Why Do We Pray in Jesus’ Name?

Perhaps many never ask why, though they always do it. Other people resist any formula that they think reflects unthinking ritual. Yet Christ commands this (John 14:13-14). We ought certainly to think about what words we use in prayer. Praying in Christ’s name is important because our prayers must be distinctly Christian. But praying in Christ’s name means vastly more than merely mentioning His name. It’s even possible to say “Lord, Lord” without the heart being yielded to Christ (Matthew 7:21). This is a question that takes us to the heart of true prayer. We can only come to God through Christ as Mediator. We can only ask anything in prayer for Christ’s sake.

It’s interesting that the Westminster Larger Catechism (Q180) asks the question “What is it to pray in the name of Christ?” The answer given is “To pray in the name of Christ is, in obedience to his command, and in confidence on his promises, to ask mercy for his sake; not by bare mentioning of his name, but by drawing our encouragement to pray, and our boldness, strength, and hope of acceptance in prayer, from Christ and his mediation”. This is a helpful summary. John Brown of Wamphray further develops these themes with practical help as well as a fully biblical explanation.

1. What Praying in Christ’s Name Assumes

(a) A Sense of Our Unworthiness

We are convinced our sinfulness, vileness, and distance from God because of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. We cannot think to approach God with acceptance in ourselves. We have nothing to commend ourselves to God who is a consuming fire to all who are lying in their sins and not yet reconciled to Him through the mediator. Without this, we and all our acts of worship must be an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:8, 29; 21:27; 28:9).  We must renounce everything within ourselves as any grounds of access to God or hope of acceptance.

(b) Faith in Christ as Mediator

We must have knowledge of and faith in Christ as mediator. He alone and none else in heaven or in earth is appointed to this office, or is qualified and equipped for it.

(c) Faith in Christ’s Work

We must know what Christ has done to make peace and to open a door of access to the Father.  We can have boldness and confidence in our access to God and the throne of grace because Christ as a priest has offered a sacrifice of reconciliation to atone and reconcile us to God. He is daily interceding on the satisfaction offered and accepted. He presents Himself in heaven for us to plead and advocate our cause.

(d) Being Reconciled to God through Christ

We must have fled to Him as the only city of refuge and peacemaker and laid hold on Him by faith. We can never make the right use of Christ in a particular request if we have not laid the weight of our whole soul on Him.

(e) Asking According to Christ’s Will

Christ will not allow us to take His name in vain but unquestionably we would if we ask anything in His name which He would not approve or is contrary to His law and command.

(e) Believing this is the Only Way of Access

Only through Him and His name will we and our prayers be accepted before God. If our hearts hesitate and doubt concerning this we cannot ask rightly in the name of Christ. This is because we cannot ask with confidence that asking in His name will not be in vain. We must believe firmly that whatever we ask the Father in Christ’s name He will do it (John 14:13 and 16:24).

2. What is Involved in Praying in Christ’s Name?

(a) Drawing Encouragement to Pray from Christ

Through Christ, the throne of God has become to us a throne of grace and mercy.  We should be encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace for help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14–16). He has reconciled us to the Father by His blood and purchased mercy, pardon, and grace to us by His death and sufferings. He stands before the throne as our intercessor and advocate, there to procure favor for us and to plead our cause and make our prayers acceptable. These things should be our sole ground of encouragement in approaching God.

We see many things, indeed, all things wrong in us, which may discourage or dishearten us from drawing near to God. Yet this glorious name of Christ and His mediatorial office allure and force us forward despite all discouragements.

(b) Drawing Confidence and Boldness in Prayer from Christ

There is a boldness and confidence as opposed to fears, fainting, and doubting. The basis for this is Christ, His name, offices, and work. The boldness and confidence with which the apostle would have us approaching (Hebrews 4:16) is the boldness and confidence of a child that comes to the father and tells all that is in his heart, concealing nothing and without fear or shame, whoever be present. And this must be founded on Christ alone and on what He has done to procure this to us. When we base our boldness and confidence in drawing near to God only on Christ, then we ask in the name of Christ.

(c) Drawing Hope of Acceptance from Christ

When we ask in Christ’s name, we must roll ourselves as sinners on Him and come to God in His arms so that He may make us acceptable (for we must be accepted in the beloved). Thus, the enmity and wrath being taken away, our petitions may have free access to the throne of grace.

(d) Drawing Strength in Prayer from Christ

We ask in His name when we draw up our petitions in Him or by His Spirit in us, and when we advance with them in Him, as going to God in the hand of Christ, by the Spirit, and so roll all our difficulties and encumbrances on Him, or whatever stands in our way, either to hinder us from coming or to retard us or discourage us in us going. Then do we pray in His name, when leaning to His promises of strength and through bearing, we adventure over the belly of all discouragements and of felt weakness and unworthiness.

(e) Drawing Our Hope of Acceptance from Christ’s Work

Christ is the one mediator and the only peacemaker. Only He makes us and all our service to be acceptable to the Father. When we ask in His name, we put our petitions in His hand so that He may present them to the Father and offer them up with incense out of His censer (Revelation. 8:3). Our hopes will not fail us, nor will we conclude the matter desperate, even if we discover much guilt and unworthiness in ourselves. These grounds are the same whatever we may be. Christ’s merits abide fresh with the Father, however it may be with us.

(f) Drawing Confidence and Boldness in Prayer from Christ

This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:13–14). When we ask in His name, we rest confident that our prayers will go into the throne of grace through Him who is our advocate with the Father. All our hopes lean on Him and here we rest and are quiet.

3. How Do We Pray in Christ’s Name?

(a) Consider Our Unworthiness

We must remember constantly what we are by nature – worthless sinners at a distance from God, having nothing to commend us to God except misery and poverty. Nor do we have any grounds in ourselves to expect admission to God or His favor and acceptance.

(b) Consider that Christ’s Work is to Make Us Accepted

Christ’s office and work are to bring sinners to the Father and make them accepted. He presents their requests and causes in heaven. He is appointed by the Father for this and will be faithful to Him that appointed Him. He is a faithful high priest and will faithfully perform His work.

(c) Consider that Christ Delights to Help Us

Jesus Christ has great delight in this as a man with the true and tender affections of a man. During His days on earth He was tempted and experienced in Himself the pain, pressure, grief and powerful necessity that we suffer, though without sin. It is like the mother’s affections which cause her to run to help her beloved child in trouble with delight and readiness.

