Reformation Heritage Books is the publisher of Ore from the Puritans’ Mine: The Essential Collection of Puritan Quotations. The quotations are compiled by Dale W. Smith.
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Ore from the Puritans’ Mine
This is (most likely) not a book that you will read from cover to cover. However, it is indeed a book that you will do well to consult very often for personal edification, teaching and preaching. Smith compiles over 3,000 quotations from more than 250 Puritan authors and then arranges the 400+ subject headings alphabetically.
Could there possibly be a group of people more quotable than the Puritans? I highly doubt it. For that reason, this book is an incredible gold mine! You are going to receive exactly what you expect to receive in this book as far as content is concerned: godly, passionate, wise, Christ-centered, eminently biblical, poetic, inspiring, encouraging, substantive, devotional, experiential quotations. This is a 600-page book of nothing but those kinds of quotations! Some of them are one sentence while others take up half a page. I like the variety.
I really appreciate the format of this book. The alphabetical listing makes the book very user-friendly. I usually just attempt to find the subject that I’m looking for by using the headings at the top left or right of the page (just like you do a dictionary), but if I’m unable to find something I’m looking for, I’ll turn to the back where there is a index of topics that will give you the page number of every topic covered in the book. I also like how the author of the quote along with the source is listed below every single quote. It even provides the page number. This is very helpful for those nerds like myself that have entire bookshelves that contain nothing but Puritan literature. If I see a quote that I really like and want more context, I know exactly where to find it.
This book would be an excellent resource for any Christian! It will be useful to those who simply want an introduction to Puritan literature. It will be beneficial to those who want to receive some daily encouragement in their faith (more of a devotional use). It will be extremely helpful to the pastor and Bible teacher who wants to add some illustrations. This book is one that I can’t recommend highly enough! Tolle lege, take up and read!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Reformation Heritage Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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