Seven Postures of Christ – Mervyn Wishart

Benefits arising from the pandemic lockdown of 2020/21 are not easy to quantify. But one area in which significant expansion has been noted is in the sale of books online. W. H. Smith, the stationers, reported a 400% increase in mid-2020 and no doubt other outlets noted a similar trend. I mention this simply as an encouragement, to me at least, that more people are taking time to read books. Ritual clicking on screens rather than turning pages has become the habit of many, including believers, whose bookshelves, full of excellent and profitable written teaching, simply collect dust!
Stepping down off my soapbox, I am pleased to commend this book by Mervyn Wishart as being a worthy addition to any library. I think of my books as a reference library, not necessarily a reading library; this book is, however, one for reading. It presents to us delightful pictures of the Saviour as we follow Him through the Gospel records. Mervyn takes note of the occasions when the Lord Jesus is seen standing, sitting, walking and lying down, among other postures. He makes copious use of scripture to draw out the lessons, both devotional and, on occasion, practical, which serve to enhance our appreciation of the Saviour. The narrative draws the reader along, and the book can be read quite easily in an afternoon. However, there are truths here which deserve development and further meditation. It would serve well as a book to dip into in preparation for the remembrance on a Lord’s Day morning, or to keep by the bedside to clear the mind of the day’s events and fill it with Christ, before turning out the light.