Archives for October 2020

Our Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary surrounded by the splendor of God’s creation. While this earth remains, “seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

We are deeply grateful to God for the blessing of training theological students at PRTS for the harvesting of souls, and we pray for more years to do so. “The things that thou [Timothy] has heard of me [Paul], among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

For the Triune God’s glory, the maturation of saints, and the salvation of the lost, will you please pray with us this renowned refrain:

Lord of harvest, send forth reapers.
Hear us, Lord, to Thee we cry;
Send them now the sheaves to gather.

Yesterday I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of a young 30-year-old couple, Stephen VanDyk (a member of our HRC denominational church in Jordan, Ontario) and Abigail Kosachuk (a member of our HRC church here in Grand Rapids). The wedding took place in Bronson, Michigan followed by a tent reception (the weather couldn’t have been better) at the home of the bride’s parents in Coldwater, Michigan.

Happily, my weak post-COVID voice held up relatively well as I preached at the couple’s request from Psalm 37:3-7 on four essential ingredients in a truly happy marriage: “Trust in the Lord” (v. 3), “Delight thyself in the Lord” (v. 4), “Commit thy way unto the Lord” (v. 5), and “Rest in the Lord” (v. 7).

Pray with me that this dear couple will be blessed with this kind of God-centered marriage for decades to come, if our Lord tarries.

While I was out of commission with COVID, RHB received another new title: “The Great Concern: Preparation for Death,” by the Puritan Edward Pearse, who himself died from tuberculosis at age 40.

Few subjects are more important than death and eternity. Pearse handles these monumental topics so biblically, experientially, and practically in every way in just eleven chapters. His closing chapter on “Death for the Believer” is worth far more than the price of the book alone.

I wish I could make this required reading for everyone, but suffice it to say that this is an extraordinary book on a very personal, critical subject.

Order your copy here: https://bit.ly/3iLmQHZ

In this 2-minute video, I explain that the most important thing to do when raising children is family worship. Fathers should talk with their children about the things of God, read Scripture, and pray with their children. Through these times of Bible reading, study, and prayer, families can discuss a multitude of subjects and glimpse what God’s perspective is on each.

“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God” (Deut. 28:1-2).

https://bit.ly/3deYTIc

I am very excited to announce that Anthony Burgess’s “Christ’s Prayer Before His Passion: Expository Sermons on John 17” (2 volumes, RHB, 1100+ pages) has just arrived!

I have had the privilege of editing these 145 sermons and working on this project (including a lengthy introduction) for the last two years, and am so grateful that it has finally seen the light of day. Anthony Burgess has become my favorite Puritan in recent years, and these sermons will convince you of his value as well. His ability to bring together God’s truth in a biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical way to inform the mind and edify the soul is unsurpassed.

This is Puritan writing at its best on one of the richest chapters in the Bible, which expounds such topics as the relationship of the Father and the Son, the love of God, providence over death, election, the deity of Christ, union with God, justification, sanctification, obedience, separation from the world, faith, prayer, perseverance, worship, Christian unity, Christ’s intercession, and the glory of heaven.

Enjoy this spiritual feast! Buy three sets at a special price and give them away to your best friends as well.

Order your set here: https://bit.ly/36HK2EE 

Order three sets here: http://bit.ly/3packburgess

We are excited to announce that we at RHB have just received “Sermons on Jeremiah’s Lamentations” by the Puritan David Dickson (co-published by Naphtali Press and RHB; 315 pages)—a very rare book of outstanding sermons never previously printed. Dickson carefully applies Lamentations in a time not only of epidemic disease, international turmoil, economic devastation, and persecution, but also of revival. David Whitla calls this book “a rare treasure by a rare man who should be much better known—one of the most relevant books of Scripture for today, preached by one of the greatest preachers of yesterday.” Let this book grow you, especially through times of affliction. https://bit.ly/2GC6hB0

After a visit to the cardiologist today, we learned my heart is still in atrial fibrillation probably because of COVID. The doctor assured us, however, that many people live with this condition, and that I can proceed to do whatever work and activity I feel up to. I hope to try lecturing again in a few days. Mary (whose COVID symptoms are completely gone) and I have been walking 2-5 miles every day for a number of days now. My heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation are all good. I will continue on blood thinners. I am scheduled for an echocardiogram in a few weeks and a return office visit in March, 2021, D.V.

Best of all, I feel much closer to the Lord, and the desire to work for Him has returned. I feel like “the dark night of the soul” has receded and I, by God’s amazing grace, have regained my spiritual foothold on the Rock of Ages, and that I can say again, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

Finally, thanks so very much to the thousands of you who have been praying for us. Your prayers have meant far more to us than words can ever express. I feel like John Newton who once said that his best friends are those who lift up his worthless name into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Please pray that God will restore me—and especially my colleague Dr. Mark Kelderman and his wife Donna who experienced a much more severe bout of COVID than I did—to full health very soon—and keep sanctifying this unforgettable experience to us all.

In this podcast video, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm of “Church & Family Life” ask my thoughts on how parents can assist their children to get the most out of the preaching they hear.

https://churchandfamilylife.com/podcasts/220236

Mary here, with an update. We are on the mend, by God’s grace. My husband is still tired but gaining strength. He is coughing less. I feel all better. Because our symptoms have improved, and because a prescribed amount of time has passed, the Kent County Health Department nurse has told us we are not contagious anymore. We thank God, and we thank you for all the love and care we have received. We have felt upheld by the prayers of God’s people and by the Savior Himself. We are humbled and grateful. Isaiah 41:10.