Our castaway this time is Stan Evers, Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church at Potton in Bedfordshire. He is the author of the Welwyn Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah. (published Summer 1997)

"Can I take my wife with me to the desert island?" I asked the editor. "Yes," he replied, "you can take your congregation with you as well if you want." Now I love God's people in Potton but I do not want them with me when I'm shipwrecked; they will expect two sermons each week and a Bible study every Wednesday evening. I need peace and quiet to read my five chosen books.

So then, my first choice for desert island reading is William Gurnall's exhaustive and massive (600 pages for small print double-columns in the Banner of Truth edition) exposition of Ephesians 6:10-20. Sadly, Satan will chase me to my island retreat; therefore Gurnall's The Christian in Complete Armour will help me to overcome him. As a young Christian I tried several times to read Gurnall but found him beyond me. Some years later, living alone in Bristol, unmarried and sorely tempted, I dipped into Gurnall and found strength to go on serving the Lord despite temptations and trials. I treat Gurnall like a bottle of medicine. I take mouthfuls whenever I need a spiritual pick-me-up. On a desert island I will at last have time to read right through Gurnall's only book.

Another book I've dipped into, over the years, is Thomas Manton's Sermons on Isaiah 53; I think this is my favourite chapter in the Bible. Archbishop Ussher, a contemporary of this 17th century Puritan, said that he was one of the "best preachers in England". How delightful it would be to have unhurried time to meditate on the sufferings of the Saviour and His glorious resurrection. Oh, that I loved Him more and could preach on His death with more feeling and warmth!

For me, time on a desert island would be an opportunity to study the Bible in greater depth, therefore my third book is by an author I frequently read, on another much-loved portion of the Bible: A. W. Pink's Exposition on Hebrews. Pink tries to unravel every problem and to explain each verse; even when I don't agree with his exposition I find him stimulating. Sometimes in his Old Testament books Pink's typology is often imaginative but his exposition of Hebrews is excellent.

I must have one of the much-acclaimed Welwyn commentaries on my desert island; but which one? I'll choose God Strengthens -- Ezekiel Simply Explained by Derek Thomas, because I don't understand Ezekiel and if I ever get off the island I ought to preach on this prophecy. I hope Mr. Editor will allow me pencil and paper to make some notes from my five books for future ministry. In his Introduction, Derek Thomas imagines a Christian meeting Ezekiel in heaven and having to confess that he or she never got around to reading his book. Well, I've read Ezekiel's book, so I hope this book will help me understand Ezekiel's prophecy better.

Sometimes I need a break from these hefty tomes, therefore my fifth choice is C. H. Spurgeon's autobiography The Early Years; could I be crafty and sneak on to my island volume 2, The Final Harvest, as well? The first volume is the best of the two but incomplete without the second. It was through reading Spurgeon's sermons that I first discovered doctrines such as election and particular redemption. His zeal for Christ and concern for lost sinners has encouraged me time and again during some twenty-five years of Christian work. I'm looking forward to meeting Spurgeon in heaven so I can thiank him for his books. Reading my five books (or six?) would soon make me impatient to get back into the pulpit again and before long I'd miss the Lord's people in Potton; fellowship is a precious jewel.