In "The Inner Sanctum of Puritan Piety," J. Stephen Yuille demonstrates how the doctrine of the believer's union with Christ lies at the heart of the Puritan pursuit of godliness. He analyzes the whole corpus of Flavel's writings, showing how this mystical union is set upon the backdrop of God's covenant of redemption and established on the basis of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Chapters on the nature and acts of this union help readers gain a better understanding of what this union is, while chapters on the blessings, fruit, suffering, evidence, joy, practice, and hope associated with this union, show more fully the experiential direction of Flavel's approach to theology. Table of Contents: The Covenant of Redemption The Basis of Union with Christ The Nature of Union with Christ The Act of Union with Christ The Blessings of Union with Christ The Fruit of Union with Christ The Evidence of Union with Christ The Suffering of Union with Christ The Joy of Union with Christ The Practice of Union with Christ The Hope of Union with Christ

During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a "spiritual brotherhood" formed among the Puritans, shaped by the reforming activity and training of Cambridge. These pastor-theologians initiated a new emphasis within the established church, stirring up a greater understanding of the Reformation doctrines of grace and preaching for conversion and Christian growth and piety. In this study, Paul Schaefer looks at six thinkers in this group who stand out because each was used as the human vehicle to bring the gospel to the next: William Perkins, Paul Baynes, Richard Sibbes, John Cotton, John Preston, and Thomas Shepard. By examining their teaching on the relation between man's depraved nature and sovereign grace, as well as the distinct but inseparable relation of justification and sanctification, Schaefer demonstrates how the Puritan movement came to focus most intently on the cultivation of Reformed piety within the church. Table of Contents: 1. Knowing the Times: The Spiritual Brotherhood and Its Puritanism in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Social Contexts 2. William Perkins: The Good Fight of the Heart Redeemed 3. Paul Baynes: Ministering to the Heart Set Free 4. Richard Sibbes: The Union of the Heart with Christ 5. John Preston: The Triumph of Grace on the Inclinations of the Heart 6. An American Epilogue: Looking at Sola Gratia from Differing Angles--Cotton and Shepard and Massachusetts's Antinomian Controversy Appendix: Orthodoxies in Massachusetts?

Who were the Puritans, and why are they important? What can we learn from them today? The Puritan movement began in England during the sixteenth century and continued all the way into the early eighteenth century. Although the Church of England was formed as a result of the Reformation, the Puritans believed it needed much more reform. Puritan Heroes is a beautifully illustrated book that gives the reader an idea of what the Puritan movement was about and offers a glimpse into the lives of more than twenty of its most well-known leaders (among them William Perkins, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Goodwin, Anne Bradstreet, and Jonathan Edwards). The book concludes with ten important lessons readers can learn from the Puritans and study questions to help them retain these fascinating stories and assist them in applying the lessons to their lives. It also features a bibliography to encourage further study in greater depth, as well as a glossary and timeline to help readers understand historical context. Written for children and young people, it will prove a suitable introduction to the Puritans for adults as well. Table of Contents: 1. Who Were the Puritans? 2. Richard Greenham: Puritan Pioneer 3. William Perkins: Father of Puritanism 4. William Ames: Calvinist and Congregationalist 5. Richard Sibbes: Warm Heart 6. John Cotton: New England Leader 7. Thomas Hooker: Connecticut Founder 8. Jeremiah Burroughs: Gem of Contentment 9. Thomas Goodwin: Swallowed by God’s Love 10. John Eliot: Apostle to the Indians 11. Thomas Shepard: God’s Story 12. Thomas Brooks: Soul Servant 13. Anne Bradstreet: Pilgrim Poet 14. Richard Baxter: God’s Pen 15. John Owen: God’s Navigator 16. Christopher Love: Presbyterian Martyr 17. John Bunyan: Traveler and Prisoner 18. John Flavel: Providence’s Servant 19. John Howe: Living Temple 20. Joseph Alleine: God’s Arrow 21. Matthew Henry: Bible Commentator 22. Jonathan Edwards: In the Hands of a Loving God

Spiritually there is a great hunger today for contemplative and more satisfying experiences with God. Puritanism might seem to be an unlikely source for this, yet few groups in the history of Christian spirituality have written more extensively or wisely on the subject. Isaac Ambrose (1604-64), a relatively forgotten English Puritan, developed a theological foundation for the spiritual life based upon the Christian's intimate union with Christ, which the Puritans often called "spiritual marriage." Schwanda demonstrates that this vibrant relationship of union and communion with Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was manifested in a deep contemplative piety of gazing lovingly and gratefully upon God. At the same time, Ambrose did not neglect loving his neighbors. This study reveals how heavenly meditation was one of the significant practices engaged by Ambrose to cultivate spiritual intimacy and enjoyment of God. Further, his experiential reading of Scripture, in particular the Song of Songs, provided him with a language of ravishment and delight in God. This book provides a distinctively Protestant foundation for recovering the contemplative life while recognizing the significant contributions of the Western Catholic tradition.

Scholarly investigation of English Puritanism has included descriptions of Puritan theology and preaching. The relationship between the two, however, has not been thoroughly investigated. This study focuses upon the relationship between the theology held by the puritan preacher and the content and delivery of his sermons.

Puritan pastors of the seventeenth century were true physicians of the soul, and this is made readily apparent in Adam Embry’s study of John Flavel. In Keeper of the Great Seal of Heaven, Embry shows the prominent themes of heavenly mindedness and the work of the Holy Spirit in Flavel’s life and pastoral ministry. He goes on to evaluate Flavel’s teachings about the Spirit, explains Flavel’s view on the sealing of the Spirit, and compares Flavel with other Puritans. Embry further traces the significance of Flavel’s theology of the Spirit in the American Great Awakenings, gives an evaluation of Flavel’s exegesis relating to the sealing of the Spirit, and concludes with an insightful pastoral reflection on the material. While this study reveals a diversity of thought within Puritanism, it also underscores the profound commitment this spiritual brotherhood shared for treating the matter of the heart with biblical truth in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Few teachings of the Puritans have provoked such strong reactions and conflicting interpretations as their views on preparing for saving faith. Many twentieth-century scholars dismissed preparation as a prime example of regression from the Reformed doctrine of grace for a man-centered legalism. In Prepared by Grace, for Grace , Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley make careful analysis of the Puritan understanding of preparatory grace, demonstrate its fundamental continuity with the Reformed tradition, and identify matters where even the Puritans disagreed among themselves. Clearing away the many misconceptions and associated accusations of preparationism, this study is sure to be the standard work on how the Puritans understood the ordinary way God leads sinners to Christ. Table of Contents: Introduction: The Question of Preparationism 1. Preparation and Modern Scholarship 2. Precedents to Puritan Preparation: Augustine to Calvin 3. Preparation and Early English Puritans: Perkins, Sibbes, and Preston 4. Preparation for Conversion: William Ames 5. Preparation in Early New England (I): Thomas Hooker 6. Preparation in Early New England (II): Shepard and Pemble 7. Preparation and the Antinomian Controversy: John Cotton 8. Preparation at the Pinnacle of Puritanism: Westminster, Burroughs, and Guthrie 9. Preparation under a Scholastic Lens: Norton 10. Preparation and Later Puritan Critiques: Goodwin and Firmin 11. Later Puritan Preparation: Flavel and Bunyan 12. Jonathan Edwards and Seeking God 13. Continental Reformed Perspectives: Zwingli to Witsius 14. The Grace of Preparation for Faith Appendix: William Ames's Theological Disputation on Preparation