(d) Consider that the Father is Pleased with Christ

The Father, having appointed Him to be high priest, intercessor, and advocate will certainly be well pleased with Him in discharging these offices. He will accept all such as come to Him thus and make them and their supplications welcome. He will prevail at the court of heaven for all He speaks for, and therefore that all the requests which He presents will be heard in due time.

(e) Consider Christ’s Work as Mediator

We should make use of Christ in all His offices. Particularly, as ushering our way to the Father on the ground of what He has done. He has purchased freedom of access to us to approach with confidence as resting on Him and trusting in His merits.

(f) Consider Christ’s Sympathy Towards Us

That we should eye Him as a tenderhearted, compassionate, sympathizing high priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And on this ground we should approach with warmed affections, confidence, freedom of spirit, cheerfulness, and alacrity, making all our requests known through Him.

(g) Consider that Christ Will Never Forget to Intercede

Christ will act the part of a tender-hearted, loving, and sympathizing high priest, intercessor, and advocate. He will cheerfully welcome us as though waiting to receive our prayers to put in His censer and to be employed by us in these His offices.

(h) Consider that We Can Always have Confidence in Christ Despite Ourselves

We need not be up or down in our hopes and expectations of acceptance according to our spiritual condition. The ground of our acceptance always remains the same; it is not in ourselves but in Him with whom the Father is well pleased.

(i) Consider Christ Alone

We expect what we desire only on His account who has purchased and procured all to us that we need. We do this despite whatever we may observe in ourselves which would weaken our hope and expectation, or make us despair of receiving a good answer.

(j) Consider the Answer to be Guaranteed

Laying our whole weight on Christ and on His merits, we act in faith in the specific matter that we ask. We leave ourselves and our requests wholly on Christ, putting them in His hand and trusting in Him who is a faithful high priest and tender of all the concerns of His people. We wait in confidence and hope for a good return in God’s own time, only in and through Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Thus we see that to ask in the name of Christ is something far different than merely to mention His name in prayer, as to say, “Grant us, Lord, this or that for Christ’s sake,”. Many may be satisfied with this and think that when they have barely made mention of His name, they have done enough. This is updated and extracted from John Brown of Wamphray’s very full book on prayer called Godly Prayer and its Answers.

A Convert's First Prayer

My Father,

I could never have sought my happiness in Thy love,

unless Thou had’st first loved me.

Thy Spirit has encouraged me by grace to seek Thee,

has made known to me Thy reconciliation in Jesus,

has taught me to believe it,

has helped me to take Thee for my God and portion.

May He grant me to grow in the knowledge and experience of Thy love,

and walk in it all the way to glory.

Blessed for ever be Thy fatherly affection,

which chose me to be one of Thy children by faith in Jesus:

I thank Thee for giving me the desire to live as such,

In Jesus, my brother, I have my new birth,

every restraining power,

every renewing grace.

It is by Thy Spirit I call Thee Father,

believe in Thee, love Thee;

Strengthen me inwardly for every purpose of my Christian life;

Let the Spirit continually reveal to me my interest in Christ,

and open to me the riches of Thy love in Him;

May He abide in me that I may know my union with Jesus,

and enter into constant fellowship with Him;

By the Spirit may I daily live to Thee,

rejoice in Thy love,

find it the same to me as to Thy Son,

and become rooted and grounded in it as a house on rock;

I know but little—

increase my knowledge of Thy love in Jesus,

keep me pressing forward for clearer discoveries of it,

so that I may find its eternal fullness;

Magnify Thy love to me according to its greatness,

and not according to my deserts or prayers,

and whatever increase Thou givest, let it draw out greater love to Thee. ■

From The Valley of Vision—A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust. 1975), p. 53.

A Voice from Church History: Thomas Watson

It was tough being an evangelical pastor in 17th century England. As the government see-sawed between Catholic and Protestant-leaning monarchs, the Puritans and Dissenters were hounded, hunted down, and harried out of the land. In 1662, a series of Parliamentary acts further plagued the Puritans. The Act of Uniformity, for example, required all English ministers to either use the government-sanctioned Book of Common Prayer in their services or leave their pulpits. As a result, on August 17, 1662, two thousand ministers preached their farewell sermons and were expelled from their churches. Among them was Thomas Watson.

I wish we knew more about Watson, for he is among the most readable and quotable of the Puritans. His writings brim with practical, biblical truth. He could grasp doctrine like J. I. Packer, craft a sermon like John Stott, and turn a phrase like Vance Havner.

"Discontent is an ungrateful sin, because we have more 

mercies than afflictions; and it is an irrational sin, because 

afflictions work for good. . . . The devil blows the coals of 

passion and discontent, and then warms himself at the fire.”

--THOMAS WATSON

His date and place of birth are unknown to us, and little information has survived about his upbringing. We know that in 1646, following his training at Cambridge, he married a minister’s daughter and the two of them moved to the city of London, where Thomas became rector of the parish of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook.

There the popularity of his sermons was excelled only by the renown of his deeply moving, extemporaneous prayers. Crowds came, souls were converted, and his influence spread through London and across England. His ministry at St. Stephens continued, with brief interruptions (he was once thrown into the Tower of London for his political views), until the aforementioned Act of Uniformity in 1662.

Ejected but not dejected, he continued teaching and preaching in barns, homes, kitchens, and wooded groves, quietly and always at risk. After the Declaration of Indulgence restored his freedom to minister in 1672, he publicly resumed preaching in the great hall of a friend’s mansion.

His failing health finally forced his removal to the village of Barnston, where he died in 1686 while engaged in prayer.

If you’ve never read any of the Puritans, Gleanings from Thomas Watson is an excellent starting place. It’s an assortment of irresistible, pithy truths culled from Watson’s writings, first compiled and published in 1915 by Central Bible Truth Depot in London. It has recently been reprinted by Soli Deo Gloria Publishers. Here are some samples from my own underlined and dog-eared copy:

• “True grace holds out in the winter season. That is a precious faith, which, like the star, shines brightest in the darkest night.”
• “Other physicians can only cure them that are sick, but Christ cures them that are dead. He doth not only cure them but crown them. Christ doth not only raise from the bed, but to the throne. He gives the sick man not only health but heaven.” 
• “The world is fading not filling.” 
• “If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.” 
• “Who would have thought to have found adultery in David, and drunkenness in Noah, and cursing in Job? If God leave a man to himself, how suddenly and scandalously may sin break forth in the holiest men of the earth! ‘I say unto all, Watch.’ A wandering heart needs a watchful eye.” 
• “Prayer delights God’s ear, it melts His heart, it opens His hand: God cannot deny a praying soul.” 
• “The world is but a great inn, where we are to stay a night or two, and be gone; what madness is it so to set our heart upon our inn, as to forget our home.”

