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The blessed death of those who die in the LordStyle?THE BLESSED DEATH OF THOSE WHO DIE IN THE LORD This small book is full of powerful doctrine and exhortation. It is based on a series of sermons preached in 17th-century Scotland, on Revelation 14.13, 'Blessed are they which die in the Lord'. The title of each chapter (i.e. sermon) indicates its content and intention - Death is Certain, The Way to True Blessedness, The Way to True Misery, Directions for Dying in the Lord, When Death Comes Suddenly, Death is a Suitable Subject for Meditation and the Believer's Encouragement in Death'. The author's concern is that each of us should be prepared for our death. He not only shows how death in the Lord is blessed, but also how any other death is miserable. There are warnings in plenty here for the careless believers 'who desire to die the death of the righteous, but have no care to live well' (p.126); and exhortations for the unbeliever to 'flee to Christ for refuge [and] close with Him by faith' (p.13). Sadly the style in which it is written (with huge numbers of divisions, subdivisions, Uses, Directions, Helps and Doctrines) may well deter many modern readers who are not familiar with the Puritans' way of preaching - even though this reprint features helpful changes to its spelling, grammar and formatting. It would be wonderful if 'the meat' of this book could be completely re-written for the people of today, whether they are 'in the pew' or on 'the street'. Michael Bentley,
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