The Glory of Grace, An Introduction to the Puritans in Their Own Words, selected and introduced by Lewis Allen & Tim Chester, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, paperback, 185 pages, £7.00.
This book is intended, we are told, to help readers discover how the Puritans “sought to follow Jesus Christ”. The Introduction also explains that “the term ‘Puritan’ was used in the late 1500s and 1600s as a label for those who were wholeheartedly committed to the Christian faith as taught in the Bible”. There follows a brief history of the English Reformation and of the Puritans.
The body of the book gives extracts from the works of, mostly, prominent writers of the Puritan period. Although two of the writers are Scottish, none of the distinctive church history of Scotland has been described. And one of these Scottish writers, Thomas Boston, scarcely belongs to the Puritan religion era – as is acknowledged – but he was entirely committed to their way of thinking.
The first chapter contains extracts from Richard Sibbes on assurance, from his book, The Bruised Reed. But first, as in all the chapters, there is some biographical information, followed by some comments on the chosen author’s writing, under the heading, “Things to look out for”. Among the headings, inserted by the editors, in this chapter are: “The calling of Christ to His office”, “The execution of His calling”, “We need bruising before conversion”, “We need bruising after conversion”. Then Sibbes goes on to expound the truth that “a bruised reed shall He not break”, when he speaks of the work of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King.
Among the other 10 chapter titles are: “Thomas Goodwin on the Holy Spirit”, “Samuel Rutherford on Covenant Confidence”, “John Owen on Communion with God” and “John Bunyan on Faith”. One name which may be unknown to many readers is Anne Bradstreet; this particular chapter provides extracts from her poetry. A native of England, she emigrated to America in about 1630.
In introducing Anne Bradstreet, it is disappointing to find going to the theatre described as an innocent pleasure; if theatres were “bawdy places” in the seventeenth century, it would seem that many plays today are immoral also – not to speak of the dishonesty involved in acting the part of another person. No doubt, the justification of theatre-going reflects an unhealthy worldliness in some circles that support Reformed doctrine.
The extracts in this book are said to be “gently edited” to make them easier to read and, from a limited comparison with the original, that seems an accurate description. But it would have been appreciated if Bible quotations
were left as in the Authorised Version. At least one sentence, possibly two, (pp 135,163) are incomplete.
A book such as this could be helpful to those who are not used to Puritan writings. It would certainly be desirable to move on from such limited extracts to complete books, though readers ought not to be overly ambitious at first. Some Puritans, such as Thomas Watson and John Flavel, are easier to read than others.