Charles Spurgeon called Watson “one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive” of those who made the Puritan age the “Augustan period of evangelical literature.” I wouldn’t call Watson “racy”—he was, after all, a Puritan—but he has certainly become one of my favorite authors. I hope you’ll make his acquaintance, too. 

The Puritan Preaching

From the introduction to Stephen Charnock, The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock, vol. 1 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson; G. Herbert, 1864–1866), xxix–xxxi.

The peculiarities of the puritan preaching arose from the circumstances in which they were placed, combined always with their deep piety. Most of them were highly educated men, trained in classics, logics, and ethics at the old universities. In their colleges, and in the Established Church, they had acquired habits of careful study and preparation for the pulpit, which they retained all their lives, whether they remained in or removed from the communion of the Church of England. Meanwhile, in the prosecution of their high aims, they were thrown into the midst of most exciting scenes, which moved society from its base to its summit. They had to make up their minds on most momentous questions, and to come to a public decision, and take their side,—it may be at an immense sacrifice of worldly wealth and status. With a great love for the national Church, and a desire to keep the unity of the faith, they declined, in obedience to what they believed to be the commands of God in his word, to conform to practices which the government, political and ecclesiastical, was imposing on them. In taking their part in the movements of these times, they had to mingle with men of all classes, to write papers of defence and explanation, and at times of controversy, and to transact a multifarious business, with bearings on statesmen on the one hand, and the mass of the people on the other. Out of this state of things arose a style of exposition different from that of the retired scholar on the one hand, and from that of the man of bustle on the other; equally removed from the manner of the independent churchman and of the ever stirring dissenter. The discourses are by men of thought and erudition, who must draw their support from the great body of the people, and address in one and the same sermon both men and women belonging to all ranks and classes. We see those characteristics in every treatise of Owen and Baxter and they come out in the discourses of Charnock. 

[...] 

In most of the writings of the puritans, there is a movement, and in many of them a restlessness, which shew that they were composed for hearers or readers who were no doubt to be instructed, but whose attention required also to be kept alive. Their profound discussions and their erudite disquisitions, having reference commonly to expected, indeed immediate action, are ever mixed with practical lessons and applications which interrupt the argument, and at times give a strain and bias to the interpretation of a passage. In this respect their discourses, written with the picture of a mixed auditory before them, are very different from the essays or dissertations, philosophic or critical, of certain of the Anglican or German divines, who, themselves mere scholars or thinkers, write only for the learned; but possess an interest to them such as cannot attach to spoken addresses in which the popular and the scientific are mixed in every page. 

Because of this attempted combination, the puritans labour under another alleged disadvantage. Most of their writings contain too much thought, too much erudition, and above all too many logical distinctions, to admit of their being appreciated by vulgar readers. With the living voice and the earnest manner to set them off, the sermons may have been listened to with profound interest by large mixed audiences; but in the yellow pages of the old volume they scare those who do not wish to be troubled with active or earnest thought. In this respect they are inferior—some would rather say immeasurably superior—to the popular works produced in our day by evangelical writers both within and beyond the established churches of England and Scotland. They are not characterised by that entire absence, in some cases studious abnegation, of reflective thought and convincing argument, which is a characteristic of some of our modern preachers, who cast away their manhood and pule like infants; nor do they indulge in those stories and anecdotes by which some of our most successful ministers of the word attract and profit large audiences in our times. The puritans had learning, and they gave the results of it to their congregations. They thought profoundly themselves, and they wished to stimulate and gratify thought in their hearers and readers. 

The consequence of all this is, that there is a class who reckon themselves above, and there is a class certainly below, the puritan. There are contemplatists who are disturbed by their feverishness, and scholars who complain of the intrusion of unasked practical lessons. But if these persons would only exercise a little of that patience on which they set so high a value, they would find imbedded in the rich conglomerate of the puritans profound reflections and wise maxims, which could have come only from deep thinkers and scholars, who spent long hours in their studies reading, meditating, and, we may add, praying over the deepest questions which the mind of man can ponder. It is also true that there are men and women of all ranks and conditions who are below the puritans, such as the devourers of novels in our circulating libraries, our men of pleasure and of mere business and agriculture, who have never been led to entertain a thought above their amusements, or their shops and their warehouses, their crops and their cattle; and such are the masses in our great cities, and in our scattered rural districts too, who have been allowed to spring up in utter ignorance, but who would not have been left in such utter degradation if the puritans had been allowed to carry out their system of inspection, catechising, and careful Bible instruction. We allow that persons so untrained to thinking would speedily fall asleep if made to read a puritan treatise, with its deep thoughts and its logical distinctions. The puritan preachers no doubt required a prepared audience; but they had succeeded so far in training intelligent audiences in their own day, and they had a discipline which, if they had been allowed to carry it out, might have prepared the great body of the people for listening to the systematic exposition of the divine word. Nor is it to be forgotten that there are passages in the writings of the best puritans more fitted than any composed by uninspired men to awaken the unthinking and arouse the careless, and compel them to think of the things which belong to their everlasting peace. These passages continue to be regularly quoted to this day, and often constitute the very best parts of the articles in our popular religious literature. 

New Doctoral Program at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan is pleased to announce its intent to launch a doctoral program with emphases in Historical Theology (beginning fall of 2016), Biblical Studies (projected to begin fall of 2017), and Homiletics (projected to begin fall of 2018).

Foundational for the doctoral program is the rationale behind the emphasis on both the academic and spiritual formation of the student. A worldwide demand is growing for a comprehensive doctoral program that captures academic rigor and integrity, and combines this with biblical piety (de pietate cum scientia conjungenda). In other words, it is necessary that a doctoral program serve the ministry of both the academy and church (teaching and preaching).

PRTS seeks to adhere to the Reformed and Puritan tradition of blending learning with piety, exemplified by John Calvin (1509-1564), William Perkins (1558-1602), William Ames (1576-1633), Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676), Archibald Alexander (1772-1851), and many others. We aim to do so by offering a doctoral program that is distinctive in its academics and biblical piety; this will be evident in the admissions requirements, as well as the program’s academic rigor and spiritual formation components.

PRTS seeks to address, without compromising its academic standards and spiritual focus, the financial challenges that often accompany a graduate degree. PRTS will address this challenge in a sustainable way by: 1) delivering educational content, as much as possible, through technology; 2) reducing residential requirements; and 3) offering generous scholarships as enabled.

