John Durant (1620-1686) was a popular independent puritan minister, and was described by Edmund Calamy as an excellent practical preacher of the word of God.C. Matthew McMahon, Ph.D., Th.D., is a Reformed theologian, and pastor of Grace Chapel in Crossville, TN. He is the founder and chairman of A Puritan’s Mind, the largest Reformed website on the internet for students of the Bible concerning Reformed Theology, the Puritans and Covenant Theology. He is the founder of Puritan Publications which publishes rare Reformed and Puritan works from the 17th century, specializing in the Westminster Assembly. He is also a managing partner at Reformed.org, and the Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics.Durant, in this wonderful work on making a discovery of Christ’s love to his people, plumbs the depths of Christ’s transcendent love from Ephesians 3:19, And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. He will explain what it means that this love is transcendent. It is a preeminent and supreme love, lying beyond the ordinary range of perception. Can such a study be accomplished adequately in light of Christ’s infinite benevolence to his people? Durant will take a course to outline and explain four main parts to his overall subject demonstrating how the love of Christ passes knowledge as it, 1. includes the truth and reality of Christ’s love to the saints. 2. As it concludes the height and royalty, or transcendency of that love. 3. As it holds out the apostle’s desire that the Ephesians might know both. And, 4. As it contains the grounds of keeping up the Ephesian’s hearts from fainting at Paul’s tribulations, which is the drift and scope that Paul strives for in them. In exploring this transcendent love of Christ to the soul, he affirms that it is so high there is no reaching of it, so deep that there is no sounding of it, so long that it exceeds measuring, and so broad that there is no comprehending it. Yet, believers are beckoned to strive to understand, to apprehend it, in its communication to their heart, soul and mind. In fact, when they have finished reading this work by Durant, if they have soaked in even a measure of what he explains, they will come away with being lovesick for the Savior.
