Great Spoil
While much of evangelicalism has forsaken a Word-based approach to Christian spiritualty, J. Stephen Yuille helps us recover a model of biblical piety through an examination of Thomas Manton's sermons on Psalm 119. Following a brief account of Manton as a leading Puritan committed to the ministry of the Word, Yuille leads us on a careful investigation of Manton's understanding of blessedness, the instrumentality of God's Word, and the practice of spiritual duties. At the foundation stands the conviction that as we love and obey God's Word, the blessed God communes with us by His Spirit, conveying sweet influences upon our soul through His Word. Manton's spirituality of the Word is a timely remedy for the subjective mysticism that expects God to speak through inner urgings apart from His Word. Let us learn from Manton how to listen to the Bible as if we heard God speaking to us from heaven, rejoicing like those who find "great spoil" (Psalm 119:162). “J. I. Packer has called the Puritans of the seventeenth century the “spiritual redwoods of church history.” One of those most towering figures was Thomas Manton, a gifted lecturer and author. Stephen Yuille has done the church a great service by introducing Manton to a new generation of believers. This book, Great Spoil: Thomas Manton’s Spirituality of the Word, helps us grasp the proper emphasis necessary for enjoying blessedness in the Christian life. As you turn each page of this book, you will find yourself walking with an authentic spiritual giant from yesteryear.” —Steven J. Lawson, president of OnePassion Ministries, Dallas, Texas