Now that I have wet your whistle about Puritan Preacher, William Perkins (you are interested, right?), let's dive into some of the things he said and preached, shall we?
Perkins was a second-generation Calvinist. Can you imagine? Just one generation before him across the channel and over the woods of France, there lived and breathed J.C. - getting down to business, writing a ton, pastoring a flock and sticking it to the pointy-hatted man! What a time to be alive! I would be jealous, but I'm a woman, and more than likely would have been nursing babies, cooking meals and probably not have the ability to read or write; so you might gather that I would rather enjoy reading about these two men and what they wrote than living during their time. Unless I was Calvin's second wife? But I digress.
Perkins had a natural way of writing and preaching which came to be known as "plain style." Now, you might think that plain style would be something rather boring to listen to, such as the simplest of sentences or I don't know, listening to a doctor give out just the facts in the plain speech of medical terms or something of the sort. Well, if you thought this, I must inform you that you would be wrong. Plain style, as Sinclair Ferguson so eloquently put it, is along the following line:
“The sermons of many plain-style preachers scintillated with vivid language and illuminating illustration; but the main business was to preach Christ and to reach the heart. Everything was subservient to this."
Vivid language, illuminating illustration - the closest that I can think that comes to this type of speech in our present day would be Alistair Begg, but I am sure that you could think of others as well. I firmly believe that C.S. Lewis falls into this type of speaker/writer as well, but we all know that I have a biased opinion of Saint Lewis.
Perkins was very good at preaching though. This is why there are stories recorded of him early on in his pastoring career when he was in a prison ministry - there was a man on the way to his death sentence, fearing the fate that was coming, and Perkins stopped the man and asked if he was ready to die. The man, literally quivering in his boots, told Perkins that he was not ready. Perkins prayed over the man and through the prayer so effectually led him to the depths of hell to show him the wonderful mercy of God that the man saw the gates of death close before him and knew his Savior. He walked on to his hanging and died gleaming from the mercy he had found.
Now I don't know about you, if you have ever been put in a situation where someone is quite literally fearing death or so depressed that they are in complete despair or even simply facing the question of eternity and the idea of God, but those situations are extremely frightening for me. I am so worried that I am going to jumble up the basic message of the Gospel, or that my sarcasm and general sinful self will turn them off to the idea of being apart of the body of Christ, or simply that I should not say anything to them because I am not qualified. Perkins is an inspiration to me during those times. He relied fully on the fact that the Spirit would speak through him, and he used all of his faculties and resources that God had given him to speak appropriately during those times. He did not shy away, he did not lace the Gospel message with any sort of promises of blessings to come (outside of the blessing of eternal life, which when you put any other sort of "blessing" face to face with that, do they even compare?). He used plain style, vivid language, useful and illuminating illustrations - plain and simple as that.
Maybe you are saying, well that's great, but I am not that smart, creative or witty. How will I be able to use a great, vivid, illustration during these times? I can't even come up with a good, creative definition when I play Balderdash! The answer, my friend, is this: plagiarize! Now, I do not mean that you should start quoting John Piper or Tim Keller or, let's try to be ecumenical here, Thomas Aquinas or G.K. Chesterton and claim these words as your own brilliant thought. No, what I am saying is that you should start reading these people more and more and using the examples and illustrations that they give when you are faced in these situations. If you can't think of something on your own, then borrow, and later on give that person the book that you so eloquently quoted from!
OK, I am going to leave you with these thoughts now. I promise the next couple of blogs will contain actually plain style words of Perkins and his views of predestination and the assurance of salvation. Exciting stuff, yes? Well, at I think so.
Showing posts with label Puritans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puritans. Show all posts
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I believe that you are the man we are looking for...
So, I really must apologize for not blogging at a more regular pace, but with having to research and type out 50 more pages for this semester's work, I am a bit busy.
But soft, what light through yonder computer screen breaks? It is a new blog post, and you are its reader!
