Ravenbrook Publishers
Equipping the saints for the work of ministry ...
Historical Writings
Thomas Doolittle (1632-1707) was an English Puritan who loved the Lord Jesus Christ “with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.”
Typical of the Puritan style, Doolittle digs into the reader’s heart and mind with the power of the Spirit — exposing excuses, failures, self-deceptions and influences of the world to bring the repentent sinner back to the Lord Jesus where he belongs. And, ever faithful to the Biblical text, he reveals what will happen to those who hold Jesus Christ in contempt through word, thought or deed.
Doolittle plumbs the depths of the glory and majesty of Christ’s works. With all these treasures made plain in the testimony of Scripture, the author lays before us the riches of the Father’s Treasures in his beloved Son. This vision, this hope, that Doolittle could see so clearly, is what drives the Christian to true love for the Savior.
Click here to buy now
Thomas Doolittle (1632–1707), a Puritan and tutor of Matthew Henry, was a non-conformist minister in England when such a stance meant suffering and persecution at the hands of the government.
Doolittle’s
Treatise Concerning the Lord’s Supper
is a typically masterful work by a spiritual doctor. He not only examines our hearts for preparation for the Supper, but also what we will gain spiritually through communion with Christ, and what will hinder that communion.
He also has three “Dialogues” in which he addresses the needs of every kind of participant, those burdened with sin and those passionate to meet the Lord at the Table.
Of particular concern to the Puritan pastor were those who were reluctant to go to Communion, and he answers their objections with both grace and plain speaking.
Click here to buy now
The Puritans left a spiritual legacy that put the Christian Church in their debt for centuries.
In this volume are hundreds of quotations from the Puritans and their spiritual heirs over the last 400 years. They had a full and Biblical view of God, and (as the Apostle Peter tells us) they “knew then how they should live.” They were spiritual doctors: they were able to study the soul, and apply the necessary medicine, to cure sinners of worldliness and immorality. They had the keys to the glory of God and delighted to show those who were earth-bound the majesty of Heaven. They understood the doctrine, and they also understood the purpose of that doctrine: to know God, and to glorify him and enjoy him forever.
As you ponder their wisdom, pray that you might also be filled with their Spirit – the “manifold witnesses” who beheld the glory of God – and that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ might change your life in the same way as he did theirs.
Click here to buy now
Sin is the most serious problem of mankind, yet it’s the one thing nobody wants to talk about. We almost never mention it in our prayers; we almost never admit that we ourselves are guilty of sin – not only to others, but also even to ourselves.
It’s just incredible that most people aren’t bothering to look into the problem of their sin. Millions of people are going to Hell – and they don’t even know why! They could deal with it, they should deal with it – but they don’t want to. They think that as long as they don’t find out what sin is, then nobody can convict them. They think that the problem will go away by itself. They think that if they don’t worry about it, neither will God. But on Judgment Day, God will lay it all out before them in excruciating detail and only then will they realize the full extent of their crimes against him. They can harden their hearts in this world, but in the next world there will be full disclosure. God will be forced to take this approach to justify his actions against them. Everyone will say “Amen!” when he punishes the wicked to the full extent of the Law.
Ralph Venning, a Puritan preacher of the 17th Century, here makes an exhaustive study of the subject of sin — not only what it is, but also what it’s doing to us and to God’s glory. His premise is that the only way to deal with our sin is to see it exactly for what it is — a spiritual plague that is killing us.
Click here to buy now
Thomas Vincent (1634–1678) was an English Puritan minister and author in England when such a stance meant suffering and persecution at the hands of the government.
In typical Puritan style, Vincent covers all pertinent aspects of the issue of God’s wrath and Christ’s deliverance for his people:
What this wrath is
The certainty of God’s wrath
Upon whom this wrath will come
When this wrath will come
Who this Jesus is, who delivers from wrath
How Jesus delivers from wrath
Who will experience this deliverance
Click here to buy now
Richard Baxter was one of the most influential of English Puritans, with the added blessing of being easy to read.
Baxter's driving motivation in the Church was to bring people of different persuasions together as Christians – one faith, one cause, one God; he believed that brothers who claimed to trust in Christ ought to be able to fellowship together around the Throne of Grace. The peace and well-being of the Church was a foundation running through all of Baxter's writings. Though unsuccessful in the long run, he was appreciated by his peers for his catholic spirit among brothers from different denominations.
The
Reformed Pastor
is Baxter's masterpiece concerning the solemn opportunity of ministering to Christ's flock. You can sense Baxter's concern for the Church's spiritual welfare here – and the Pastor is in the position to make it happen. One writer stated that it "drives home the sense of clerical responsibility with extraordinary power." It should be required reading for those entering the Christian ministry – for clear and pointed directions on maintaining the health of their own souls as well as ministering to the needs of the flock.
