THE GOD WHO DRAWS NEAR
An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality
By Micahel Haykin. Evangelical Press. 120 pages. £7.95
ISBN 978-0-85234-638-9
This is a rich little book to savour and should not be read in a hurry. It is a call for genuine Reformed spirituality with a profound sense of the legacy and insights of the past; the author is not trying to say something new but wanting to lead us back into that which past generations have known and that Scripture, of course, still teaches.
However, it is written also with an awareness of the needs and pressures of our contemporary society. Here is a compelling combination of the exposition of Scripture and the recounting of the experience of the godly who have gone before us. Apart from anything else the book is well worth the read for the rich seam of quotations from a wide range of authors. It urges us to a biblical spirituality: Trinitarian in shape; centred on God first and ourselves only in the light of God; realistic about the battle with sin; confident in the empowering of the Holy Spirit; rooted in the atoning work of Christ at Calvary by which alone we can approach God; marked by utter confidence in God's Word; experienced through the arduous and crucial struggles and joys of persevering prayer and meditation and dwelling on Scripture by which the heart is warmed; promoted by like-minded, godly friendships; and all leading to an active concern for the salvation of souls and the establishment of local churches.
