Six Books Recently Read

Among books recently read are Loving the Law by Stephen Spinnenweber. This is This is a little stick of dynamite. It covers quite basic Reformed theology with regards to the Law and relies mainly on basic sources such as Calvin, the Westminster catechisms, Matthew Henry, Ernest Kevan and Puritan writers. Having said that I'm not sure where you would turn for a similar tome. I have plenty of books that take me through the Commandments but few that begin with a general piece on the three types of law and end with a discussion of the the three uses. Great stuff.

I also read a couple of books by the prolific Tim Chester. Angels is a very brief book that covers the basics fairly uncontroversially. Behind it, is a good reading list in the subject and allied matters. The temptation to speculate is pretty much avoided. I also read the first of a set of bite-size biographies have done. Istarted with Aidan of Lindisfarne as the most obscure. He competently cover the bases.

I also read a little book on Psalm 22 by Paul Mallard and Hope for all the earth an Old Testament survey by *. Short books are popular these days and Mallard's one excellently surveys Psalm 22 pointing firmly to the cross and to the resurrection. In six chapters he takes us from Good Friday to Easter monday. Mitchell CHase's work is the shortest of surveys of the Old Testament and is a useful primer or refresher for anyone who wants to get a good idea of the sweep of the Old Testament. Several significant dates are included without argument and incorporated in a chart at the beginning. I should know more of those dates than I do. They would be worth committing to memory.

Figureheads I picked up at the maritime museum in Greenwich. It is a lavishly illustrated hardback and a lovely introduction to the fascinating world of figureheads on ships. Sometimes a bit of detective work is needed on the figures that survive but mostly the book provides an insight into Greek legend, famous people and the history of the British merchant and royal navies.