This book is one in a series of Pocket Puritans and is literally a pocket-book sized. It is composed of extracts from some of John Flavel’s works and is presented in statement and argument form. He deals with what he calls ‘idle words, profane oaths, profane swearing and blasphemy’. His language is exhortative and it will be shocking to contemporary readers to find out how seriously our godly forbears approached the subject of the believer’s speech. It is such a pity that the language of the author’s of these little gems hasn’t been updated for twenty-first century readers.

Sheila Stephen