Today, I am handing in a 21-page paper on William Perkins. Now, as I have done in the past (see here and also here), I typically post my paper. However, these have been nice, short 5 pagers that most of you graciously trudge through for the sake of my ego. I will NOT, I repeat NOT force you to read my 21-pages worth of thoughts on William Perkins in one sitting. I do say one sitting, because I am tempted at this point to break it up for you. he he he. However, what I think I will do is take some of the more applicable sections of what I learned about his writing and have you discover more about this, and hopefully walk away all the more blessed because of it.
First, for most of us, if I said the name, William Perkins - you have absolutely NO idea who I am talking about. Do not fret, my friend, you are in good company. I looked over the list of 7 authors that I had to read this semester for the course, English Puritanism, and I could not tell you who 5 of these strapping young lads were either (William Perkins being on the "who?" list). Perkins was born in Marston Jabbet (that would be in jolly-old England) sometime in 1558. He had the privilege of receiving a great education, being tutored as a boy by the Puritan Laurence Chaderton, and then doing both his BA and MA at Christ's College in Cambridge.
Now, for a little history - Perkins lived during the wonderful prosperous time of Queen Elizabeth I. I have not read too much about Queen Bess, so I won't be giving too much information about her in particular (if you want to read more, please do so, or you can always enjoy Cate Blanchett preening and commanding storms to reign down on Spain). She was the Protestant Queen though, and from what I have learned this semester about these times in England - they were a raging turmoil of constant shift between Catholic and Protestant (i.e. Church of England/soon-to-be called Anglican) rulers. So, with every changing of the guard, the people and churches would either be Catholic people and churches or they would be Protestant people and churches. This, I grant you, is a VAST oversimplification of the events that took place, but you are reading a blog, aren't you?
Elizabeth I, for what it is worth, brought some stability to the church world during her reign. Those with Puritan sympathies as well, were able to coexist at this time. This would not be the case in about 50 years, but William Perkins had the great benefit of living during the time of Elizabeth and not later. He became the pastor and preacher of St. Andrews in Cambridge and was able to preach more about reform, Calvinist theology and a great deal on the assurance of salvation without ever having to feel the wrath of the government or flee for his life (unlike his successors).
What is known about Perkins' early life will come as a shock to some - the man was known for his drinking and galavanting, possibly had a child out of wedlock, oh and it is thought that he liked to dabble in astrology. The story goes that he had a great awakening of the soul one night when he overheard a mother telling her child that he better hold his tongue, or she would give him to the drunk Perkins. Whether this is true or not, we really cannot say. However, he did change his ways and started following the Lord sometime between 1581 and 1584. He died in 1602, this leaves us with just about 20 years.
These 20 years proceeded to be some of the most influential 20 years of a man's life. He published many works, and his own books moved to the top of the "best-seller" list, outshining the late, great John Calvin. This is quite a feat in and of itself. He also was able to preach to many, soon-to-be, great Puritan thinkers and theologians - men like William Ames, Thomas Goodwin and Samuel Ward (just to name a few).
This is the man: a former drunk, well-educated man, who more than likely had a penchant for the ladies. What we will see in the blogs to come is that he was quite possibly one of the most well-spoken, effectual preachers of his day (and I would argue could teach some of our preachers today a thing or two about it as well!). The most wonderful thing of all is that God used this man, despite his former life of sin - God used him for great and wonderful things. It is a lesson to us all - don't get hung up on the sins of the past; repent and offer yourself as a servant all the more. Who knows, maybe you are the next William Perkins?
But soft, what light through yonder computer screen breaks? It is a new blog post, and you are its reader!
Today, I am handing in a 21-page paper on William Perkins. Now, as I have done in the past (see here and also here), I typically post my paper. However, these have been nice, short 5 pagers that most of you graciously trudge through for the sake of my ego. I will NOT, I repeat NOT force you to read my 21-pages worth of thoughts on William Perkins in one sitting. I do say one sitting, because I am tempted at this point to break it up for you. he he he. However, what I think I will do is take some of the more applicable sections of what I learned about his writing and have you discover more about this, and hopefully walk away all the more blessed because of it.
