Seventh Year: 2026 NPSE Series Goal.
For the seventh year of Naphtali Press Special Editions we continue work begun in the summer of 2025, transcribing for publication the first 44 sermons of James Durham’s 228 manuscript sermons on the Song of Solomon, which cover chapter two (there is reason to believe there were few if any similarly recorded sermons on chapter one; but some could still exist waiting still to be found). These sermons in five or six volumes, spread over as many libraries in the world, were only rediscovered and detailed some years ago in an article by Chris Coldwell and Matthew Vogan in The Confessional Presbyterian 13 (2017), “Antiquary: The James Durham MS III: James Durham’s 228 Sermons on Song of Solomon 2–8.” I know of no repository of sermons, preserved for publication as it were, and not in broken notes, etc., so large for any other Puritan or Presbyterian of that time. As of today (June 12, 2026) having gotten through 26 of the 44 sermons from transcription, editing, to layout, I can confirm they on the whole as well as Durham’s published sermons. Given that Durham’s published sermons only number 133, the publication of some or all of these sermons would add significantly to his body of work. A full set of these 44 sermons in manuscript will be the base text, and another manuscript volume containing the last 19 sermons will be collated for the text of those sermons. Work continues to obtain photographs of the other volumes containing these 228 sermons. Having completed 11 volumes in the NPSE series with Reformation Heritage Books, this volume begins a second NPSE series of volumes to be copublished with Grange Press. As the prior “first series” through sponsorships the funds are raised to produce the text through layout stage, and Grange Press will produce, stock and do fullfillment. Sponsors are recognized in the front sponsorship section of the book, receive the custom bookplate for the volume, as well as a copy of the volume.