To find out more about the proposed program, please consult our Handbook for Doctoral Studies.

Potential applicants: Consider PRTS for your doctoral studies, and apply beginning here.

For more information: please visit the description on our website here, and click on the “Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)” tab.

Disclaimer: PRTS has submitted a proposal to its accrediting agency, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), petitioning approval to begin a PhD program. Although we cannot officially begin the accredited program until that approval has been granted, we are allowed to begin offering course work on a non-matriculating basis. Those interested in becoming candidates for the prospective program may apply (complete form below) with the understanding that acceptance will be as a non-matriculating student. Upon ATS approval to launch the program officially, credits earned will be applied toward fulfilling the degree requirements.

John MacArthur’s Top 5 Books On a Deserted Island

Stephen Nichols, President of Reformation Bible College, Interviewed John MacArthur on his 5 minutes in church history podcast, and asked him if he were to be stranded on an island which five books would he bring with him? Note the first book that he would bring!

Here is the transcript of the interview.

Stephen Nichols: Today, we are returning to our deserted island, and we have a very special guest with us. Our guest today is Dr. John MacArthur. Dr. MacArthur, welcome.

John MacArthur: Thank you so much. It’s great to be here.

SN: This is an interesting deserted island. It’s a very theologically rich deserted island. Someone has left it stocked with Augustine and the works of Jonathan Edwards, as well as the works of the Reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther. So you’re going to have quite a library for your stay on the deserted island. But in addition to those books, what five books would you take with you for your stay on the deserted island?

JM: It’s always hard to narrow them down to five, but I think the first book—and I say this because it had such a profound impact on me—would be Steven Charnock’s The Existence and Attributes of God. I didn’t grow up in a Reformed environment. When I discovered Reformed theology, it was in Charnock. I didn’t know it was possible to have that many thoughts about God.

SN: That book will keep you busy.

JM: It is inexhaustible. And at the same time, I was anchored down by B.B. Warfield’s The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Those are influential books that I would want to go back to. I think I would want to have Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology. Is that OK? Does that pass muster?

SN: I think it’d be great to have the original Princetonian there. If you’ve got Warfield, we need Hodge too.

JM: That’s exactly right. I’m assuming there is a Bible.

SN: There is a Bible.

JM: OK, good. I just want to make sure.

SN: I think there’s actually a MacArthur Study Bible.

JM: On the island?

SN: Imagine that.

JM: Well, we’re home free. We can forget the rest of the books. Pinning me down on other books is hard because I’ve been so widely influenced. I think a couple of missionary biographies. I have been profoundly affected by studying William Carey. I think it is good for us to compare ourselves against those who really made monumental sacrifices.

SN: And Carey’s perseverance is just remarkable, the hardship he endured throughout his life.

JM: Years and years of work and it all burned up. Unbelievable. I need that kind of modeling and that kind of example. Those are some the books that I would want.

SN: You’ve written a number of books yourself. When we have authors visit our island, we always ask if they wouldn’t mind leaving a book behind for the next guy who gets stuck there. So, which of your many books do you think you’d like to leave behind?

JM: It would probably be The Gospel According to Jesus.

SN: I was hoping you would say that.

JM: When I came out of seminary, I knew I would be fighting battles on issues such as inerrancy and inspiration, the authority of Scripture, and sanctification. But I never really believed that I would spend so much of my ministry trying to defend the gospel inside the church. From the very beginning of my ministry, I was aware that churches were full of people who didn’t even understand the gospel.

SN: That book was a big part of the controversy that came to be known as the Lordship Salvation Controversy. And we’ll talk about that another time. Thank you for being with us, Dr. MacArthur.

Posted by permission from the 5 minutes in church history podcast. You can listen to the interview here.

The Decay of the Church's Sacrificial Zeal

A great little reading from Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), 947–948. Here it is...

Many churches in America are looking less like armies engaged in war and more like La-Z-Boy chairs, from which drowsy Christians are saying, “Don’t wake me up!” Who among us hasn’t seen this decay? Who cannot see a difference between the ancient church and us? In former days, a fire burned within Christians, but our hearts seldom, if ever, burn within us. Formerly, Christians seemed driven by a holy passion, but now little seems to motivate us. Christians of old were at war with their sin and strove for holiness by heavenly strength, but we seem to tolerate sin rather easily and are satisfied to do the minimum of what God requires of us.

What has happened? God did not change; the power of salvation did not change; the call to holiness did not change; the threat of the enemy did not change. So why are so many Christians drowsy rather than being on fire for God?

The Puritan John Reynolds (1667–1727), in A Discourse Concerning Sacred Zeal, asked,

How long shall we lie still under our formal complaints of the decay of Christian piety? How long shall we idly see the retirement of warm religion from the hearts and bosoms of its professors? Are we willing to yield to all the lukewarmness and degeneracy that has overspread us? [Even] the truly pious are dull and heavy in their religion, [and] march on wearily in their appointed race, as if either their Lord had lost His glory or His promise to them; or they [have lost] their faith and hope in Him.… Is it not time to proclaim among the churches, the message of the Mediator sent from heaven to the Church of Laodicea: Be zealous and repent?

Like the Laodicean church, too many of us have grown lukewarm. We are not zealous for the things of God. Where today do you find zeal for the honor and glory and holiness of God? Where do you see zeal to cut off the offending hand and pluck out the offending eye? Where is zeal for the advance of Christ’s kingdom, which overcomes all obstacles and perseveres to the end? Our lives are not marked by zeal, nor do they reflect the sacrifices necessary to strengthen and embolden true Christian zeal.

Matthew Henry's Outline for Adoring God in Prayer

From Matthew Henry, Method for Prayer, in Works, 2:4–12.

