Another excellent Library Lecture

It is three years since we had Lesley Rowe come speak at the Evangelical Library on the Puritan Arthur Hildersham. It was good to have her there again speaking on Hildersham and the 1625 National Fast in light of the plague in London that year. She helpfully gave the historical background before drawing attention to Hildersham and the eight sermons he preached at that time which have been reprinted in recent times through Mrs Rowe's own efforts.

The final lecture of this series will be on December 4 when Dr Ian Densham will speak on The Greatness of God.

Excellent lecture on Hildersham

We were treated to an excellent lecture lunch time last Monday from Lesley Rowe on Arthur Hildersham. it seems to me that the best lectures have three qualities. 1. They know their subject inside out 2. They are able to produce a brief, relevant and to the point talk 3. They are able to present that material and answer any questions after. This time round all three qualities were in evidence and it was gratifying to see a larger than usual crowd present. I think Lesley managed to sell a good pile of books too. My brief review of the book is elsewhere on this blog, if you click Arthur Hildersham below. Another sidelight, the library has a copy of Hildersham's most popular work, a catechism on the Lord's Supper. It is a tenth edition but still very early.

10 Biographies of Puritans

1. Henry Smith: England's Silver-tongued Preacher by Ronald B. Jenkins
2. Richard Sibbes by Mark E Dever
3. The life and times of Arthur Hildersham by Leslie A Rowe
4. A life of Gospel Peace: A Biography of Jeremiah Burroughs by Philip Simson
5. John Owen: Prince of Puritans by Andrew Thomson
6. Glimpses of glory: John Bunyan and English Dissent by Richard Greaves
7. Thomas Manton A Guided Tour of the Life and Thought of a Puritan Pastor by Derek Cooper
8. The life and times of the Rev Philip Henry by Matthew Henry
9. Life and death of the Rev Joseph Alleine by Alexander Duff
10. Samuel Rutherford by Andrew Thomson

Prince among the Puritans

The Life and times of Arthur Hildersham, Prince among Puritans by Lesley A. Rowe (Reformation Heritage Books) ISBN: 978-1601782229

This new work on Arthur Hildersham is superb in every aspect and is a must read for anyone with an interest in 17^th century Puritanism or in the doctrines that the Puritans believed and taught.

Hildersham lived from 1563 to 1632. His name is less well known than that of John Owen, Richard Sibbes and others whose works were reprinted in the 19^thand 20^th centuries and which continue to be available in various formats today. In his day, however, Hildersham was a leader of the Puritans and deserves to be better known than he is.
The book is a beautifully produced 210 page, Bible-black, gold-embossed hardback. The glossy black dust wrapper features a colour portrait of the man in question; the clear white pages, the simply drawn maps on the endpapers and the who's who, bibliography and index all add to the book’s attractiveness. The author is well qualified to write this biography which is clearly the fruit of countless hours of careful research. Not only is she a professional historian, currently based at Warwick University, but she is also very sympathetic to her subject while never abandoning her critical faculty.
The book is made up of 14 fully footnoted and well written chapters, largely following a chronological order. The chapters not only provide an intimate portrait of a hero of the faith but also, as the title intimates, give an idea of the times in which Hildersham lived, thus providing a useful tool for the study of the period as well as the man. The book charts Hildersham's life from his birth to his death taking in his education, call to ministry, arrival in Ashby de la Zouch, his message and circumstances, his suspension, suffering and years of enforced silence and his final years. A final chapter suggests ten lessons that can be learned from this quite remarkable life.
(This review also appears here)

Don't make 'em like they used to

I am enjoying the new biography of the Puritan Arthur Hildersham by Leslie Rowe. I notice that not only did he preach 152 sermons on Psalm 51 but he spent nine sermons on the heading. Those were the days!