10 Reasons and more why public worship is to be preferred over private (D Clarkson)

1. The Lord is more glorified by public worship than private. God is then glorified by us when we acknowledge that he is glorious. And he is most glorified when this acknowledgment is most public. This is obvious.

2. There is more of the Lord’s presence in public worship than in private. He is present with his people in the use of public ordinances in a more especial manner, more effectually, constantly, intimately. Here are the clearest manifestations of God.

4. There is more spiritual advantage to be got in the use of public ordinances than in private, ergo they are to be preferred. 5. Public worship is more edifying than private, ergo, &c.

6. Public ordinances are a better security against apostasy than private, and therefore to be preferred: an argument worthy our observation in these backsliding times.

7. Here the Lord works his greatest works; greater works than ordinarily he works by private means, ergo. The most wonderful things that are now done on earth are wrought in the public ordinances, though the commonness and spiritualness of them makes them seem less wonderful.

8. Public worship is the nearest resemblance of heaven, therefore to be preferred.

9. The examples of the most renowned servants of God, who have preferred public worship before private, is a sufficient argument. It was so in the judgment of those who were guided by an infallible Spirit, those who had most converse with God, and knew most of the mind of God; and those who had experience of both, and were in all respects the best, the most competent judges.

10. Public worship is the most available for the procuring of the greatest mercies, and preventing and removing the greatest judgments.

11. The precious blood of Christ is most interested in public worship, and that must needs be most valuable which has most interest in that which is of infinite value.

12. The promises of God are more to public worship than to private.

Westminster Conference Papers 2025 Now in print

 

Westminster Conference 2025

So I have spent the last two days at the annual Westminster Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are now well settled inSt Giles Christian Mission, strange as it seemd to be there away from centrl London the first time we did it. We tried something new this year. Normally most of the papers are followed by discussion time but this year on day one we had most of the diiscussion at the end of the day after the three papers had been given. This was only a partial success, among the problems being that speakers tended to produce over long papers, despite their best efforts. We kicked off with Mark Thomas on the Puritans and original sin - a solid and useful paper, quite demanding to listen to. Then Paul Levy took us through Machen's magisterial Virgin Birth of Christ. The third paper was from Donald J MacLean on the temptation of Christ from Thomas Manton but ending with Hodge and Shedd. Jeremy Walker led the discussion but it was hard to focus anywhere.

Day 2 was more traditional with Andy Young on the active obedience of Christ, covering pretty uncharted territory regarding Karh, Piscator et al. We then had a marathon from Sinclair Ferguson on Samuel Rutherford. We closed, in contrast, with a fresh, very lively and brief life of Athansius given by Gavin Kinnaird. Great numbers resnet. We meet again next year, God willing, around the same time.

Westminster Conference Starts Tomorrow

 

The Westminster Conference starts tomorrow at St Giles Mission, Islington

Day Off Week 44 2025

Managed to fit in a day off this week, mostly reading but I alos watched some Alan Partridge, which is funny enough but for me, only ever mildly so.

10 Puritans who studied at Emmanuel, Cambridge

Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

J C Ryle notes that Sir Walter Mildmay of Chelmsford in Essex was the founder of Emmanuel College and even from its very foundation in 1585 it seems to have been notorious for its attachment to Puritan principles. Fuller in his History of Cambridge relates that on Sir Walter Mildmay coming to court soon after he had founded his college Queen Elizabeth said to him 'Sir Walter I hear you have erected a puritan foundation'. 'No madam' saith he 'far be it from me to countenance anything contrary to your established laws but I have set an acorn which when it becomes an oak God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof'. 'Sure I am' adds Fuller writing about 1650 'at this day it hath overshadowed all the university more than a moiety of the present masters of colleges being bred therein.' The number of leading divines of the seventeenth century who were educated at Emmanuel is certainly extraordinary.