I. Address the Infinitely Great and Glorious Being

A. With Holy Awe and Reverence
B. Distinguishing Him from False Gods 

II. Reverently Adore God as Transcendently Bright and Blessed

A. The Self-Existent, Self-Sufficient, Infinite Spirit
B. His Existence Indisputable
C. His Nature beyond Our Comprehension
D. His Perfection Matchless
E. Infinitely Above Us and All Others In particular, adore the Lord as:
1. Eternal, Immutable
2. Present in All Places
3. Perfect in His Knowledge of All
4. Unsearchable in Wisdom
5. Sovereign, Owner, and Lord of All
6. Irresistible in Power
7. Unspotted in Purity and Righteousness
8. Always Just in His Government
9. Always True, Inexhaustibly Good
10. Infinitely Greater than Our Best Praises 

III. Give God the Praise of His Glory in Heaven

IV. Give Him Glory as Our Creator, Protector, Benefactor, and Ruler

V. Give Honor to the Three Distinct Persons of the Godhead

VI. Acknowledge Our Dependence on Him and Obligation to Our Creator

VII. Declare God to be Our Covenant God Who Owns Us

VIII. Acknowledge the Inestimable Favor of Being Invited to Draw Near to Him

IX. Express Our Unworthiness to Draw Near to God

X. Profess Our Desire for Him as Our Happiness

XI. Profess Our Hope and Trust in His All-Sufficiency

XII. Ask God to Graciously Accept Us and Our Poor Prayers

XIII. Pray for the Assistance of the Holy Spirit in Our Prayers

XIV. Make the Glory of God as the Highest Goal of Our Prayers

XV. Profess Our Reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ Alone.

William Ames (1558-1602) on the Marks of Christian Adoption

William Perkins (1558–1602) said that a believer should esteem his adoption as God’s child to be greater than being “the childe or heir of any earthly Prince [since] the son of the greatest Potentate may be the child of wrath: but the child of God by grace, hath Christ Jesus to bee his eldest brother, with whom he is fellow heir in heaven; he hath the holy Ghost also for his comforter, and the kingdom of heaven for his everlasting inheritance” (1). 

Perkins lamented how few people realize this experientially: “At earthly preferments men will stand amazed; but seldom shall you find a man that is ravished with joy in this, that he is the child of God” (1). 

The Puritans often shared the apostle John’s sense of awe when he declared, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). (2)

Christian adoption is defined in the Westminster Standards in this way:

SC, Q. 34: Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God.

LC, Q. 74: Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for His only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of His children, have His name put upon them, the Spirit of His Son given to them, are under His fatherly care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow heirs with Christ in glory.

WCF, Chap. 12: All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God, have His name put upon them, receive the spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him as by a Father: yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption; and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation.

William Perkins provided six marks that may help certify one’s adoption (3):

• “An earnest and hearty desire in all things to further the glory of God.”
• “A care and readiness to resign our selves in subjection to God, to be ruled by his word and spirit, in thought, word, and deed.” 
• “A sincere endeavor to do his will in all things with cheerfulness, making conscience of everything we know to be evil.” 
• “Upright walking in a mans lawful calling, and yet still by faith to rely upon Gods providence, being well pleased with Gods sending whatsoever it is.” 
• “Every day to humble a mans self before God for his offenses, seeking his favour in Christ unfainedly, and so daily renewing his faith & repentance.” 
• “A continual combat between the flesh and the spirit, corruption haling and drawing one way, and grace resisting the same & drawing another way.”

Bibliography:

1. William Perkins, A cloud of Faithfull Witnesses, Leading to the Heavenly Canaan: or, A Commentarie upon the 11. Chapter to the Hebrews, in The Workes of that Famous and Worthy Minister of Christ in the Universitie of Cambridge, Mr. William Perkins (London: John Legatt and Cantrell Ligge, 1612–13), 3:138 (2nd pagination).
2. Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012).
3. Perkins, 3:154.

Richard Greenham (Puritan) on 8 Ways to Better Read Scripture

Richard Greenham, 1542-1594, was an early English Puritan. From Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson's Meet the Puritans (p. 293), we learn the following about him: 

In 1599, Henry Holland likened [Greenham] to Elijah, and said that for “practical divinity he was inferior to few or none in his time” (Works, 1605, p. 724). Thomas Fuller said that Greenham’s “masterpiece was in comforting wounded consciences; many, who came to him with weeping eyes, went from him with cheerful souls” (The Church History of Britain, 1655, pp. 219–20). Joseph Hall called him “that saint of ours.” This impression of him continued, especially through his collected sayings, which have been said to resonate “with a truth and force that gave Greenham a place among English divines which was second to none” (‘Practical Divinity,’ pp. 35–36). His writings were often quoted by later Puritans, and Puritan diaries reveal that his Works were owned and read by many.

In Greenham's work, “A Profitable Treatise Containing a Direction for the reading and understanding of the holy Scriptures” we get the following reflections drawn from Deuteronomy 6:6, 11:18; Nehemiah 8:8; Psalm 1:2; Acts 15:21; and 2 Peter 1:19. Greenroom gives eight suggestions for better reading of the Scriptures: 

1. With diligence. We must be more diligent in reading the Scriptures than anything else—more than men dig for hidden treasure. Diligence makes rough places plain; makes the difficult, easy; makes the unsavory, tasty. 

2. With wisdom. We must be wise in the choice of matter, order, and time. In terms of matter, we must not try to move from the revealed to that which is not revealed, nor spend more time on the most difficult portions of Scripture. In terms of order, the wise reader of Scripture must be firmly grounded in all the major points of doctrine. Moreover, Scripture reading must follow some semblance of order, for a whole Bible makes a whole Christian. In terms of time, the entire Sabbath should be devoted to such exercises as the reading of Scriptures. On other days, a portion of Scripture should be read in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. 

3. With preparation. In desiring to learn of God, we must approach Scripture with a reverential fear of God and His majesty, with faith in Christ, and with sincerity. 

4. With meditation. This is as critical as preparation before reading Scripture. Reading may give some breadth, but only meditation will offer depth. “Meditation without reading is erroneous, and reading without meditation is barren,” Greenham writes. “Meditation makes that which we have read to be our own.” It helps transfuse Scripture through the entire texture of the soul. 

5. With conference. This means godly conversation with ministers or other believers. The godly must share with others what they learn from the Scriptures, not in a proud manner but with humility, trusting that where two or three are gathered together for spiritual conversation, God will be among them. 

6. With faith. As Hebrews 4:2 says, faith is the key to profitable reception of the Word. Through reading the Word by faith, our faith will be refined. Scripture reading ought to try our faith, not only in the generalities of our lives, but also in particular afflictions. As gold is tried in the fire, so faith will abide the fire of affliction. 

7. With practice. Practice will “bring forth increase of faith and repentance,” Greenham writes. Practice is the best way to learn; the more we put the Word into practice in the daily obedience of faith, the more God will increase our gifts for His service and for additional practice. 

