“The Swans Are Not Silent”

John Piper, one of my favorite authors, said, “The Swans Are Not Silent, is a kind of debt I owe to people living and dead whom God mercifully sends my way to strengthen my hand in the fight of faith.” Piper, like anyone else, faces discouragement, emotional and spiritual fatigue like the rest of us. One of the ways that Piper deals with fatigue and discouragement is to look back at the heroes throughout church history and draw inspiration from them.

R. C. Sproul is right that “We need an Augustine or Luther to speak to us anew lest the light of God’s grace be not only overshadowed but be obliterated in our time.” Speaking anew the light of God’s grace is what Piper does through this series. Without this series I would not have known about the lives of William Wilberforce, Charles Simeon, and John Newton. I would most certainly not have known the sacrifices of John G. Paton and his mission to the New Hebrides or Adoniram Judson’s impact on Burma.

As I read about these men, I am filled with great joy that there are great people of the faith that have endured so much for the sake of the gospel. At the same time, I am filled with deep wonderings of how my life will turn out for the furtherance of the same gospel I say that I believe. I have been encouraged and inspired. I have been challenged and convicted through reading these books.

I feel the same way as Piper, “A child of my time,” standing on the shoulders of giants knowing that there is a great inheritance of the Christian faith that I have been graphed into by the blood of Christ. The same spirit that empowered these many great men to achieve a lasting work of eternal value is the same spirit that lives within me. As I hear of their many great exploits there is a deep sense of being a part of something so much bigger than myself and yet simultaneously I feel my stature shrink with humility and my sense of purpose grow with absolute confidence.

To my fellow Christians, I encourage you to read this series (if you have not already) and understand that church history is bigger than our aged denominations or contemporary movements. Church history is God sovereignly working through His people, empowering them to make bold claims in His name and strengthen them as they endure great sacrifices for His glory. Their pain, suffering, and immense loses were meant to display the glory of God not only by their impact during their own lifetime but the glory of God specifically manifesting through inspiring other brothers and sisters in the Lord to do the same for all time.



Books In the Series:

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin

The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd

The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce

Contending for Our All: Defending Truth and Treasuring Christ in the Lives of Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen

Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ: The Cost of Bringing the Gospel to the Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton

Cut and paste the link below to see online books:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/