Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

promise"people."contingent"promise"unknown."by Synod's Trustees. If Dr. Willson were a pastor, wecould make a loan on a parsonage for him ; and sincehis call came from Synod itself, we felt justified ingiving some assistance. Last September we loanedhim $5,000.00 at the rate we ask on parsonages, oneper cent per annum ; backed by the offer of Synod'sTrustees to take over the loan if the funds should beurgently needed in our ordinary work.Youngstown congregation wished to purchase aparsonage-and-church combined in a part of the citybetter suited for mission work, and had an offer froma Negro congregation to buy the old church. For atime it looked as though it would take all our resources to help them make the change. But the buyers of the old church increased their offer, and thetemporary loan we made in October was returned tous in January.Eastvale congregation was building an $8,000.00parsonage largely with volunteer labor and with theirown funds, but applied for a loan of $3,000.00 to complete the building. Our board promised the loan ; andEastvale was gracious enough to wait for it till thelast of October when it became clear we would still beable to see Youngstown through the crisis.When United Covenanters of Philadelphia calleda pastor it became necessary to get a parsonage. OurBoard made a loan of $5,500.00 about one third thewhole cost to bejrepaid when one of the two churches would be sold. First Church is now being sold at agood figure.San Diego congregation applied for a loan of$1,000.00 to be part of a down payment on a $12,500.-00 parsonage. The loan was made in March, and is tobe repaid in three years following the paying off theloan on the church. The number of our churches having parsonages is increasing.Union congregation is putting a full basementunder the church, largely with volunteer labor, andat a total estimated cost of $2,500.00. On June 13, aloan of $1,500.00 was made by our board to aid incompleting the task.The sale of the combined church and parsonageof the Boston congregation, discussed in last year'sreport, has been much more difficult than expected.Vandalism did damage to the building, and repairswere needed. At last a contract for sale has beenmade, but at a figure much lower than it should havebeen.Other needs for help have been before us, butthis brings our story up to date, so far as decisionsare made.The terms of D. R. Taggart and R. W. Speer expire at this time. Their successors should be chosen.BOOK REVIEWSDEVOTIONS FOR THE CHILDREN'S HOURKenneth N. TaylorThis is a book of material for forty-eight devotional periods in the home. It is not a Bible storybook, but it can be used with a book of Bible stories,for children do need to know those stories. But theyneed also to know the eternal truth that is behindthese stories.The author says of his book, "It is a book of doctrine for children a 'book that tells what the Biblesays about sin and heaven and about the Lord JesusJuly 28, 1954and about many other Bible themes. It is a book written especially for children ; its words are simple, andits thoughts, we hope, are clear. . There are many. .Bible story-books, but children need doctrine, too,and books of doctrine written so children can understand them have until now been almostThe material in these chapters deals with God,creation, the Fall and sin, and about salvation provided for us by the Lord.One reading will not exhaust the value of thisbook. This material can be profitably used againand again. It was written particularly for childrenfrom seven to twelve years of age.It is published by the Moody Press and sells for$2.50. R. C. F.THE COVENANT OF GRACEby John MurrayThe Tyndale Press, 39 Bedford Square, London,W. C. 1, England. 1954, pp. 32, paper cover. 1 shillingsixpence. Available in U.S.A. from Inter-VarsityChristian Fellowship, 1444 North Astor, Chicago 10,111. ; in Canada, I.V.C.F., 30 St. Mary St., Toronto 5,Ontario.This booklet is a lecture delivered at SelwynCollege, Cambridge, July 6, 1953, to the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research. It is an examination ofthe covenants of the Scriptures both in the OldTestament and the New Testament to determine themeaning of the covenant relation between God andman. The thesis is that a covenant is not a mutualagreement between God and man,nor a conditionalcontract, but "an oath-bound and oath-certified assurance of irrevocable grace and(p. 25).A covenant is "a sovereign administration of grace,fulfilled"divinely initiated, established, confirmed,(p. 22). "The most striking feature is the security,the determinateness, and immutability of the divine(p. 23).The covenant constitutes a union and communion with God: "I will be your God and ye shallbe my Requirements placed upon man bythe covenants are not to be construed as conditionswhich must be fulfilled before the bestowal of thecovenants, "but as the reciprocal responses of faith,love, and obedience apart from which the enjoymentof the covenant blessings and of the covenant relation is inconceivable" (p. .19)As the covenant idea is developed by theprophets, and the New Covenant is shown to bethe fulfillment of the Old Testament covenants, itbecomes increasingly plain that the covenant itselfprovides the means whereby man meets the conditions stipulated (see Isaiah 42:6; 49:8; etc.) ; "Keeping the covenant presupposes the relation as established, rather than the condition upon whichthe establishment is(p. 19). Grace andtruth promised in the covenants of the Old Testament achieve their object in the fulness of the NewCovenant described in Revelation 21 :3, "Behold, thetabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell withthem, and they shall be his people, and God himselfGod."shall be with them, and be theirThe language is technical, the style masterly,the approach Biblical and scholarly. It was preparedfor scholars. It would, therefore, be an asset in everyminister's library ; many Covenanter laymen, schooled in Covenant theology, would find it instructiveand interesting.E. Clark Copeland53