8. With prayer. Prayer is indispensable in the reading of Scripture. It must precede, accompany, and follow our reading. Prayer also necessarily involves thanksgiving: “If we be bound to praise God when he hath fed our bodies, how much more when he hath fed our souls?” Greenham asks. In short, if the Bible is to get into us, we must get into it. To neglect the Word is to neglect the Lord, but those who read Scripture “as a love letter sent to you from God” will experience its warming and transforming power.

The Pilgrim's Progress (New Edition)

From Desiring God:

On November 28, 1628, in a quiet cottage nestled within the English parish of Elstow, during one of the most tumultuous times in the country’s history, John Bunyan was born.

The place of Bunyan’s birth in Elstow was only a mile from the busy town of Bedford, where years later Bunyan would be imprisoned for over a decade for preaching the gospel. Like his father, Bunyan learned the simple trade of a tinker — a mender of pots and kettles — and came to be known as the “tinker turned preacher” when he began lay preaching in his late twenties. Bunyan’s skill and passion drew hundreds of listeners.

Theologian John Owen, a contemporary of Bunyan, when asked by King Charles why he went to hear such an uneducated man preach, replied, “I would willingly exchange my learning for the tinker’s power of touching men’s hearts.”

But Bunyan’s legacy is not so much in his preaching, but his writing. During his imprisonment in the Bedford jail, Bunyan wrote several books, including most popularly, The Pilgrim’s Progress, which has sold more copies in the English language than any book besides the Bible. Today, the book still remains both an incomparable source of spiritual education and a classic in English literature.

Our family is reading Pilgrim's Progress together at 9pm each night during our family worship time. The boys love it. We read a chapter and then I do some teaching on what we've heard in the allegory and the we praise God for the lesson. 

If you've never read it, here's a link to Desiring God ministries where you can grab free e-copies of the great book.

What Was Puritanism?

From Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), 5.

In summary, the late sixteenth-century and seventeenth-century movement of Puritanism was a kind of vigorous Calvinism. Experientially, it was warm and contagious; evangelistically, it was aggressive, yet tender; ecclesiastically, it sought to practice the headship of Christ over the faith, worship, and order of His body, the church; politically, it was active, balanced, and bound by conscience before God, in the relations of king, Parliament, and subjects. J. I. Packer says it well: “Puritanism was an evangelical holiness movement seeking to implement its vision of spiritual renewal, national and personal, in the church, the state, and the home; in education, evangelism, and economics; in individual discipleship and devotion, and in pastoral care and competence.”

On Why (and Where to Begin) Reading the Puritans

So you want to read the Puritans? So do I, which sent me on a quest to determine the best place to begin reading. Why? Because the Puritan literature is so vast. By God's providence, I was led to find wonderful resources advising me where to start reading, compiled by people who had already wandered down the path I was seeking to tread. I share here the best of the resources.

Perhaps the three best entry points into the Puritan literature are book by Joel Beeke and J.I. Packer:

• Meet the Puritans by Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall J. Peterson
• A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life by J.I. Packer
• A Puritan Theology by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones

A three-part post on reading the Puritans by Dr. Joel Beeke:

• Reading the Puritans, Part 1
• Reading the Puritans, Part 2
• Reading the Puritans, Part 3

An interview with Tony Reinke (interviewed by Josh Etter) yielded the following:

The Puritans can be tough-sledding. If someone hasn’t yet read the Puritans, where would you suggest starting?

Caution is wise here. I would not recommend a first time reader jump headlong in a multi-volume series of collected works, especially any modern reader who appreciates a section break here or there. Edwards and Goodwin would also be rough.

I would suggest four initial options:

(1) Consider reading a book about the Puritans. Packer, The Quest for Godliness and Ryken, Worldly Saints are two great places to begin.

(2) Consider reading a compilation of the best Puritan prayers: The Valley of Vision.

(3) Consider picking up a very, very short “Pocket Puritan” booklet, especially the ones on faith, heaven, heart, speech, and anger.

(4) Finally, consider reading a title from the “Puritan Paperback” series. These books run about 150 pages in length and are modernized and often abridged. My favorites include:

Goodwin, The Heart of Christ;
Owen, The Glory of Christ;
Owen, Communion with God;
Owen, The Mortification of Sin; and
Sibbes, The Bruised Reed.

A blog post on the topic by author and blogger Tim Challies yielded the following:

BEGIN WITH…

Here are a few titles that are a little bit on the simpler side:

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks - Brooks shows how Satan opposes Christians and non-Christians.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs - Contentment is rare but precious; Burroughs describes how the Christian can achieve it.

The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes - Here is hope for the suffering.

ADVANCE TO…

Once you have become accustomed to Puritan writing you may want to try some more difficult works:

Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen - Owen shows you how to do battle with sin.

The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards - This is a brilliant work that calls you to love the Lord with your affections.

RESOURCES

A Puritan Theology by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones - This is a massive but very readable work that provides a systematic theology through Puritan writing. The final eight chapters challenge us with how we should be more like the Puritans.

Meet the Puritans by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson - This book introduces you to the most important Puritan authors and offers brief descriptions of their works.

Puritan Portraits by J.I. Packer - Packer provides short biographies of several Puritan authors.

Finally, the following long and extraordinary post by Dr. Joel Beeke gives a wonderful number of reasons why you should read the Puritans. It was originally published at Ligonier Ministries.

The great eighteenth-century revivalist, George Whitefield, wrote:

The Puritans [were] burning and shining lights. When cast out by the black Bartholomew Act, and driven from their respective charges to preach in barns and fields, in the highways and hedges, they in a special manner wrote and preached as men having authority. Though dead, by their writings they yet speak: a peculiar unction attends them to this very hour (Works, 4:306-307).

Whitefield went on to predict that Puritan writings would continue to be resurrected until the end of time due to their scriptural spirituality. Today, we are living in such a time. Interest in Puritan books has seldom been more intense. In the last fifty years, 150 Puritan authors and nearly 700 Puritan titles have been brought back into print.

Puritan literature has so multiplied that few book lovers can afford to purchase all that is being published. What books should you buy? Where can you find a brief summary of each Puritan work and a brief biography of each author so that you can have a glimpse of who is behind all these books?

These kinds of questions motivated Randall Pederson and me to write Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints. In this book, we tell the life stories of the 150 Puritan writers who have been reprinted in the past fifty years. We have also included concise reviews of the 700 newly published Puritan titles plus bibliographical information on each book. And we have noted the books that we consider most critical to have in a personal library.

