VOICES FROM THE PAST (VOL. 2):
Puritan Devotional Readings
Edited by Richard Rushing
Banner of Truth. 366 pages. £16.50
ISBN 978 1 848 717 275
I have long hunted for the ‘perfect’ devotional material – mentally engaging, heart-transforming, prayer-fuelling, biblically faithful, focussed more on the words of Scripture than on the thoughts of the author, with a continuous thread and short enough to realistically be read daily!
Voices from the Past (Vol 2) did not, initially, seem to tick many of my boxes, but has proved well worth reading. Each of the 365 daily readings begins with a single verse, followed by a page of the author’s comments (well-abridged). The Scripture references are not continuous, with a number of different authors and a variety of topics in any given week.
I was wrong!
With neither reflection questions nor suggestions for prayer provided, I expected to find myself reading the words of the author without necessarily engaging with the Word of God. I was wrong! The connection between the verse and the thoughts are not always as obvious as it might be, but the ‘author’s thoughts’ are rich in biblical quotations, with many cross-references included.
Despite being over 350 years old the writing feels relevant for today, focussing more on God’s character and actions than on the specifics of Christian living in a particular culture. The language is more accessible than I expected (although some days are harder work than others), but this is probably not a book for reluctant readers, or those not in the habit of daily, Bible reading. The style is very different from contemporary devotional material – the exhortations are blunt and the warnings stark. For me this was refreshing, but may not be to everyone’s taste.
Comprehensive Author, Scripture and Topic indexes are a helpful addition, enabling the reader to ‘dip into’ sections on a specific subject, or Bible book. This volume also functions as a sample of the writings of a range of Puritan authors and has certainly introduced me to a number of names whose work I would love to read more of.