1. William Gurnall
2. Matthew Poole
3. John Preston
4. Ralph Venning
5. Thomas Watson
6. Stephen Charnock
7. William Bridge
8. Jeremiah Burroughs
9. John Cotton
10. Anthony Burgess

(Also Bishop Hall, Bishop Bedell, Stephen Marshall, Thomas Sheppard, Thomas Hooker, Ezekiel Culverwell, Ralph Cudworth, Laurence Chaderton,  Anthony Tuckney, Lazarus Seaman, etc)

10 Benefits of Godly Conference by Samuel Clarke

In his Lives of eminent divines the ejected minister Samuel Clarke (1599-1683) says

1. First, Hereby knowledge was wonderfully increased so that I was ncver acquainted with more understanding Christians in all my Life though the best of them went but in Russet Coats and followed Husbandry
2. Secondly, Holy affections by this mutual whetting of them each in other were excecdingly kindled and kept alive in thcm.
3. Thirdly, Lovc by frequent Society was nourislied and increased so that all the Professors though living ten or twelve miles asunder were as intimate and familiar as if they had been all of one household.
4. Fourth is Thc necessities of the poorer sort being made known there was plentiful provision made for them.
5. Fifthly, Thc wcak were strengthened
6. the mourning comforted
7. the erring reclaimed
8. the dejected raised us
9. and all of them mutually edified in thcir most holy Faith
10. Sixthly, Under the pretence of thesc Meetings we enjoyed the opportunities as occasion was offered of private Fasts and days of Thanksgiving which otherwise quickly have been taken notice of and suppressed.

10 Puritan Types of Application

The Puritans were famous for the way they ordered their sermons, beginning with exposition of the text and establishment of the doctrine before coming to the application, which they called the use. They had several categories of use, as listed here.

1. Use of instruction or information
2. Use of doctrine
3. Use of confutation
4. Use of exhortation
5. Use of admonition
6. Use of reproof or reprehension
7. Use of comfort or consolation
8. Use of trial or examination (self-examination)
9. Use of lamentation or mourning
10. Use of dehortation (dissuasion)

Banner of Truth Conference 2022 Tuesday Morning

This morning two further Banner Trustees spoke very helpfully. Jeff Kingswood from Canada spoke from Acts 12 on prayer and Robert Strivens, now at Bradford on Avon, spoke on Puritan worship. Robert spoke on why the reformation of worship was so important to the Puritans, how it was rooted in a very high view of God and of Christ and some of the lessons to be learned. We had lots of good quotations from Charnock Perkins, Owen and Burroughs. Here is one from Owen on delighting in worship.

Now this delight in the worship of God so much commended in the Scripture and proposed unto our example consists not in any carnal self pleasing or satisfaction in the outward modes or manner of the performance of divine worship but it is a holy soul refreshing contemplation on the will, wisdom, grace and condescension of God in that he is pleased of his own sovereign mere will and grace so to manifest himself unto such poor sinful creatures as we are, so to condescend unto our weakness, so to communicate himself unto us so to excite and draw forth our souls unto himself and to give us such pledges of his gracious intercourse with us by Jesus Christ. By the contemplation of these things is the soul drawn forth to delight in God.

10 Puritans with Names not in the Bible

Wenceslaus Hollar, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Christopher Love
2. Cotton Mather
3. George Swinnock
4. Henry Smith
5. Oliver Heywood
6. Ralph Venning
7. Richard Sibbes
8. Robert Traill
9. Lewis Stuckley
10. Walter Marshall

10 Puritans with New Testament Names

 

Gustavus Ellinthorpe Sintzenich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Joseph Caryl
2. Matthew Poole
3. John Eliot
4. Nathaniel Vincent
5. James Janeway
6. Thomas Case
7. Philip Henry
8. Stephen Charnock
9. Paul Baynes
10. Timothy Rogers

10 Puritans with Old Testament Names

Thomas Athow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Isaac Ambrose
2. Benjamin Keach
3. Samuel Bolton
4. David Clarkson
5. Jonathan Edwards
6. Solomon Stoddard
7. Jeremiah Burroughs
8. Ezekiel Hopkins
9. Daniel Dyke
10. Obadiah Sedgwick

Book on the Mayflower Pilgrims arrives

 

These arrived at my door today. See more here.

