Our castaway this time is Peter Eaton, Pastor of Highgate Road Chapel, North West London. (published Winter 1995)

My first choice would be a commentary on a single book of the Bible. I will already have Matthew Henry and Calvin to cover the whole of Scripture: but I would want to use the enforced leisure to study one book in even more depth. But which book? I decided on Hebrews: a New Testament book explaining the excellence of Christ, but also sheding so much light on the Old Testament. Of all the books I have used I think I would take A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews by Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, which combines contemporary scholarship with good teaching on the text. I am sure that being on this island will be a real test of faith: Hebrews will be a good remedy against any faintness of heart, with its warnings and encouragements. The pre-eminence and excellence of our Saviour will be a good theme for study in such a situation.

My second choice is Volume 2 of the Works of John Owen: the volume dealing with Communion with God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I suspect most of us find that we need considerable time and leisure to get to grips with Owen, who is not the easiest of the Puritans to read, but when it iis put in, the effort is well repaid. Hopefully the providence of God will have set me on an island on which little time is needed for essential matters of survival: I will start praying now for a dry and sheltered cave, and plenty of fruit trees! I will then have plenty of unhindered time which can then be put to such a use. It is a humbling and thrilling thing to delve into the revealed mysteries of the Trinity. I can remember having to write an essay on this subject while training for the ministry, and far from finding it dry, remote, and academic as many might think so today, I found it to be a wonderful and enriching experience leading to prayer and worship. This volume of Owen deals with our relationship to the Triune God in the work of redemption, which amid all the uncertainties of desert island life will be a solid and unchangeable foundation for hope and assurance, dealing with the objective and subjective aspects of our communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The loneliness of my situation on this island may be lifted a little by getting to know someone more throoughly through their life and writings, so I would like to find a biography washed upon shore with me: the Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne by Andrew Bonar. As a young Christian I heard M'Cheyne's name quoted from time to time from the pulpit of the Church where I was converted, and I was curious to find out more about him. It was a delight to read for the first time this account of his life and work. I am sure it has inspired and encouraged many young men into the service of the Lord. He achieved so much in such a short life, yet many of us who have had more years given to us have hardly approached his usefulness in the work of the Gospel. We have much to learn and put into practice. In this book I will have, not only the heart-warming record of such a godly life and ministry, but also some of his letters, sermons, and songs: a good devotional companion.

My fourth choice would be Knowing the Times by Dr. Lloyd-Jones. His ministry and published sermons and addresses have been so influential in the lives of so many, myself included, that I had to have one of his works with me. It was difficult to decide which to take. His sermons on any passage are published in several volumes: once I had finished one I would be wanting the unobtainable next volume! So I decided on this selection of addresses which demonstrate his incisive wisdom in so many areas. He had the gift of being able to see to the heart of an issue and bring out the main points so clearly. Some would say that the situation in the 1990s is not the same as that which he addressed some decades ago. However, if I were ever to be rescued from this island and resume ministry again, the matters raised in this book, and the way he dealth with them, would remain revelant and very helpful.

Finally I could not be marooned without a hymn book, so I would want Christian Hymns with me. With so much to take in from all these other volumes, this will be an aid to responding to this wonderful spiritual feast, and be a help in personal worship. It is good to memorise hymns, but I would be very frustrated to find that I could not remember that elusive third line of the fourth verse, and so this is a necessity. I would like a music edition, even thought I do not really read music: I can just about pick out which tunes I know from the notes, and could sing out without fear of offending anyone with my voice! I could also use the indices to study the hymns of each notable author in turn. The end of all our study is to worship and glorify God: even alone on a desert island this would be my chief end.