First, for most of us, if I said the name, William Perkins - you have absolutely NO idea who I am talking about. Do not fret, my friend, you are in good company. I looked over the list of 7 authors that I had to read this semester for the course, English Puritanism, and I could not tell you who 5 of these strapping young lads were either (William Perkins being on the "who?" list). Perkins was born in Marston Jabbet (that would be in jolly-old England) sometime in 1558. He had the privilege of receiving a great education, being tutored as a boy by the Puritan Laurence Chaderton, and then doing both his BA and MA at Christ's College in Cambridge.
Now, for a little history - Perkins lived during the wonderful prosperous time of Queen Elizabeth I. I have not read too much about Queen Bess, so I won't be giving too much information about her in particular (if you want to read more, please do so, or you can always enjoy Cate Blanchett preening and commanding storms to reign down on Spain). She was the Protestant Queen though, and from what I have learned this semester about these times in England - they were a raging turmoil of constant shift between Catholic and Protestant (i.e. Church of England/soon-to-be called Anglican) rulers. So, with every changing of the guard, the people and churches would either be Catholic people and churches or they would be Protestant people and churches. This, I grant you, is a VAST oversimplification of the events that took place, but you are reading a blog, aren't you?
Elizabeth I, for what it is worth, brought some stability to the church world during her reign. Those with Puritan sympathies as well, were able to coexist at this time. This would not be the case in about 50 years, but William Perkins had the great benefit of living during the time of Elizabeth and not later. He became the pastor and preacher of St. Andrews in Cambridge and was able to preach more about reform, Calvinist theology and a great deal on the assurance of salvation without ever having to feel the wrath of the government or flee for his life (unlike his successors).
What is known about Perkins' early life will come as a shock to some - the man was known for his drinking and galavanting, possibly had a child out of wedlock, oh and it is thought that he liked to dabble in astrology. The story goes that he had a great awakening of the soul one night when he overheard a mother telling her child that he better hold his tongue, or she would give him to the drunk Perkins. Whether this is true or not, we really cannot say. However, he did change his ways and started following the Lord sometime between 1581 and 1584. He died in 1602, this leaves us with just about 20 years.
These 20 years proceeded to be some of the most influential 20 years of a man's life. He published many works, and his own books moved to the top of the "best-seller" list, outshining the late, great John Calvin. This is quite a feat in and of itself. He also was able to preach to many, soon-to-be, great Puritan thinkers and theologians - men like William Ames, Thomas Goodwin and Samuel Ward (just to name a few).
This is the man: a former drunk, well-educated man, who more than likely had a penchant for the ladies. What we will see in the blogs to come is that he was quite possibly one of the most well-spoken, effectual preachers of his day (and I would argue could teach some of our preachers today a thing or two about it as well!). The most wonderful thing of all is that God used this man, despite his former life of sin - God used him for great and wonderful things. It is a lesson to us all - don't get hung up on the sins of the past; repent and offer yourself as a servant all the more. Who knows, maybe you are the next William Perkins?
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Greatest Trick Ever Pulled...
Last week I was reading The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan for the first time (don't be shocked, growing up Lutheran, we rarely venture out of the Lutheran world of reading). One thing that struck me was the character Ignorance. Halfway through the pilgrimage we meet this guy who has hopped over a fence and started on his pilgrimage. Christian tells the guy that he needs to go through the Wicket-Gate in order to be received at the Celestial City, but Ignorance is quite convinced that he will be just fine. He tells Christian that his city is really quite far from the Wicket-Gate and closer to the Celestial City, so the Lord of the C.C. won't mind that he is coming this way.