We had four goals for writing this book: first, that these godly Puritan writers will serve as mentors for our own lives. That is why we have told the stories of the Puritans on a layperson’s level and kept them short. You could read one life story each day during your devotional time. Second, we trust that when you read these reviews of Puritan writings, you will be motivated to read a number of these books, each of which should help you grow deeper in your walk with the Lord. Third, we hope this book will serve as a guide for you to purchase books for your families and friends, to help them grow in faith.

Finally, for those of you who are already readers of Puritan literature, this guide is designed to direct you to further study and to introduce you to lesser-known Puritans that you may be unaware of.

Definition of Puritanism

Just who were the Puritan writers? They were not only the two thousand ministers who were ejected from the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity in 1662, but also those ministers in England and North America, from the sixteenth century through the early eighteenth century, who worked to reform and purify the church and to lead people toward godly living consistent with the Reformed doctrines of grace.

Puritanism grew out of three needs: (1) the need for biblical preaching and the teaching of sound Reformed doctrine; (2) the need for biblical, personal piety that stressed the work of the Holy Spirit in the faith and life of the believer; and (3) the need to restore biblical simplicity in liturgy, vestments, and church government, so that a well-ordered church life would promote the worship of the triune God as prescribed in His Word (The Genius of Puritanism, 11ff.).

Doctrinally, Puritanism was a kind of vigorous Calvinism; experientially, it was warm and contagious; evangelistically, it was aggressive, yet tender; ecclesiastically, it was theocentric and worshipful; politically, it aimed to be scriptural, balanced, and bound by conscience before God in the relationships of king, Parliament, and subjects; culturally, it had lasting impact throughout succeeding generations and centuries until today (Durston and Eales, eds., The Culture of English Puritanism, 1560-1700).

How to Profit from Reading the Puritans

Let me offer you nine reasons why it will help you spiritually to read Puritan literature still today:

1. Puritan writings help shape life by Scripture. The Puritans loved, lived, and breathed Holy Scripture. They relished the power of the Spirit that accompanied the Word. Their books are all Word-centered; more than 90 percent of their writings are repackaged sermons that are rich with scriptural exposition. The Puritan writers truly believed in the sufficiency of Scripture for life and godliness.

If you read the Puritans regularly, their Bible-centeredness will become contagious. These writings will show you how to yield wholehearted allegiance to the Bible’s message. Like the Puritans, you will become a believer of the living Book, echoing the truth of John Flavel, who said, “The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying.”

Do you want to read books that put you into the Scriptures and keep you there, shaping your life by sola Scriptura? Read the Puritans. Read the Soli Deo Gloria Puritan Pulpit Series. As you read, enhance your understanding by looking up and studying all the referenced Scriptures.

2. Puritan writings show how to integrate biblical doctrine into daily life. The Puritan writings do this in three ways:

First, they address your mind. In keeping with the Reformed tradition, the Puritans refused to set mind and heart against each other, but viewed the mind as the palace of faith. “In conversion, reason is elevated,” John Preston wrote.

The Puritans understood that a mindless Christianity fosters a spineless Christianity. An anti-intellectual gospel quickly becomes an empty, formless gospel that never gets beyond “felt needs,” which is something that is happening in many churches today. Puritan literature is a great help for understanding the vital connection between what we believe with our minds and how that affects the way we live. Jonathan Edwards’s Justification by Faith Alone and William Lyford’s The Instructed Christian are particularly helpful for this.

Second, Puritan writings confront your conscience. The Puritans are masters at convicting us about the heinous nature of our sin against an infinite God. They excel at exposing specific sins, then asking questions to press home conviction of those sins. As one Puritan wrote, “We must go with the stick of divine truth and beat every bush behind which a sinner hides, until like Adam who hid, he stands before God in his nakedness.”

Devotional reading should be confrontational as well as comforting. We grow little if our consciences are not pricked daily and directed to Christ. Since we are prone to run for the bushes when we feel threatened, we need daily help to be brought before the living God “naked and opened unto the eyes of with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:12). In this, the Puritans excel. If you truly want to learn what sin is and experience how sin is worse than suffering, read Jeremiah Burroughs’s The Evil of Evils and Thomas Shepard’s The Sincere Convert and the Sound Believer.

Third, the Puritan writers engage your heart. They excel in feeding the mind with solid biblical substance and they move the heart with affectionate warmth. They write out of love for God’s Word, love for the glory of God, and love for the soul of readers.

For books that beautifully balance objective truth and subjective experience in Christianity; books that combine, as J.I. Packer puts it, “clear-headed passion and warm-hearted compassion” (Ryken, Worldly Saints, x); books that inform your mind, confront your conscience, and engage your heart, read the Puritans. Read Vincent Alsop’s Practical Godliness.

3. Puritan writings show how to exalt Christ and see His beauty. The Puritan Thomas Adams wrote: “Christ is the sum of the whole Bible, prophesied, typified, prefigured, exhibited, demonstrated, to be found in every leaf, almost in every line, the Scriptures being but as it were the swaddling bands of the child Jesus.” Likewise, the Puritan Isaac Ambrose wrote, “Think of Christ as the very substance, marrow, soul, and scope of the whole Scriptures.”

The Puritans loved Christ and exalted in His beauty. Samuel Rutherford wrote: “Put the beauty of ten thousand worlds of paradises, like the Garden of Eden in one; put all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one. O what a fair and excellent thing would that be? And yet it would be less to that fair and dearest well-beloved Christ than one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and foundations of ten thousand earths.”

If you would know Christ better and love Him more fully, immerse yourself in Puritan literature. Read Robert Asty’s Rejoicing in the Lord Jesus.

4. Puritan writings reveal the Trinitarian character of theology. The Puritans were driven by a deep sense of the infinite glory of a Triune God. When they answered the first question of the Shorter Catechism that man’s chief end was to glorify God, they meant the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They took John Calvin’s glorious understanding of the unity of the Trinity in the Godhead, and showed how that worked itself out in electing, redeeming, and sanctifying love and grace in the lives of believers. John Owen wrote an entire book on the Christian believer’s communion with God as Father, Jesus as Savior, and the Holy Spirit as Comforter. The Puritans teach us how to remain God-centered while being vitally concerned about Christian experience, so that we don’t fall into the trap of glorifying experience for its own sake.

If you want to appreciate each Person of the Trinity, so that you can say with Samuel Rutherford, “I don’t know which Person of the Trinity I love the most, but this I know, I love each of them, and I need them all,” read John Owen’s Communion with God and Jonathan Edwards on the Trinity.