10 Inferences from the proposition that all things work for the good of believers (T Watson)

1. If all things work for good, learn that there is such a thing as providence 

2. Note the happy condition of every child of God 

3. What an encouragement to be godly 

4. Consider the miserable condition of wicked men 

(For those who are godly, evil things work for their good. For those who are evil, good things work for their harm) 

5. See here the wisdom of God who makes the worst things imaginable work for the believer's good 

6. Learn how little cause we have to be discontented at outward trials and emergencies 

7. See how here it is confirmed that God is good 

8. See why believers should always be giving thanks to God 

9. If the worst things work for our good what about the best things - Christ, and heaven? 

10. Consider, that if God works all things together for our good, how right that we should do all to his glory!

10 Works in John Wesley's Christian Library

The first ten volumes of Wesley's  Christian Library included these works

1. Johan Arndt's True Christianity
2. John Foxe's Book of Martyrs
3. Extracts from the works of Robert Bolton
4. Extracts from the works of  John Preston
5. Extracts from the works of Richard Sibbes
6. Extracts from the works of Isaac Ambrose
7. Extracts from the works of Thomas Goodwin
8. Extracts from the works of Thomas Manton
9. Extracts from the works of Nathaniel Culverwell
10. Extracts from the works of John Owen

Day Off Week 26 2020

Today I read a large chunk of an excellent new book by Joel Beeke and Bryan Hedges on using the Puritans It is a very helpful book spotlighting the work in general of the Puritans and specific volumes. I have ready many of the works cited but I did notice that there are titles here I know but have still never read. I must put that right. I also did my 10,000 steps and listened to the latest Louis Theroux podcast. I also watched some TV in the evening. Good day.

Westminster Conference Papers 2019 Now in print

Last year's papers have now been published

1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WILLIAM PERKINS/JOSEPH PIPA 
2. THE PRINCIPLES OF PURITAN WORSHIP/JEREMY WALKER
3. THE PRACTICE OF PURITAN WORSHIP/ROBERT STRIVENS
4. THE EMERGENCE OF INDEPENDENCY/MATTHEW BINGHAM
5. THOMAS MANTON - NEGLECTED PURITAN/DOUGLAS MCCALLUM 
6. THE PILGRIM FATHERS/PAUL SMITH

Blog of the Week 7

Richard Bernard Puritan

A Puritan lived name of Bernard

A preacher he was, very learned.

He also wrote much

On pi'ty and such

But now by most people he's spurn-ed.

This blog seeks to present material on the lesser known Puritan Richard Bernard. I began it in 2007. I can't remember the circumstances. Certainly Bernard's book on conscience was the first that made me aware of him.  It can be found here. There are just over 80 posts there, almost all from the early years when I began.  There have been over 50,000 hits. Again, I probably need to give it a little more attention than I do. 

Most popular post on the blog (over 4000 hits) is one on the Puritans. You can find it here. There a few links and things of general interest regarding the Puritans. Most of the links are still working but some are broken It's hard to keep up.

Blog of the week 1

THOMAS ADAMS PURITAN SHAKESPEARE

A Calvinist lived name of Adams

He preached against all of the bad'uns.

With puns and with quips

That fell from his lips

He fed both the sheep and the lambs.

I began this blog in 2007 and it can be found here There are over a hundred posts there at present. I first came across Adams when my parent-in-law ave me the three volume works in the Tanski edition. When i later listened to a week of lectures from Professor William Barker I took opportunity to pursue my studies with an essay on Adams (found on the blog and elsewhere).

Most popular post Want of a nail.

Lunch time lecture on Vavasor Powell

Southsea Castle, Portsmouth, WHere Powell was imprisoned

Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

It was my privilege on Monday to give a lunchtime lecture at the Evangelical Library once more. I spoke on Vavasor Powell the Welsh Puritan and Baptist., who died 350 years ago this year. We were around twenty people present and most of us knew little about the man, who suffered and preached a great deal in his relatively short Christian life. The next lecture is on March 30, on Alfred Saker.