Meet the Puritans

As we continue our series ( part 1 , part 2 ) on assurance, we come to four basic details about it that are so important to consider. It is possible for a Christian to have an assurance of his salvation. We see in Scripture that God’s people have enjoyed it. David called God his God and his portion...

An Honest Admission Recently, this title in the Washington Post (Feb 4, 2016) caught my eye: “I’m an atheist. So why can’t I shake God?: Turns out it's pretty hard to believe in nothing when your psyche is wired for faith.” Elizabeth King, the author, then tells how she abandoned her childhood...

“In Adam’s fall, we sinned all” ( The New-England Primer: A Reprint of the Earliest Known Edition, with Many Facsimiles and Reproductions, and an Historical Introduction , ed. Paul Leicester Ford [NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1899], 14). This famous line of Benjamin’s Harris’ 1690 New England Primer...

I have been calling attention to the Puritans’ high view of good works in a number of past posts. If I could read my readers’ minds, quite a tale could be told. Undoubtedly, reactions would range from disbelief to delight to disgust. Then I got to thinkin’ that it might be helpful to know the...

In recently re-reading Thomas Brooks’ classic, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (1652; 8th ed. 1676) I was struck by a section towards the end. In it Brooks connected spiritual warfare (yes, Reformed people believe this is a reality!) with sound doctrine by compiling a list of “Seven...

Calvinism used to be synonymous with Reformed theology. Indeed, it identified it more quickly and easily, because many people have no idea what you mean if you say “Reformed” but they immediately seem to recognise “Calvinism” as a term. A term of abuse perhaps, but recognisable. After the spate of...

In my first post I recounted that King James I and VI of England and Scotland ( 1566–1625) , a staunch episcopalian and despiser of presbyterians, partnered with Pierre du Moulin (d. 1658), pastor of the French Reformed congregation in Paris and defender of presbyterian government, to combat Roman...

In 2016, every two months ( Feb , Apr , June, Aug, Oct, Dec) we will be producing a Meet the Puritans Resource, which you will be able to find linked under Our Resources . These will be classic texts with introductions, footnotes, and modernized language. The purpose is to introduce you to the...

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 136:1). God in his goodness and covenant mercy has created and continues to provide for all that his creatures need. What a good God he is! If we know the abundance providence of God after the Fall of Adam into...

The Florentine Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562) was among the most important of sixteenth century Protestant theologians. Among many enormous works is his massive commentary on 1 Corinthians. In this and the following posts, I wish to draw attention in particular to his comments on 1 Corinthians 1...