B. K. Campbell's Comment on Wilhelmus à Brakel's The Christian's Reasonable Service

I have read all the major Reformers from Augustine to Calvin to Luther, all the big name classics, but I must admit, I have never read anything clearer than Brakel. When first purchasing this set the man who sold it to me said that “if he was forced to live on a desert island and could only take one set this wd. be it” . I thought he was crazy, and very much under read. Then I read Brakel for myself. The man’s rational was totally justified! I wd. take Brakel over Calvin. To many Christians this sounds like a big leap, but Brakel is possibly the easiest work I have ever read. Far easier than Calvin, and for myself, I take what I can know. No point in reading a book if you will never understand it. For the record, I do understand Calvin, Luther and friends, but I can understand Brakel first and I can understand him better. Importantly, this work is not readable because it contains shallow fragments and watered down doctrine suitable only for beginners. Instead, the work is in-depth and easy to understand; in most cases this is a rare combination. Contains no puritanical-wordiness, or John Owen five page sentences, doctrine is sound, thoroughly Reformed, practical and concise. If I only had one choice wd. I take this set to a desert Island? Well… I wd. have to give it a bit more thought, but I assure you it wd. be on the very top of my list and should be on every Christian’s shelf...
--B. K. Campbell

Source: Monergism Books