In Good Reading

(All Books Intended For Review In This Column Should Be Sent To Earl West, 25 N. Layman, Indianapolis, Indiana.)

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER, Vol. 2, Alexander Campbell, etc., Harbinger Book Club, 618 pages, $5.00.

The second volume of the forty-one volume set of the Millennial Harbingers has recently been reprinted. It is hardly conceivable that any introductory words about this great work are necessary. Here is the greatest single source of information about the restoration movement and by far the best source for the rich learning that came from the great mind of Alexander Campbell.

It is easy to overlook the real value in periodicals like the Millennial Harbinger. Aside from the knowledge they impart of the historical phases of the movement, the general Biblical knowledge one may gain is very valuable. Such essays as "Faith and the Remission of Sins," the "Holy Spirit," "Regeneration," and "History of Sin" may be studied seriously with great profit. As a rule, these old periodicals have more solid Bible information than most books one may purchase.

We recommend that every person—especially every preacher—plan to own a set of the Harbingers. Those who seek information of a historical nature about the restoration movement will find the work indispensable. On the other hand, those who desire to expand their general knowledge of the Bible will find the many articles and essays simply incomparable.

TRIED BY FIRE by F. B. Meyer, Baker Book House, 1951, 218 pages, $2.50.

Tried By Fire is a companion volume to The Way Into the Holiest and The Gospel of the King—all written by F. B. Meyer of London, and recently reprinted by Baker Book House. Tried By Fire is a series of expository sermons on First Peter, an epistle pointing the way to victory through the fires of persecution.

This book is hardly as "deep" as The Way Into the Holiest, and in some cases the expository sermons do not hold together as logically as one might expect. However, Meyer can be studied with profit if for no other reason than for the word study. Meyer's rich imagery, his excellent and colorful choice of words, are well worth studying. The personal lessons one may learn are, of course, outstanding. The exhortation to godliness in a world of sin, the encouragement to faithfulness in times of opposition—such lessons are practical and helpful in the extreme.

No preacher would want to take Meyer's works and attempt to preach these sermons the way he did. But any preacher who is looking for a good sermon idea will find Tried By Fire a spawning ground for them.