By the end of the book, it is clear that Ignorance does not truly understand what Christ's righteousness and justification are, and that he believes he will be accepted into the C.C. by his own law-abiding merit. Ignorance is blind to his sin, and I believe that part of his blinding is due to the fact that the road seems to be quite easy for him to travel on. Christian and his companion, Hopeful, have to deal with a lot of obstacles and trials along the way, but Ignorance seems to always have some sort of help along the way that makes those hard trials almost obsolete to him.
It is interesting that he gets through these trials while others turn away at them. For example, lions on the path cause two other characters, Mistrust and Timorous, to go back home and cease the pilgrimage. By-ends, another character, is killed by falling off Hill Lucre and does not finish his pilgrimage. Most people in this book that are not true Christians fall into the traps. But Ignorance is helped along through these traps all the way to the very end. It is almost as if Satan wants Ignorance to think that he is successful through these "trials" because he is doing well on his own. He makes it over the River Death with help from a boat. Both Hopeful and Christian had to walk through the river and focus clearly on Christ in order to make it through (Christian nearly making it in this process), but Ignorance hops on a boat with ease! He marches up the Celestial City's gates and is ready for the pomp and splendor of being received, but his reception is not as he imagines. He is asked where his certificate is that he would have received at the Wicket-Gate. He fumbles in his pockets, but his own good merits cannot produce this certificate. Instead of being put on their shoulders and brought with much joy and jubilation into the Celestial City, Ignorance is brought to a door on the side of the hill that is the gate to hell.
While others in this book are easily turned aside by the trials that Satan puts in their way, Ignorance is helped through these trials by Satan only to be shown that this easy road taken was not the way of the Lord at all in the end. The story of Ignorance had me thinking that Satan can easily work through life being easy for us. When was the last time you had to face a hard trial? When was the last time that you felt perseverance being stretched in your very core? If the answer is hard to find, I want to submit to you to beware the greatest trick that the devil ever pulled. I say this in full reference to The Usual Suspects, that "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist." Satan is working hard, my friends, either through much trial and tribulation in your life, or through much ease and help along the way. Let us hold fast to the faith which comes only through one gate and persevere till we are before the heavenly throne!
By the end of the book, it is clear that Ignorance does not truly understand what Christ's righteousness and justification are, and that he believes he will be accepted into the C.C. by his own law-abiding merit. Ignorance is blind to his sin, and I believe that part of his blinding is due to the fact that the road seems to be quite easy for him to travel on. Christian and his companion, Hopeful, have to deal with a lot of obstacles and trials along the way, but Ignorance seems to always have some sort of help along the way that makes those hard trials almost obsolete to him.
It is interesting that he gets through these trials while others turn away at them. For example, lions on the path cause two other characters, Mistrust and Timorous, to go back home and cease the pilgrimage. By-ends, another character, is killed by falling off Hill Lucre and does not finish his pilgrimage. Most people in this book that are not true Christians fall into the traps. But Ignorance is helped along through these traps all the way to the very end. It is almost as if Satan wants Ignorance to think that he is successful through these "trials" because he is doing well on his own. He makes it over the River Death with help from a boat. Both Hopeful and Christian had to walk through the river and focus clearly on Christ in order to make it through (Christian nearly making it in this process), but Ignorance hops on a boat with ease! He marches up the Celestial City's gates and is ready for the pomp and splendor of being received, but his reception is not as he imagines. He is asked where his certificate is that he would have received at the Wicket-Gate. He fumbles in his pockets, but his own good merits cannot produce this certificate. Instead of being put on their shoulders and brought with much joy and jubilation into the Celestial City, Ignorance is brought to a door on the side of the hill that is the gate to hell.
While others in this book are easily turned aside by the trials that Satan puts in their way, Ignorance is helped through these trials by Satan only to be shown that this easy road taken was not the way of the Lord at all in the end. The story of Ignorance had me thinking that Satan can easily work through life being easy for us. When was the last time you had to face a hard trial? When was the last time that you felt perseverance being stretched in your very core? If the answer is hard to find, I want to submit to you to beware the greatest trick that the devil ever pulled. I say this in full reference to The Usual Suspects, that "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist." Satan is working hard, my friends, either through much trial and tribulation in your life, or through much ease and help along the way. Let us hold fast to the faith which comes only through one gate and persevere till we are before the heavenly throne!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Let My Words Be Few, or At Least to Sound More Like This...
