O Death, Where is Thy Sting? Collected Sermons of John Murray

“Professor Murray helps the discerning heart to appreciate the biblical distinction between teaching and preaching. These sermons do not call us into the classroom to hear Westminsters legendary teacheras profitable as that would be. Rather, they send us up into the heavenly sanctuary to learn at the feet of our exalted Savior, who alone is full of grace and truth.”

“Professor Murray has long been celebrated as one of the clearest, most penetrating, helpful theologians the church has enjoyed. In this collection of sermons, we see that Preacher Murray was just as clear, penetrating, and helpful. In these pages a feast is laid before the hungry soul. Devour these sermons to your eternal benefit.”

“I still remember the first time I heard a recording of a John Murray sermon and its impact upon me. I was a young Christian with a growing sense of Gods call to preach. This sermon was the clincher. Never before had I encountered such a unique combination of careful exegesis, profound theology, fresh insight, clear expression, and spiritual application. It inspired me with a vision of how glorious Reformed, experiential preaching could be. May this beautiful collection of Murrays sermons touch and motivate a new generation of preachers and revive those who have lost sight of their high calling.”

“When one thinks of the legacy of Professor John Murray, it would be natural to remember him for the precision and clarity of his treatises in systematic theology. What may not readily come to mind is the power and passion of his preaching. Thank- fully, this book helps remedy that by providing for readers a collection of his sermons that showcases a balance of biblical and theological precision with pastoral and compassionate devotion. Read it to be gripped by what gripped Professor Murraythe Christ of all the Scriptures.”

“John Murray enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a keen biblical and systematic theologian. With the publication for the first time of this collection of his sermons, the homiletical fruit of Murrays exegetical and theological insights will also be gratefully acknowledged. Just as Calvins exegetical and theological work bore fruit in sermons that were faithful in the exposition and application of biblical texts, so we witness the same in Murrays sermons. Readers of these sermons will find them rich in gospel content, Christ-centered in focus, and urgent in their summons to faith in Christ. If the surest test and most important fruit of a careful reading of Scripture are its homiletical payoff, Murrays sermons are more than equal to the challenge.”

“John Murray is well known for his eagle-eyed theology and scholarly exposition of the Scriptures. However, in this book we hear the voice of John Murray the gospel preachera voice that tenderly and urgently calls us to Christ as our righteousness, our life, and our all. These messages are a feast for the soul. Highly recommended!”

“This collection models to us the (increasingly) lost art of doctrinal preaching embedded in the expository sermon. Here we find fine distinctions and logical connections, we trace the arguments and flow of thoughts, and we are led along by turns of phrase which unlock the grandest of theological storehouses. These sermons are rich soul food for shepherds and their sheep. I will return to them again and again.”

“The apostle Pauls spiritual nutrition plan offers two basic food groups: meat and milk. Readers of these sermons will be in no doubt as to which Professor Murray served for his Sunday dinners. A bite-sized sample from any paragraph would prove the point. The marvel is that everything that belongs to Christ becomes the possession of the person who is united to him. Christs righteousness is not simply something that grounds the justifying act of God, but its something that demands the justifying action of God. There will never be a John Murray for the masses, and yet the gospel preached in these pages is just the food that seasoned saints, hungry sinners, and thoughtful reading groups most clearly need.”

“The sermons in this volume are, with a couple exceptions, not found in the four volumes of Murrays Collected Writings. Many of them are from Romans, a book on which Murray wrote an important commentary. As we would expect, the sermons are deeply theological, and they engage many of the themes stressed in Murrays systematic writings: definitive and progressive sanctification; the Fathers love as the ultimate source of the atonement; Jesuss ontological and economic lordship; the believers union with Christ in his death and resurrection; and many others. But these are actual sermons, and Murray here is concerned not just to validate doctrinal formulations. Again and again he addresses his hearers, exhorting them to attend to the very practical consequences of the teachings. We often see how a frequently overlooked doctrinal distinction brings the believer to a new dimension of heart-commitment and consistent discipleship. Let me exhort you now to take advantage of this feast. Learn from the depths of Scripture from one of its best students.”

“John Murray was a great man. Everything he wrote was done with great care, precision, and thoughtfulness. These sermons are hidden gems, now in view for usespecially pastors and theology studentsto appreciate. Honestly, if John Murray wrote a grocery list Id read it; so when he writes on such magnificent topics there isnt any good reason not to read him.”

“What joy! To have Professor Murray leading us again so care- fully, so thoughtfully, in our study of the Scriptures! Yes, there is a lot of the theologian in Murray the preacher. But then, there was a lot of the preacher in Murray the theologian. And anyone who fears there may not be enough of what moderns call application in these sermons did not know my professor personally, the most loving saint I have ever known. His favorite theme is the boundless love of God and the lives Gods love impels us to. Typical are his sermons on The Fathers Love from Romans 8:32 and his sermon on the compassionate love of the Son of God, our ascended High Priest, from Hebrews 4:1416. Professor Murray had one goal as a preacher: to proclaim the Word of Godand in these sermons that Word speaks directly to our hearts in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“John Murray was a tremendous biblical theologian, but he was not always the most accessible author. Thankfully, readers may now taste the fruits of some of his labors in a more welcoming medium. Through this collection of his sermons Murray speaks plainly and pastorally, allowing his insights to come through more clearly and personally. He speaks to the head and the heart, and we would do well to listen to his voice.”

