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.

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.

This study examines the changes which took place in the understanding of 'religion' and 'the religions' during the Enlightenment in England, the period when the decisive break with Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance notions of religion occurred. Dr Harrison's view is that the principles of the English Enlightenment not only made a special contribution to our modern understanding of what religion is, but they pioneered, in addition, the 'scientific', or non-religious approach, to religious phenomena. During this period a crisis of authority in the Church necessitated a rational enquiry into the various forms of Christianity, and in addition, into the claims of all religions. This led to a concept of 'religion' (based on 'natural' theology) which could link together the apparently disparate religious beliefs and practices found in the empirical religions.

This study demonstrates that Benjamin Keach, the most important Baptist figure of the seventeenth century, was a catholic Reformed theologian. This is done by investigating his relationship with the tradition of the church, his interaction with federalism, and his concept of baptism. Dr Riker presents Keach, and thus the Baptist tradition, in a new way: not as a "Calvinist" but as part of the broad Reformed family. Secondly, believer's baptism, the rite from which the Baptists derive their name, is systematically scrutinized over against pedobaptism. In so doing, Riker presents every argument, strong or weak, that was used in the sixteenth- and seventeenth- century debates, and their respective refutation by a Baptist. "In these days of ecumenical rapprochement, it is important to retrace the origins of different theological traditions and see how they relate to the wider Christian world. Benjamin Keach was a Baptist theologian who drew on both Catholic and Reformed principles and Dr. Riker has ably demonstrated how he must be classified as belonging to both those traditions. This book helps us to put believers' baptism in context and is an important contribution to inter-church dialogue in our own time."---Gerald Bray Director of Research, Latimer Trust, Cambridge, UK, and Research Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University "Making use of fresh perspectives on the history of the church in the late medieval and early modern eras, this new study of the most important Baptist theologian of the late seventeenth century capably demonstrates both Keach's catholicity and his profoundly Reformed convictions. As such, this excellent study helps orient contemporary Baptist thought as to its place in the larger Christian tradition and the inadequacy of the church-sect model as a way of explaining the Baptist past. Riker has helped restore Keach to his significant role as one of the key shapers of Baptist life and thought Highly recommended." ---Michael A. G. Haykin Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Dr. Riker's book challenges any assumption that English Nonconformity was uninterested in the church's tradition and history. It makes a significant contribution to a growing body of scholarship that highlights the connections between the work of the Reformed thinkers such as Keach and the theology of the patristic and medieval eras." ---Nick Thompson Lecturer in Church History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen

The Reformed tradition is characterized by a rigorous commitment to theological formulation, yet it is equally known for its commitment to rooting its life and practice in the authority of God’s Word. While these two commitments are commonly acknowledged, the path from biblical interpretation to doctrinal formulation is often overlooked. Examining a diverse group of thinkers across the chronological and international spectrum of the Reformed tradition, this book demonstrates the depth and intricacies involved in the tasks of exegesis and dogmatic construction, the ways they intersect, and the effect it has on the church. Table of Contents: Preface - Richard A. Muller 1. An Appreciation of James De Jong - Calvin Van Reken 2. Calvin's Teaching Office and the Dutch Reformed Doctorenambt - Joel R. Beeke 3. An Immeasurably Superior Rhetoric: Biblical and Homiletical Oratory in Calvin's Sermons on the History of Melchizedek and Abraham - Richard A. Muller 4. Calvin's Lectures on Zechariah: Textual Notes - Al Wolters 5. Adopted in Christ, Appointed to the Slaughter: Calvin's Interpretation of the Maccabean Psalms - Keith D. Stanglin 6. Peter Martyr Vermigli and Aquinas Justice of War Doctrine - Mark J. Larson 7. Beza's Two Confessions as Sources of the Heidelberg Catechism - Lyle D. Bierma 8. Henry Ainsworth, Harried Hebraist - Raymond A. Blacketer 9. The Interpretation of Christ's Descent into Hades in the Early Seventeenth Century - Jay Shim 10. Critical and Catholic Exegesis in the Seventeenth-Century Low Countries - John S. Bergsma 11. Biblical Interpretation and Doctrinal Formulation in John Flavel's Works - Won Taek Lim 12. The Hobbes-Bramhall Debate on the Nature of Freedom and Necessity - J. Mark Beach 13. Bible Commentary for the Untutored: The Bijbelverklaring of 1780 1795, by Jacob van Nuys Klinkenberg and Gerard Johan Nahuys - Arie C. Leder 14. Herman Hoeksema was Right (on the three points that really matter) - John Bolt