The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics

by Kapic, Kelly M.

• ISBN13: 9780830827947
• ISBN10: 0830827943
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-01
• Publisher: Intervarsity Pr

Summary

The Puritans are frequently maligned but seldom understood. Far from the dour malcontents they are often portrayed to be, most Puritans were wholesomely engaged in life. This book is designed to introduce you to a wide range of influential Puritan writers and a representative work for each that pushes through stereotypes to the heart and soul of these Christian pastors and theologians. With a clear grasp of the historical contexts in which these Puritan works were written, these twenty essays presented by editors Kelly M. Kapic and Randall C. Gleason illuminate the vibrant spirituality of the Puritans that transcend their sometimes surprising political, ecclesiastical and religious differences. In these pages notable scholars, such as J. I. Packer, John Coffey, Mark Noll, Leland Ryken, Richard Lovelace and Sinclair Ferguson, invite you to sit at the feet of Puritan writers, ranging from William Ames, William Perkins and Richard Sibbes to Thomas Goodwin, John Milton, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. What comes through is a living, three-dimensional portrait of the devoted life that emphasizes the Christian experience of communion with God, corporate revival, biblical preaching and the sanctifying working of God's Holy Spirit.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(2)
Key Events in Puritan History	11	(2)
Puritan Publications Discussed in This Volume	13	(139)
1 WHO WERE THE PURITANS?	15	(23)
Randall C. Gleason and Kelly M. Kapic
2 THE ARTE OF PROPHESYING BY WILLIAM PERKINS (1558-1602)	38	(14)
Paul R. Schaefer
3 THE MARROW OF THEOLOGY BY WILLIAM AMES (1576-1633)	52	(14)
Joel R. Beeke and Jan van Vliet
4 CHRIST THE FOUNTAINE OF LIFE BY JOHN COTTON (1584-1652)	66	(13)
Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe
5 THE BRUISED REED BY RICHARD SIBBES (1577-1635)	79	(13)
Ronald N. Frost
6 LETTERS BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD (1600-1661)	92	(16)
John Coffey
7 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS OF JUSTIFYING FAITH BY THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1680)	108	(15)
Michael S. Horton
8 THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS BY THOMAS SHEPARD (1605-1649)	123	(15)
Randall C. Gleason
9 PARADISE LOST BY JOHN MILTON (1608-1674)	138	(14)
Leland Ryken
10 THE REFORMED PASTOR BY RICHARD BAXTER (1615-1691)	152	(15)
Paul Chang-Ha Lim
11 COMMUNION WITH GOD BY JOHN OWEN (1616-1683)	167	(16)
Kelly M. Kapic
12 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS BY JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688)	183	(17)
J.I. Packer
13 A BODY OF DIVINITY BY THOMAS WATSON (D. 1686)	200	(11)
William S. Barker
14 THE MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE BY JOHN FLAVEL (1628-1691)	211	(14)
Sinclair B. Ferguson
15 TREATISE OF DELIGHTING IN GOD BY JOHN HOWE (1630-1705)	225	(13)
Martin Sutherland
16 A METHOD FOR PRAYER BY MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714)	238	(13)
J. Ligon Duncan III
17 THE POETRY OF ANNE BRADSTREET (1612-1672) AND EDWARD TAYLOR (1642-1729)	251	(19)
Mark A. Noll
18 HUMAN NATURE IN ITS FOURFOLD STATE BY THOMAS BOSTON (1676-1732)	270	(15)
Philip G. Ryken
19 RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS BY JONATHAN EDWARDS (1703-1758)	285	(13)
Stephen R. Holmes
20 AFTERWORD: THE PURITANS AND SPIRITUAL RENEWAL	298	(12)
Richard E Lovelace
Contributors	310	(5)
Names Index	315	(2)
Subject Index	317