The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 28

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

xxviii

that the comparative rarity of such comprehensive treatises on the

work

of the

Holy

Spirit as Dr.

ness and difficulty of the task.

Kuyper's is due simply to the great"We have been careful to say that

It is only in the circles to it is only in part due to this cause. which this English translation is presented, to say the truth, that It is the happiness of the Rethis remark is applicable at all. formed Christians of English speech that they are the heirs of what must in all fairness be spoken of as an immense literature upon this great topic it may even be said with some justice that the peculiarity of their theological labor turns just on the diligence and depth of their study of this locus. It is, it will be remembered, to John Owen's great " Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit" that Dr. Kuyper points as hitherto the normative treatise on the subject. But John Owen's book did not stand alone in his day and generation, but was rather merely symptomatic of the engrossment of the theological thought of the circle of which he was so great an ornament in the investigation of this subject. Thomas Goodwin's treatise on " The Work of the Holy Ghost in Our Salvation " is well worthy of a place by its side and it is only the truth to say that Puritan thought was almost entirely occupied with loving study of the work of the Holy Spirit, and found its highest expression in dogmatico-practical expositions of the several aspects of it of which such treatises as those of Charnock and Swinnerton on Regeneration are only the best-known examples among a multitude which have For a century and a fallen out of memory in the lapse of years. half afterward, indeed, this topic continued to form the hinge of ;

;

—

the theologizing of the English Nonconformists.

Nor has

it

lost

even yet in the minds of those who have the' best right to be looked upon as the successors of the Puritans. There has been in some quarters some decay, to be sure, in sureness of grasp and theological precision in the presentation of the subject; but it is possible that a larger number of practical treatises on some element or other of the doctrine of the Spirit continue to appear from the English press annually than on any other branch of divinity. Among these, such books as Dr. A. J. Gordon's " The its

central position

Ministry of the Spirit," Dr.

J.

E.

Cumming's "Through "

the Eternal

Veni Creator," Dr. Redford's " Vox Dei," Dr. Robson's " The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete," Dr. Vaughan's " The Gifts of the Holy Spirit" to name only a few of the most recent books attain a high level of theological clarity Spirit," Principal

H. C. G. Moule's

—

—

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen