited that evening with Rev. Barry and Val Beukema, a URC minister serving in Alberta. It was a delightful time.

On the flights to and from Edmonton, I was able to finish editing an excellent volume on Alexander Henderson, the great Scots leader most responsible for the Scottish National Covenant of 1638, that Reformation Heritage Books hopes to publish early next year. I also edited our next Puritan Reformed Journal—320 pages of very good material on a great variety of subjects. If you’re not getting this, you really should subscribe to that journal—you will love it!