'A treasure trove to be savoured daily'

OUR GREAT REDEEMER:
365 Days with J.C. Ryle
Compiled by Bryan Schrank
Reformation Heritage Books.
375 pages. £29.99
ISBN 979 8 886 861 242

Many will know Bishop Ryle, who lived for most of the 19th century and became the first Bishop of Liverpool, through his books Expository Thoughts of the Gospels, Holiness and Practical Religion. These books are characterised by a resolute faithfulness to the trustworthiness of Scripture and an instinct for practical application. The same quality can be observed here in these carefully curated extracts from Ryle’s sermons.

Each day of the year has an extract for daily reading; it is a treasure trove to be savoured slowly. There are several things that strike me about this collection.

It is Biblically nourishing, clearly expressed, skilfully illuminated with word pictures, and sensitively applied to life. It is strange to say about a writer who died in 1900, but Ryle writes with an immediacy that is so timeless that it has the air of the contemporary about it. The message is crystal clear and speaks in such a direct and searching way to the human heart. As Brian Schrank, the compiler, comments in the Introduction to this book: ‘In his writing, Ryle has precisely the kind of spiritual appeal and broad readability that encourages readers to come back for more.’

This is a book that I have set aside to use for my devotions in 2025. Perhaps you might join me.