Bishop J. C. Ryle's method is obvious--scriptural and expository. He never starts with a theory into which he fits scriptures. He always starts with the Word and expounds it clearly and logically. The result is a clear enunciation of doctrine and a call to action, and is entirely free from the sentimentality often described as "devotional." The Bishop had drunk deeply from the wells of the Puritans and his writing is a distillation of true Puritan theology presented in a highly readable modern form. Ryle offers no easy way to holiness, but produces that "hunger and thirst after...