Foundations of a Moral Government: Lex, Rex - A New Annotated Version in Contemporary English

by Michael A. Milton

What if we had a guide to help us understand God's will for human government? In fact, we do. There are two books that help us navigate through the overgrown thicket of human ideas about The Holy Bible and Lex, Rex. The Bible speaks directly and indirectly, by teaching and by example, of the principles of human government. The great work by Rutherford, Lex, Rex, exposits these principles and truths in 44 assertions. Until now, Lex, Rex was largely inaccessible to the modern reader. Rutherford's words need to be communicated in a fresh, informed, and relevant way for today's readers. A new abridged, annotated, Standard English edition of Samuel Rutherford's Lex, Rex by Dr. Michael A. Milton is needed, now more than ever, so that we might return to the sacred ideas of human government that were foundational to the establishment of government in the United States and influential to the constitutional monarchy in Great Britain. Until now, Lex, Rex was largely inaccessible to the modern reader. Moreover, Rutherford's words needed to be communicated in a fresh, informed, and relevant way for today's readers. "We owe many thanks to Mike Milton for careful work, analyzing and paraphrasing Rutherford for modern readers. He has used well his gifts as a linguist, a pastor, and a theological scholar. As we endure this historical period of radically divisive political debate, it is hard to imagine a better gift to the American people than this restoration of Rutherford's important work." - John M. Frame, PhD

Genres: Nonfiction

164 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2019

About the author

Michael A. Milton and his family live in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the host of the national Bible teaching television program Faith for Living, a songwriter and recording artist, and the author of numerous books and articles. Previously he was the senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Tennessee and is currently Chancellor and CEO elect of Reformed Theological Seminary and the James M. Baird Jr. Professor of Pastoral Theology, there.

Reviews

[Jake Litwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read! When I first heard about this book I was very eager to pick it up because it really is the first of it’s kind. Lex Rex by Samuel Rutherford is a classic work that can be very difficult for people to read today. Milton takes this work and puts together an annotated commentary in contemporary English. He also includes a small biography and background information on Samuel Rutherford himself. My only con to this work is it being as short as it is. I definitely wanted more but I appreciate the author taking on this unique task that no one has done with Lex Rex. Hopefully this will spark more people into reading Rutherford’s very important work.

[Will O'kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat helpful, somewhat frustrating introduction to Rutherford's Lex Rex.

I would consider this to be only the briefest of introductions. The author overly abbreviates Rutherford. Instead of unpacking Rutherford's tight exegetical arguments, the author simply presents Rutherford's conclusions and then spends lots of time telling the reader how amazing these conclusions are. This made the book feel rather hollow to me--a series of conclusions but without any of the supporting argumentation to prevent those conclusions from being mere assertions. Definitely a case of telling instead of showing. There are also entire sections of this short book that are nothing more than Milton's tangentially connected thoughts on democracy as it currently stands in America. This was frustrating, and at the risk of being harsh, it felt a bit like the author hijacked Rutherford in order to be able to stand on his own soapbox.

Additionally, I found several typos in my printed copy of the work. Scripture passages were mis-cited, and there were a few grammatical errors as well.

Finally, as someone who recently started reading the original Lex Rex, I would encourage others to do the same. While Rutherford's writing can be challenging to read at points, it is certainly less challenging to read than, say, Shakespeare. Furthermore, there is tons of content in Lex Rex that is elided from Milton's work. Go find a copy of Lex Rex, and it give it a read!

[Martin Keast]

A much-needed help to Rutherford's Lex Rex which does confront the modern reader with overwhelming denseness of text. This book helps summarise the key aspects. Much appreciated. You will need to have your own copy of Lex Rex beside you to get the full value of this book