“What a gift these collected sermons of John Murray are to preachers and Bible students! Here, the great Westminster professors lucid voice is heard in stirring tones, both unfolding doctrine and stimulating doxology. And it is no surprise that Murrays consistent focus is Christ in the glory of his person and work and the blessing of union with Christ in faith. Reformed Christians should read everything Murray has written, and this small corpus of sermons demands our attention and thanksgiving.”

“Reading John Murray as a seminary student was a revelation. The Scottish theologians careful attention to the biblical text, precise manner of theological expression, and unwavering focus on the saving work of Jesus Christ on every page of his books and essays enlivened my faith. In this beautiful volume, one of my favorite theologians takes his piety into the pulpit, expounding the gospel of Jesus Christ in some of the Bibles most well-known and influential texts.”

“The generations, now, who have been enriched by the teach- ing and writings of Westminster Theological Seminarys storied theologian, John Murray, and treasure his Collected Writings and commentary on Romans, will find this beautiful volume of sermons a particularly sweet treasure because of the great mans extraordinary simplicity and gospel-infused passion.”

“Professor Murrays commentary on Romans demonstrated the cogency of his exegetical attention to the biblical text. Redemption Accomplished and Applied, The Imputation of Adams Sin, and the essays in his Collected Writings exhibited his reverent and discerning theological insight. Now in this sermon collection we hear careful biblical interpretation and incisive theological analysis in combination with a warm pastors heart. Professor Murray preaches passionately, forthrightly, tenderly, and practically to the struggling, hurting, sometimes wandering hearts of Gods people. He adores Christ the Redeemer and rejoices in the good news of his grace. His awestruck delight in the triune God is contagious. I was humbled and lifted up to worship as I heard Jesus proclaimed through these sermons.”

“These sermons have been held back for far too long. Doctrinally rich, heart-warming, and sometimes profoundly solemn, they deserve a wide circulation. Seldom has justification by faith been preached with greater clarity or the Fathers love found a more passionate expositor. A feast for the hungry soul!”

“The sermons that comprise this volume are so engaging that once we start reading them it is almost impossible to put them down. Their genius is that Professor Murray makes each one a journey of exploration in which he serves as an expert travel guide. We are first of all assured of making a complete exploration of the chosen text, and Murrays penchant for thoroughness is very winsome; a literary scholar would use the formula close reading to name the process. We also journey through other parts of the Bible that bear upon the text and its doctrines. The ongoing momentum of each sermon is breathtaking, aided by numerical schemes, the pursuing of ideas to their logical conclusion, raising and answering questions that naturally arise, and moving toward application at the end. The form and craft of these sermons are as much a part of their excellence and appeal as is the edification that they impart. We expect edification in a sermon, but these sermons give us pleasure as well.”

“Our access to the edifying saints at rest is their writings, but until now weve only had John Murrays remarkable exegetical and theological insights. This volume rounds out his profile as a minister of the Word, which is, after all, the whole purpose of theology. These sermons are moving, faithful, and as relevant as ever. What a gift!”

“Some of the best sermons I ever heard were lectures by John Murray in systematic theology. The actual sermons in this collection have many of the same qualities. Although they are not as complex as the lectures, they are just as passionate and as precise in explaining the meanings of biblical texts. One must imagine the quiet intensity with which these were presented, urging the hearers to appreciate the monumental importance of the doc- trines involved and the grandeur of the realities to which these doctrines point.”

“Discovering hitherto unpublished sermons by John Murray is the equivalent of finding buried treasure. To those who know John Murrays writings, this book requires no recommendation. Borrowing a phrase from another context, this book is self- authenticating. But to those who are not familiar with his name and reputation, these sermons represent the very finest sermonic material. Every word, carefully chosen; every argument, carefully analyzed. A book to read and re-read. Treasure indeed!”

“Those who appreciate John Murrays classic commentary on Ro- mans for its clarity, profundity, and faithfulness to the text will also appreciate this collection of sermons for the same reasons. But those who know Murray only as a commentator and theo-logian will also enjoy encountering him in a different role, that of preacher. These words werent delivered in a classroom to train theological students in a seminary, but in a pulpit to edify the members of a local church. Thats not to imply that Murray preached in a style that was light and breezy, and you wont find him padding his expositions with stories or lengthy illustrations. This is meaty preachingexegetical, doctrinal, God-glorifying, Christ-centered, and welded to the text. Those who heard these sermons knew, and those who now read them will know, that Murray had no desire to preach himself, but only the Word of the living God.”

“Here is a collection of sermons without additivesno unnecessary words, no superfluous illustrations. How unlike so many of our current efforts. Professor Murray opens up the text and leaves us in no doubt about what it means and why it matters. Ever since reading his commentary on Romans, I have turned regularly to his collected writings. I am thrilled to have this new volume, which I commend with a measure of pride in the work of this Highland Scot!”

“If preaching is, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones described it, logic on fire, then this collection of sermons by Dr. John Murray is a furnace ablaze with iron-tempering wisdom. And it is a conflagration that consumes human folly while imparting truth with white-hot clarity and disarming simplicity. I found myself involuntarily and yet audibly responding to these sermons with little outbursts: Yes! Thats it! Ouch! That hurts so good! The true mark of wisdom is to ably say much with few carefully selected words. This collection is then true wisdom in preaching. The weight and wonder of each sermon almost forbids that one read them one after the other. You must push back from the table and rest the soul before you partake of more than one at a time. One is seated here before a feast of biblical delight! Savor it! Slowly taste it and deeply digest! There are sentences and even whole paragraphs that seem to me impossible to perfect. They are as poetically beautiful as they are theologically precise. If one thinks my words are hyperbolic or dramatic, that merely proves you have not yet read this outstanding collection.”