5. Puritan writings show you how to handle trials. Puritanism grew out of a great struggle between the truth of God’s Word and its enemies. Reformed Christianity was under attack in Great Britain, much like Reformed Christianity is under attack today. The Puritans were good soldiers in the conflict, enduring great hardships and suffering much. Their lives and their writings stand ready to arm us for our battles, and to encourage us in our suffering. The Puritans teach us how we need affliction to humble us (Deut. 8:2), to teach us what sin is (Zeph. 1:12), and how that brings us to God (Hos. 5:15). As Robert Leighton wrote, “Affliction is the diamond dust that heaven polishes its jewels with.” The Puritans show us how God’s rod of affliction is His means to write Christ’s image more fully upon us, so that we may be partakers of His righteousness and holiness (Heb. 12:10–11).

If you would learn how to handle your trials in a truly Christ-exalting way, read Thomas Boston’s The Crook in the Lot: The Sovereignty and Wisdom of God Displayed in the Afflictions of Men.

6. Puritan writings explain true spirituality. The Puritans stress the spirituality of the law, spiritual warfare against indwelling sin, the childlike fear of God, the wonder of grace, the art of meditation, the dreadfulness of hell, and the glories of heaven. If you want to live deep as a Christian, read Oliver Heywood’s Heart Treasure. Read the Puritans devotionally, and then pray to be like them. Ask questions such as: Am I, like the Puritans, thirsting to glorify the Triune God? Am I motivated by biblical truth and biblical fire? Do I share their view of the vital necessity of conversion and of being clothed with the righteousness of Christ? Do I follow them as far as they followed Christ?

7. Puritan writings show how to live by wholistic faith. The Puritans apply every subject they write about to practical “uses”—as they term it. These “uses” will propel you into passionate, effective action for Christ’s kingdom. Their own daily lives integrated Christian truth with covenant vision; they knew no dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. Their writings can assist you immeasurably in living a life that centers on God in every area, appreciating His gifts, and declaring everything “holiness to the Lord.”

The Puritans were excellent covenant theologians. They lived covenant theology, covenanting themselves, their families, their churches, and their nations to God. Yet they did not fall into the error of hyper-covenantalism, in which the covenant of grace becomes a substitute for personal conversion. They promoted a comprehensive worldview, a total Christian philosophy, a holistic approach of bringing the whole gospel to bear on all of life, striving to bring every action in conformity with Christ, so that believers would mature and grow in faith. The Puritans wrote on practical subjects such as how to pray, how to develop genuine piety, how to conduct family worship, and how to raise children for Christ. In short, they taught how to develop a “rational, resolute, passionate piety [that is] conscientious without becoming obsessive, law-oriented without lapsing into legalism, and expressive of Christian liberty without any shameful lurches into license” (ibid., xii).

If you would grow in practical Christianity and vital piety, read the compilation of The Puritans on Prayer, Richard Steele’s The Character of an Upright Man, George Hamond’s Case for Family Worship, Cotton Mather’s Help for Distressed Parents, and Arthur Hildersham’s Dealing with Sin in Our Children.

8. Puritan writings teach the importance and primacy of preaching. To the Puritans, preaching was the high point of public worship. Preaching must be expository and didactic, they said; evangelistic and convicting, experiential and applicatory, powerful and “plain” in its presentation, ever respecting the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.

If you would help evangelicals recover the pulpit and a high view of the ministry in our day, read Puritan sermons. Read William Perkins’s The Art of Prophesying and Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor.

9. Puritan writings show how to live in two worlds. The Puritans said we should have heaven “in our eye” throughout our earthly pilgrimage. They took seriously the New Testament passages that say we must keep the “hope of glory” before our minds to guide and shape our lives here on earth. They viewed this life as “the gymnasium and dressing room where we are prepared for heaven,” teaching us that preparation for death is the first step in learning to truly live (Packer, Quest, 13).

If you would live in this world in light of the better world to come, read the Puritans. Read Richard Baxter’s The Saint’s Everlasting Life and Richard Alleine’s Heaven Opened.

Where to Begin

If you are just starting to read the Puritans, begin with John Bunyan’s The Fear of God, John Flavel’s Keeping the Heart, and Thomas Watson’s The Art of Divine Contentment, then move on to the works of John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, and Jonathan Edwards.

For sources that introduce you to the Puritans and their literature, begin with Meet the Puritans. Then, to learn more about the lifestyle and theology of the Puritans, read Leland Ryken’s Worldly Saints: The Puritans As They Really Were (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), Peter Lewis’s The Genius of Puritanism (Morgan, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1997), and Erroll Hulse’s Who are the Puritans? and what do they teach? (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2000). Then move on to James I. Packer’s A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1990) and my Puritan Reformed Spirituality (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2006).

Whitefield was right: the Puritans, though long dead, still speak through their writings. Their books still praise them in the gates. Reading the Puritans will place you and keep you on the right path theologically, experientially, and practically. As Packer writes, “The Puritans were strongest just where Protestants today are weakest, and their writings can give us more real help than those of any other body of Christian teachers, past or present, since the days of the apostles” (quoted in Hulse, Reformation & Revival, 44). I wholeheartedly agree. I have been reading Christian literature for more than forty years and can freely say that I know of no group of writers in church history that can so benefit your mind and soul as the Puritans. God used their books to convert me as a teenager, and He has been using their books ever since to help me grow in understanding John the Baptists’s summary of Christian sanctification: “Christ must increase and I must decrease.”

In his endorsement of Meet the Puritans, R.C. Sproul says, “The recent revival of interest in and commitment to the truths of Reformed theology is due in large measure to the rediscovery of Puritan literature. The Puritans of old have become the prophets for our time. This book is a treasure for the church.” So, our prayer is that God will use Meet the Puritans to inspire you to read Puritan writings. With the Spirit’s blessing, they will enrich your life in many ways as they open the Scriptures to you, probe your conscience, bare yours sins, lead you to repentance, and conform your life to Christ. Let the Puritans bring you into full assurance of salvation and a lifestyle of gratitude to the Triune God for His great salvation.

You might want to pass along Meet the Puritans and Puritan books to your friends as well. There is no better gift than a good book. I sometimes wonder what would happen if Christians spent only fifteen minutes a day reading Puritan writings. Over a year that would add up to reading about twenty average-size books a year and, over a lifetime, 1,500 books. Who knows how the Holy Spirit might use such a spiritual diet of reading! Would it usher in a worldwide revival? Would it fill the earth again with the knowledge of the Lord from sea to sea? That is my prayer, my vision, my dream. Tolle Lege—take up and read! You will be glad you did.