Yesterday was the beginning of my class in English Puritanism. I must say, my experience in reading Puritan work has been limited to Edwards, and for this I am greatly ashamed of myself. Part of the requirements of this class are to read through the book "The Valley of Vision" which is a compilation of Puritan prayers recorded for such devotional growth purposes. Something to understand about the Puritans and their prayers is that they did not write down prayers ahead of time, I repeat (as this is important), they did NOT write down their prayers. So, when they would pray at church or home, what they said was pure flow of thought from their constant dwelling on the Scriptures. They knew the Scriptures so well, that their prayers came naturally from this knowledge and were extremely eloquent of speech, highly filled with theology and dripping a passion that I have rarely ever seen before.
This morning, I began my exercise of reading through and praying these prayers - as I will begin to do for the rest of the semester in the morning and the evening (and I dare hope now the rest of my life). I wanted to share the prayer from this morning, as it moved me to tears, and it is my hope that you, dear reader, will find its breadth and width refreshing and awe-inspiring, but that you will also glorify God with me through these words.
"O Thou Most High,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
Governor of the universe,
Judge of all men,
Head of the church,
Saviour of sinners;
thy greatness is unsearchable,
thy goodness infinite,
thy compassions unfailing,
thy providence boundless,
thy mercies ever new.
We bless thee for the words of salvation.
How important, suitable, encouraging are the doctrines, promises, and invitations of the gospel of peace!
We are lost: but in it thou hast presented to us a full, free and eternal salvation;
weak: but here we learn that help is found in One that is mighty,
poor: but in him we discover unsearchable riches,
blind: but we find he has treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We thank thee for thy unspeakable gift.
The Son is our only refuge, foundation, hope, confidence;
We depend upon his death, rest in his righteousness, desire to bear his image;
May his glory fill our minds, his love reign in our affections, his cross inflame us with ardour.
Let us as Christians fill our various situations in life,
escape the snares to which they expose us,
discharge the duties that arise from our circumstances,
enjoy with moderation their advantages,
improve with diligence their usefulness,
And may every place and company we are in be benefited by us.
Amen, and Amen!
This morning, I began my exercise of reading through and praying these prayers - as I will begin to do for the rest of the semester in the morning and the evening (and I dare hope now the rest of my life). I wanted to share the prayer from this morning, as it moved me to tears, and it is my hope that you, dear reader, will find its breadth and width refreshing and awe-inspiring, but that you will also glorify God with me through these words.
"O Thou Most High,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
Governor of the universe,
Judge of all men,
Head of the church,
Saviour of sinners;
thy greatness is unsearchable,
thy goodness infinite,
thy compassions unfailing,
thy providence boundless,
thy mercies ever new.
We bless thee for the words of salvation.
How important, suitable, encouraging are the doctrines, promises, and invitations of the gospel of peace!
We are lost: but in it thou hast presented to us a full, free and eternal salvation;
weak: but here we learn that help is found in One that is mighty,
poor: but in him we discover unsearchable riches,
blind: but we find he has treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We thank thee for thy unspeakable gift.
The Son is our only refuge, foundation, hope, confidence;
We depend upon his death, rest in his righteousness, desire to bear his image;
May his glory fill our minds, his love reign in our affections, his cross inflame us with ardour.
Let us as Christians fill our various situations in life,
escape the snares to which they expose us,
discharge the duties that arise from our circumstances,
enjoy with moderation their advantages,
improve with diligence their usefulness,
And may every place and company we are in be benefited by us.