Click here to buy now
John Bunyan was one of the most remarkable of the English Puritans. An uneducated tinker, his conversion from a life of utter dissolution to a penetrating preacher and writer gave the Church one of its most profound spiritual authors.
He was arrested for preaching the Gospel without a license, and locked away in a dark, damp jail for twelve years. During that time he wrote
The Pilgrim's Progress
,an allegory of a Christian making his way through the trials and obstacles of this world to the Promised Land. When
The Pilgrim's Progress
was finally published years later at his friends' requests, it became an instant classic. Even those who are enemies of the Cross of Christ have acknowledged Bunyan's book as one of the classics of modern English literature. For years it was required reading in schools and society.
Spurgeon once said that you can "prick Bunyan anywhere and he will bleed Bible." He had a profound grasp on the Scriptures, and his books show it. His Bible was almost his only companion for years in the prison, where he could often be seen on his knees in front of it in prayer.
Click here to buy now
John Calvin, the French Protestant who broke from the Roman Catholic Church was one of the greatest and most influential of Christian thinkers. He had to leave his native France to escape religious persecution, and spent the rest of his life living and working in Switzerland and Germany.
The Protestants, of course, needed a clear statement for the reasons behind their break from the Pope, and Calvin became their leading and clearest spokesman. A true heir of Augustine and Paul, he successfully systematized the Protestant faith in his Institutes – a marvel of theological completeness and clarity that served as a model for almost all succeeding theologies in the Protestant movement.
Though greatly despised throughout history, Calvin's clear understanding of the message of the Bible shows his grasp of the truth of God's Word that has stood the test of time. As is true with most of God's despised saints, only the few with genuine faith will know the truth when they see it. "My sheep know my voice."
BOOK ONE:
Of the Knowledge of God
Beveridge Translation
Click here to buy now
John Calvin, the French Protestant who broke from the Roman Catholic Church was one of the greatest and most influential of Christian thinkers. He had to leave his native France to escape religious persecution, and spent the rest of his life living and working in Switzerland and Germany.
The Protestants, of course, needed a clear statement for the reasons behind their break from the Pope, and Calvin became their leading and clearest spokesman. A true heir of Augustine and Paul, he successfully systematized the Protestant faith in his Institutes – a marvel of theological completeness and clarity that served as a model for almost all succeeding theologies in the Protestant movement.
Though greatly despised throughout history, Calvin's clear understanding of the message of the Bible shows his grasp of the truth of God's Word that has stood the test of time. As is true with most of God's despised saints, only the few with genuine faith will know the truth when they see it. "My sheep know my voice."
BOOK TWO:
Of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer, In Christ, as first manifested to the fathers under the Law, and thereafter to us under the Gospel
Beveridge Translation
Click here to buy now
John Calvin, the French Protestant who broke from the Roman Catholic Church was one of the greatest and most influential of Christian thinkers. He had to leave his native France to escape religious persecution, and spent the rest of his life living and working in Switzerland and Germany.
The Protestants, of course, needed a clear statement for the reasons behind their break from the Pope, and Calvin became their leading and clearest spokesman. A true heir of Augustine and Paul, he successfully systematized the Protestant faith in his Institutes – a marvel of theological completeness and clarity that served as a model for almost all succeeding theologies in the Protestant movement.
Though greatly despised throughout history, Calvin's clear understanding of the message of the Bible shows his grasp of the truth of God's Word that has stood the test of time. As is true with most of God's despised saints, only the few with genuine faith will know the truth when they see it. "My sheep know my voice."
BOOK THREE:
The mode of obtaining the grace of Christ. The benefits it confers, and the effects resulting from it
Beveridge Translation
Click here to buy now
John Calvin, the French Protestant who broke from the Roman Catholic Church was one of the greatest and most influential of Christian thinkers. He had to leave his native France to escape religious persecution, and spent the rest of his life living and working in Switzerland and Germany.
The Protestants, of course, needed a clear statement for the reasons behind their break from the Pope, and Calvin became their leading and clearest spokesman. A true heir of Augustine and Paul, he successfully systematized the Protestant faith in his Institutes – a marvel of theological completeness and clarity that served as a model for almost all succeeding theologies in the Protestant movement.
Though greatly despised throughout history, Calvin's clear understanding of the message of the Bible shows his grasp of the truth of God's Word that has stood the test of time. As is true with most of God's despised saints, only the few with genuine faith will know the truth when they see it. "My sheep know my voice."
