Eternal Reality

Archibald Cook (1788-1865) was born in Arran, an island off the coast of Scotland. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Glasgow in 1822. His experimental and searching preaching saw him called to Inverness in 1837 and then, a year after the creation of the Free Church of Scotland, he accepted a call to Daviot, a few miles to the south. It was there that the sermons published here – in translation for the first time – were preached in Gaelic.

Mr. Cook made a deep impression on the church of his day and his influence spread across Scotland. One commentator said that “he lived daily as seeing Him who is invisible and with an eye to the eternity which stretched out before his spiritual vision.” B.B. Warfield said that what made Cook’s preaching acceptable and effective was “the intense reality of the man.” His preaching was described as having the “free mercy of God” running through it “like a vein of the gold of Ophir.” Cook emphasised closeness to God, urged separation from worldly activities and specialised in encouraging weak believers.