Amen, and Amen!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Great Expectations of Affections
I have been digesting Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections for a little while now (and when I say a little while, I think saying words like six and months might be in the ballpark). I think the thing that I love most about reading this work by Edwards is that he is so poignant at stating what is or should be a matter of fact for the Christian. Edwards is responding to the question how does one really know that he or she is saved? His approach to this topic is not meant for casual conversation or light theological discussions around the campfire. No, Edwards is thorough - as in so thorough I did not even realize that I had so many reasons or evidence why I was a Christian until I read this book.
There are two things that I want to briefly touch on from this book - one a subject matter and the second is merely a passage to leave you thinking.
I came up with the title of this blog while listening to a sermon a couple of Sundays ago. I think that the spiritual way of saying it is that the Holy Spirit planted in my head something I had read that morning and did not fully reveal its meaning to me until my mind began to wander in said sermon. One of Edwards' points about true religious affections is that "we must view humility as one of the most essential things that characterizes true Christianity." Edwards spends many words on how humility is characterized in a Christian, and I think that his main point is that humility will cause us to be affected by our sin. Now earlier, he had already noted that a true Christian will experience this thing called repentance in response to sin, but here he is making the point that a true Christian will be humbled by their sin because they truly understand their relationship to God - He is holy, I am not; He is great and good and wonderful and awe-inspiring and yet again I am not. The fundamental difference between God and us causes the true Christian to experience humility. And it becomes this wonderful cycle for the true Christian; as they discover more of God in their walk, they realize how much greater He is, causing further humility - while other Christians might see these great giants of faith before their eyes (such as when I read these books by Jonathan Edwards and think that he is incredible spiritual), that person as a truly affected Christian is experiencing humility before God causing a desire to know more, grow more and in the end experience more humility.
So, "A Lesson in Humility" has been born. Embarking on a journey to study more about the history of doctrine, faith, Christianity, etc., I have realized through the great words of Jonathan Edwards that I am heading into a journey that will not take me to great heights, but hopefully to a place of great humility and reverence, because the more that I will discover God through this process, the more affected I should become. And here is where I would like to leave you with a passage from Religious Affections that I have had highlighted for quite some time now *cough* six months *cough*
"Thus, truly Christian love, either to God or man, is a humble brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope. Their joy even, when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy that leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, more like a child, and more disposed to humble behavior."
There are two things that I want to briefly touch on from this book - one a subject matter and the second is merely a passage to leave you thinking.
I came up with the title of this blog while listening to a sermon a couple of Sundays ago. I think that the spiritual way of saying it is that the Holy Spirit planted in my head something I had read that morning and did not fully reveal its meaning to me until my mind began to wander in said sermon. One of Edwards' points about true religious affections is that "we must view humility as one of the most essential things that characterizes true Christianity." Edwards spends many words on how humility is characterized in a Christian, and I think that his main point is that humility will cause us to be affected by our sin. Now earlier, he had already noted that a true Christian will experience this thing called repentance in response to sin, but here he is making the point that a true Christian will be humbled by their sin because they truly understand their relationship to God - He is holy, I am not; He is great and good and wonderful and awe-inspiring and yet again I am not. The fundamental difference between God and us causes the true Christian to experience humility. And it becomes this wonderful cycle for the true Christian; as they discover more of God in their walk, they realize how much greater He is, causing further humility - while other Christians might see these great giants of faith before their eyes (such as when I read these books by Jonathan Edwards and think that he is incredible spiritual), that person as a truly affected Christian is experiencing humility before God causing a desire to know more, grow more and in the end experience more humility.
So, "A Lesson in Humility" has been born. Embarking on a journey to study more about the history of doctrine, faith, Christianity, etc., I have realized through the great words of Jonathan Edwards that I am heading into a journey that will not take me to great heights, but hopefully to a place of great humility and reverence, because the more that I will discover God through this process, the more affected I should become. And here is where I would like to leave you with a passage from Religious Affections that I have had highlighted for quite some time now *cough* six months *cough*
"Thus, truly Christian love, either to God or man, is a humble brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope. Their joy even, when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy that leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, more like a child, and more disposed to humble behavior."
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