BOOK FOUR:
Of the external means or helps by which God allures us into fellowship with Christ, and keeps us in it
Beveridge Translation
Click here to buy now
William Carey was one of the most remarkable Christians in history – a self-taught linguist, pastor, missionary, and visionary who paved the way for the modern missionary movement.
Born in England in near poverty and seemingly without any hopes of advancement, Carey was called by God to minister to his sheep. In Carey's case, the call came for ministering to the sheep in other parts of the world! Struggling against the hyper-Calvinist mindset of his fellow pastors, Carey led the way to form the Baptist Missionary Society and volunteered himself and his family to pioneer the way to foreign missions.
In India, Carey laid the groundwork for almost all aspects of the missionary enterprise: evangelization, education, translation of the Scriptures, publishing, social and cultural influences. Along with his missionary team, Carey literally fulfilled his dream from his days as a shoemaker in England.
Expect great things from God –
Attempt great things for God.
Click here to buy now
Arthur Pink was a preeminent Bible scholar and teacher who has made a stunning impact on the modern Church. Through his magazine
Studies in the Scriptures
and the books reprinted from that magazine, he has taught thousands of Christians the great truths of the faith with balance and clarity.
Pink was an heir of the Puritans – the spiritual giants of 16th and 17th century England and America. A voluminous reader, he distilled centuries of solid Biblical studies by the masters of the past and served it up as "food for the soul" for the modern reader. He loved the Bible and he loved to teach it.
He was a careful student of the Word. Here in his
Interpretation of the Scriptures
we get to watch the master as he reveals his own principles of how to unlock the doors of the Bible.
SPECIAL EDITION:
This edition contains – Contents by Chapter, Contents by Interpretive Principles, and a complete Biblical reference page index.
Click here to buy now
Philip Schaff was a Swiss-born, German-educated theologian and a historian of the Christian Church, who after his education lived and taught in the United States.
The
History of the Christian Church
is his best-known work and readily available in today's book markets. However, there are jewels of scholarship buried inside its covers that need to be brought out into the light for our modern world. This reprint of his section "the New Testament" will encourage and strengthen those students who may find their battle against the enemies of God's Word discouraging.
Demonstrating that the enemy's plan over the last 200 years has never changed, Schaff works through each issue of how the New Testament books came into existence and gives us ample proof that our child-like faith in God's Word is both rational and reasonable. Our Bible, as Schaff conclusively shows us, is completely reliable and authoritative. The tools he gives us are still effective in our day.
May we be filled with the same Spirit who led these faithful and courageous witnesses like Schaff to the truth, so that Christ's Kingdom might extend across our modern world as well.
Click here to buy now
John Newton was an Anglican minister who was keenly aware of the fact that the Lord saves sinners – his famous hymn "Amazing Grace" was written with himself in mind.
After living for years in the degraded state of sin and spiritual rebellion, Newton was converted at sea while a slave trader and returned home to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Led to the ministry, the Lord used his testimony of a sinner saved by grace to touch the lives of millions through his preaching and writings.
Newton experienced the providential care of God throughout his life. His story is an amazing series of testimonials of the Lord's hand rescuing him from disaster and want. Daily he faithfully told others about God's free grace to him in his life, and he was enabled to stand upon the firm foundation of God's promises like few in his generation. It remains to this day a powerful incentive for the Lord's people to trust him in any and all circumstances, no matter how bad it may look. In Newton's words, if the Lord will save "a wretch like me," he will certainly have mercy on you as well.
Click here to buy now
"There is nothing new under the sun." In our day, we may think that the attack on the Bible's integrity is a modern problem. But the Church has been struggling with unbelief for centuries.
The Fundamentals
is a series of articles by conservative scholars defending our simple belief that "the Bible is the Word of God." Ironically, these 19th century scholars pinpointed the same errors that are so rampant in our century, and their answers to unbelief are just as relevant to our day. They uncover the caprice of liberal scholars who, with no good reason, reject the self-revelation of God. The history, goals and methods of liberals are carefully described.
Our generation would do well to learn from the saints of the past as they faithfully held high the banner of Truth.
Click here to buy now
No one subject is of more importance to people generally than a knowledge of the rules, usages and ceremonies of good society, which are commonly expressed by the word Etiquette. Its necessity is felt wherever men and women associate together, whether in the city, village, or country town, at home or abroad. To acquire a thorough knowledge of these matters, and to put that knowledge into practice with perfect ease and self-complacency, is the purpose of this work.
Click here to buy now
Historical | Ravenbrook Publishers