Death in the Home: A Christian Father Responds to Loss (formerly titled The Broken Home) [Paperback]

Benjamin Morgan Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2009

Originally published as The Broken Home: Lessons in Sorrow, this book is a husband and father's biblical reflection on the loss of his wife and several children.

B. M. Palmer, pastor, scholar, and theologian, wrote this book while pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Palmer explains his purpose for writing in these words: "From the simple desire of comforting those who mourn, this story of repeated bereavements is here told...Long-treasured memories are now scattered upon the winds, with the prayer that they may help to 'bind up the broken-hearted.'"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Morgan Palmer , D.D., LL.D., was born in Charleston, SC on January 25, 1818. This pastor, scholar, and theologian of Southern Prebsyterianism served his first pastorate at the First Presbyterian Church of Savannah, GA, 1841-42. From there he pastored the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, SC from 1843-55, served as a professor at Columbia Theological Seminary from 1853-56, and finally assumed the post of his last church, First Presbyterian of New Orleans, in 1856, serving there until his death in 1902.

Dr. Palmer preached the opening sermon at the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S. and served as Moderator of that first Assembly (4 Dec 1861). His published works include: Life and Letters of J.H. Thornwell; the Family in Its Civil and Churchly Aspects; Theology of Prayer; The Broken Home or Lessons in Sorrow; Formation of Character; and two volumes of Sermons. Most of these titles remain in print to this day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: Reformed Academic Press (March 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980037018
• ISBN-13: 978-0980037012
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,658,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death In The Home by B. M. Palmer, May 4, 2009

By 

J. Bailey (Harrisville, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death in the Home: A Christian Father Responds to Loss (formerly titled The Broken Home) (Paperback)

Death in the Home: A Christian Father Responds to Loss (formerly titled The Broken Home)
This is a wonderful positive testimony of faith and trust in God in the midst of great sorrow.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Comfort in Times of Sorrow, March 28, 2009

By 

Jason - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the Home: A Christian Father Responds to Loss (formerly titled The Broken Home) (Paperback)

In reality, there are not many "good" resources that you can simply give to a person who has lost someone - and particularly if it was a child who died. It is even rarer when one of these "good" resources also turns out to be a classic pastoral work that has been in print for over 100 years. Death in the Home is such a book!

Death in the Home was first published in the 1880's (originally titled The Broken Home: Lessons in Sorrow), after Benjamin Morgan Palmer had buried 4 of his 5 children and his wife. Thus, this book is Palmer's jounraling about the sorrow and great travail of soul he experienced, first with the death of his infant son, through the death of 3 of his daughters, and finally with the death of his wife. But it does not read like a mere journal. Instead, it reads as if Palmer intentionally wanted to give others comfort and hope too. All in all, this may sound like a sorrowful, spirit-dampening book, but it is actually just the opposite. That is, as Palmer struggles with the loss and immense sadness he experiences, he also brings it back around, concentrating on the hope he and his family have in Christ and the eternal bliss and inheritance that awaited his children and wife upon their departure. Thus, a kind of sweet joy and holy confidence attended him during these trials.

Palmer too could say, "When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."

I heartily commend this book to anyone who has lost someone close and especially for those who have lost a child. Palmer eloquently, pastorally, and genuinely communicates the sorrow and the hope of his soul.

Soli Deo Gloria!