Don Kistler
Puritan Board Sophomore
Our first offering for 2025 is "An Antidote Against Distractions," by the Puritan Richard Steele (1629-1672). This was first published in 1677 and was subtitled" An Endeavor to Serve the Church in the Daily Case of Wanderings in the Worship of God." It is a treatise on 1 Corinthians 7:25, "attending on God without distraction."
It was reprinted in the 19th century as "A Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in the Worship of God," and again in the late 20th century by Sprinkle Publications as a lithograph. This Northampton Press edition was completely retyped from the original 1677 edition and has been edited. It is not a lithograph.
As a side note, this book was actually the impetus for me to get into publishing. I had purchased a copy of the 19th century edition from a used bookseller in Portsmouth, England and it greatly impacted me. I thought that surely other Christians might profit from it as well, so I offered my copy to several publishers who had done Puritan works in the past. The first (to my surprise) had no interest. The second told me that it was "too God-centered." And then I contacted Lloyd Sprinkle, who was unfamiliar with the book but asked to read it so I send him my copy. In about two weeks he called me and said he would do it right away and would I write a foreword for it, which I was most happy to do.
But then I thought, what it they all said no? It was still a great book worth publishing, so I decided to start publishing myself! And here we are, nearly 40 years and over 500 titles later!
This book is 144 pages long, hardbound, printed on acid-free paper. The retail price is $24, but it is offered to you for $18 plus $8 postage. It is due to arrive to me on January 20 and will be ready to send out the next day.
To order, go to:
An Endeavor to Serve the Church in the Daily Case of Wanderings in the Worship of God
It was reprinted in the 19th century as "A Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in the Worship of God," and again in the late 20th century by Sprinkle Publications as a lithograph. This Northampton Press edition was completely retyped from the original 1677 edition and has been edited. It is not a lithograph.
As a side note, this book was actually the impetus for me to get into publishing. I had purchased a copy of the 19th century edition from a used bookseller in Portsmouth, England and it greatly impacted me. I thought that surely other Christians might profit from it as well, so I offered my copy to several publishers who had done Puritan works in the past. The first (to my surprise) had no interest. The second told me that it was "too God-centered." And then I contacted Lloyd Sprinkle, who was unfamiliar with the book but asked to read it so I send him my copy. In about two weeks he called me and said he would do it right away and would I write a foreword for it, which I was most happy to do.
But then I thought, what it they all said no? It was still a great book worth publishing, so I decided to start publishing myself! And here we are, nearly 40 years and over 500 titles later!
This book is 144 pages long, hardbound, printed on acid-free paper. The retail price is $24, but it is offered to you for $18 plus $8 postage. It is due to arrive to me on January 20 and will be ready to send out the next day.
To order, go to:
An Endeavor to Serve the Church in the Daily Case of Wanderings in the Worship of God
