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Comparing J.C. Ryle's "Do You Pray?"

I was reading a short booklet called "Do You Pray?" with some people at church, and was struck by how modern it sounded, considering the author (J.C. Ryle) died in 1900. Our edition¹ said it had been "lightly edited and updated by Mary Davis", and I was curious how different it was from the original.

So I went to a short chapter in the book, photographed it with my phone, and used iOS's built-in OCR to grab the modern text. Then I found the same section in the original text² and read both of them:

From "A word to those who do not know where to start" (Part II, Chapter 2)

Original

Let me speak in the next place to those who have real desires for salvation, but know not what steps to take or where to begin. I cannot but hope that some readers may be in this state of mind, and if there be but one such, I must offer him encouragement and advice.

Updated

Now I want to say something to those who long for salvation but do not know what to do about it or where to begin. I think some readers may be in this situation. And, even if there is only one person like this, I want to offer you some warm encouragement and advice.

In every journey there must be a first step. There must be a change from sitting still to moving forward. The journeyings of Israel from Egypt to Canaan were long and wearisome. Forty years passed away before they crossed Jordan. Yet there was someone who moved first when they marched from Ramah to Succoth. When does a man really take his first step in coming out from sin and the world? He does it in the day when he first prays with his heart.

In every journey, there must be a first step. There must be a change from sitting down to standing up and moving forward. The Israelites' journey from Egypt to Canaan was long and tiring; forty years passed before they crossed the River Jordan. But there was a first step to that journey. One day, one of the Israelites took that first step on the journey out of Egypt. A person's first step in coming out from sin and the world is marked by their first heartfelt prayer.

In every building the first stone must be laid, and the first blow must be struck. The ark was 120 years in building. Yet there was a day when Noah laid his axe to the first tree he cut down to form it. The temple of Solomon was a glorious building. But there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.

In every building, a first stone must be laid. The ark took 120 years to build, but there was a day when Noah raised his axe to fell the first tree. The temple of Solomon was a glorious building, but there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building of the Holy Spirit really begin to appear in someone's heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when they first pour out their heart to God in prayer.

Reader, if you desire salvation, and want to know what to do, I advise you to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place you can find, and entreat Him in prayer to save your soul.

If you long for salvation and want to know what to do, let me give you this advice: go today (yes, today!) to the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to the first private place you can find, and beg him in prayer to save your soul.

Tell Him that you have heard that He receives sinners, and has said, “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” Tell Him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to Him on the faith of His own invitation. Tell Him you put yourself wholly and entirely in His hands,—that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself,—and that except He saves you, you have no hope to be saved at all. Beseech Him to deliver you from the guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin. Beseech Him to pardon you and wash you in His own blood. Beseech Him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in your soul. Beseech Him to give you grace, and faith, and will, and power to be His disciple and servant from this day for ever. Oh! reader, go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you really are in earnest about your soul.

Tell him that you have heard that he receives sinners, and that he has said, 'whoever comes to me I will never cast out.' Tell him that you are a poor, worthless sinner and that you come to him trusting in his invitation to you. Tell him you put yourself wholly and entirely in his hands. Tell him that you feel helpless and unworthy. Tell him that you feel hopeless in yourself. Tell him that unless he saves you, you have no possibility of being saved at all. Beg him to deliver you from the guilt, the power and the consequences of sin. Beg him to pardon you and wash you in his blood that was shed on the cross. Beg him to give you a new heart and plant the Holy Spirit in your soul. Beg him to give you the grace, the faith, the will and the power to be his disciple and servant from this day on. If you are serious about your soul, go today (yes, today!) and speak to the Lord Jesus.

...

The chapter goes on for a bit more, but I think that's enough to get the idea.

It's clearly the same content, but the modern edits were more extensive than I thought. The original phrasing survives in a few places, but in most sentences Davis has simplified the vocabulary, replaced old-ish sounding phrases ("I cannot but hope" becomes "I think"), made references to the reader gender neutral, and changed punctuation to give a more modern feel. A few changes feel more arbitrary to me - why change "encouragement" to "warm encouragement"? Why simplify "marched from Ramah to Succoth" to "journey out of Egypt", but then leave the also-obscure reference to Mount Moriah?

I think the total effect is that the voice of the text changes a bit (probably to a hybrid of Ryle's voice and Davis's voice) - but it does make the text more modern-sounding and easier to read, and I think all the important ideas remain unchanged. So I'd still call this a successful edit by Davis. Ryle's original text isn't too hard to read, but is recognizably older - not bad for a 150 year-old book, but not quite as shockingly up-to-date in language as I thought.

Ryle, J.C. (2018). Do you pray? A question for everybody (M. Davis, Ed.). Evangelical Press. Available here
Which the back of the modern book helpfully links to. Based on this Banner of Truth book listing, I think the original booklet was called "A Call to Prayer" and was first published in 1867.