Archbishop Leighton?

[Wayne]

Are any of our PB readers familiar with the writings of Archbiship Leighton? In the thread on Dying Well, concerning the testimony of Albert B. Dod, it was noted by Charles Hodge that Leighton was one of Dod's favorite authors.
A bit about him:

Leighton was born in London to Scottish parents in 1611.[2] His father was Doctor Alexander Leighton, who was tortured by King Charles I for his puritan beliefs after authoring a pamphlet Zion's Plea against Prelacy in which he criticised the church, condemning Bishops as "antiChristian and satanic". Robert Leighton's mother was Alexander Leighton's first wife. According to Gilbert Burnet, Leighton was distinguished for his "saintly disposition" from his earliest childhood,[3] even despite the persecution of his family. In 1627 (before his father published his pamphlet) at the age of sixteen, Robert Leighton went to study at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an MA in 1631.
Following his graduation, his father sent him to travel abroad, and he is understood to have spent several years in France, where he acquired a complete mastery of the French language. While there he passed a good deal of time with relatives at Douai who had become Roman Catholics, and with whom he kept up a correspondence for many years afterwards. Either at this time or on some subsequent visit he had also a good deal of intercourse with members of the Jansenist party. This intercourse contributed to the charity towards those who differed from him in religious opinion, which ever afterwards formed a feature in his character.[3]

 

[yeutter]

Thank you for reminding me or Archbishop Robert Leighton. Despite his problems with both the covenanting Presbyterian and the ultra Episcopalians he was regarded by both parties as a good scholar. John Brown, in his Expository Discourses on 1 Peter makes extensive use of the most Reverend Dr. Robert Leighton's A Practical Commentary on the First Epistle General of Saint Peter.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

The long parliament put the father in charge of Lambeth Palace (Laud's digs) and the public library there, the largest at the time (as well as Laud's personal library, which eventually had a loan of 100 or so volumes out to the Westminster Assembly for their research library; they eventually were returned and I assume are still in the Lambeth collection). As noted Laud severely persecuted the elder Leighton; one gathers this was not a happenstance irony that he got the charge of the Archbishop's palace.

 

[py3ak]

His commentary on 1 Peter opens with the words, "The grace of God is a tender plant in a strange, unkindly soil." It may not be quite exact, as I quote from memory, but that is the thought.

 

[yeutter]

His commentary on 1 Peter opens with the words, "The grace of God is a tender plant in a strange, unkindly soil." It may not be quite exact, as I quote from memory, but that is the thought.

Actually it is "The grace of God in the heart of man, is a tender plant in a strange unkindly soil; and therefore cannot well prosper and grow, without much care and pains..."
Practical commentary upon the first Epistle general of Peter; to which is prefixed a brief memoir of the author

 

[jambo]

I recall reading a short work by archbishop Leighton a number of years ago the name of which now escapes me. The only thing I can remember about it was that it was Christ centred and uplifting. It came as the second part of a book, the first part being Henry Scougal's 'Life of God in the Soul of Man' published by Sprinkle. The current edition of Scougal's work does not include Leighton's book but the late 80s/early 90s green paperback edition does.

Alexander Smellie describes his character quite favourably in 'Men of the Covenant' p223-230

 

[MarieP]

Just heard an excellent sermon in which the following amazing observation was quoted. No wonder Brown found Leighton so helpful!

"They who, by their immoderate attachment to earth, show they are at home, cannot be 'strangers and sojourners.' The Captain of the Lord's host, our New Testament Gideon, will not own as his soldiers those who lie down to drink of the streams of earth's delight, but only those who, in passing, drink of them with their hand, as of the brook in the way"

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8121219425310

 

[toddpedlar]

Leighton's Commentary on 1 Peter is one of my favorite commentaries on any book of Scripture... It is precious in many, many ways... And now of course I need to get it into the reading queue for another go...