Fair Sunshine [Paperback]

Jock Purves (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Banner of Truth (June 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851511368
• ISBN-13: 978-0851511368
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,366,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Spirit of the Scottish Martyrs, June 5, 2000

By 

Brian DeJong - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fair Sunshine (Paperback)

This is an excellent overview of the Scottish martyrs for the Christian faith who died during the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these men and women were Presbyterians who were zealous for "the crown rights of King Jesus" and who died simply for their desire to worship and serve Christ according to His word.

The author has served as an ruling elder in a Presbyterian church in Scotland and knows both the facts and the spirit of the Covenanters. He gives a very readable account of their lives and deaths, and the spiritual motives for their martyrdom.

The book is divided into 12 chapters which are character sketches of noteworthy Covenanters. My personal favorites are the chapters on Richard Cameron and on "the two Margarets", although each chapter is beneficial and edifying.

There are also included some helpful aids, such as a chronology of Scottish church history during those years, and a Bibliography.

This book is a nice complement to Foxes' Book of Martyrs and comes with highest recommendations.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Story of Men and Women Kept by the Gospel, July 16, 2003

By 

David A. Vosseller "davhoops" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fair Sunshine (Paperback)

In an age of easy believe-ism, Jock Purves' classic Fair Sunshine, is a much-needed reminder that, as Bonhoeffer wrote, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die". We take freedom of religion for granted here in America. These stories of the martyrs of the Scottish church in the 17th Century are great reminders of the cost that all believers must be willing to bear if they are to take up Christ's cross and follow him. The stories reveal men and women who feared God more than men. In the face of deprivation, torture, and death, they remained faithful. The issue that most died for was over who was the head of the church, Jesus Christ or King Charles II. The established church and the royal officials were determined to bring the church under the control of the King, and many faithful ministers and laypersons were persecuted, tortured and executed as a result. The stories point us not to how great these men and women were, but to how great a God they loved and served. The last words many spoke were of praise and thanksgiving to their great God that they were able to live and die for Him. Use this book to remind you of the cost of discipleship, and the power of a life lived Coram Deo- before the face of God. Read it - you won't regret it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars from the book..., December 6, 2005

By 

L. Hoffman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fair Sunshine (Paperback)

Author: Jock Purves

This is a book of character studies of the Scottish Covenanters. There are many volumes which deal with that terrible yet glorious period in the
history of the Scottish church between the restoration of Charles II and
the ascention of William III. But Fair Sunshine deserves a place alongside the very best of them.

His graphic descriptions of that horrible period during which these dedicated Christians were hunted down in the hills of Scotland and massacred for holding outlawed church services and refusing to replace the Bible with the King's prayer book. This book relates a series of stories of these Scottish martyrs, the ancestors of a great many people in the United States.

What the issue boiled down to as far as the Covenanters were concerned was whether a temporal monarch or the Lord Jesus Christ was to be 'Head over all things to the Church'. To faithful Covenanters only one answer was possible, and whether their problems concerned individuals, families, conventicles, or general assemblies they urged with fierce and unshakable tenacity that 'Jesus Christ is Lord'. No suffering could be too great to endure in such a cause.

Whether Jock Purves was writing about James Guthrie at the beginning or James Renwick at the very end of this time of martyrdom and suffering there is a lyrical quality about his treatment. When taken together, with his spiritual perception and moral earnestness, this drives every one of these biographical chapters to the heart of the reader.
Paperback
206 pages