Willison's Recommended Sabbath Reading

John Willison (1680-1750), Church of Scotland minister, has the following reading advice for Christians in his "A Treatise Concerning the Sanctification of the Lord's Day" (links provided to works cited and biographical information about the authors where possible for the interested reader):

I am persuaded there is no better way in this world for improving the faculty of sight, and the benefits of light, than by reading the word of God. So far as time can allow you upon the Sabbath, I judge it  very profitable to read other good books also, such as our Confession of Faith, [Thomas] Vincent's Catechism [An Explanation of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism]., Vincent on the last Judgment [Of Christ's Certain and Sudden Appearance to Judgment], [William] Guthrie's Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ [The Christian's Great Interest], [Joseph] Alleine's Alarm [to the Unconverted], [Richard] Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, [Edward] Pearse's Preparation for Death, Fox's Time and the End of Time [by John Foxe], [Thomas] Doolittle's Call to Delaying Sinners, Baxter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, his Poor Man's Family Book, [Andrew] Gray's Sermons, [John] Flavel's Touchstone of Sincerity, his Saint Indeed, [Matthew] Mead's Almost Christian, the Treatises of Doolittle, Campbell and Henry upon the Sacrament [Thomas Doolittle, A Treatise on the Lord's Supper; Daniel Campbell, Sacramental Meditations on the Sufferings and Death of Christ; Matthew Henry, The Communicant's Companion], [Samuel] Rutherfoord's Letters, the Fulfilling of the Scriptures [by Robert Fleming, Sr.], Clark's Martyrology [Samuel Clarke's (1599-1683) General Martyrologie], [Thomas] Beard's Theatre of God's Judgments. These, and such like books, next to the Holy Bible, I recommend to the perusal of all private Christians, as being easy and plan to common capacities, and some of the most generally useful, instructing, awakening, soul-searching, and heart-warming pieces, that I have seen among human writings, and which have been blessed to the edification of many thousands.

Time is Precious

John Flavel, "An Exhortation to Redeem the Time with the Utmost Diligence" in Pneumatologia: A Treatise of the Soul of Man, in Works, Vol. 3, p. 483:

Time is deservedly reckoned among the most precious mercies of this life; and that which makes it so valuable are the commodious seasons and opportunities for salvation which are vouchsafed to us therein: opportunity is the golden spot of time, the sweet and beautiful flower, growing upon the stalk of time. If time be a ring of gold, opportunity is the rich diamond that gives it both its value and glory.

Willem Teellinck, Redeeming the Time (Preface):

Men say there is nothing more valuable than time, and they speak the truth; for their life, which is their most valuable possession, is none other than a bundle of hours, days, weeks and so on; but many have scarcely spoken thus before they dispose of their time as if it were useless rubbish by the basketful: what folly! Look -- in time there is a certain fatness and marrow which is excellently valuable and delicious: and the vigour of our life is therefore lengthened out to us by God, that we may fetch good out of it and our souls thrive in fatness. We sadly deceive ourselves, if think that one hour of our life is lengthened out to us by God other than for the furtherance of His glory and the salvation of our souls.

So it is well for us to consider each hour of life permitted to us as a special gift, bestowed upon us in mercy by the great God for our profit; and just as certainly we merit eternal misery for each hour of our life ill-spent or lived unprofitably, were the Lord to deal with us as we deserve. And, the deep consideration of what we owe to God and Christ in His service, and how shamefully neglectful we have been hitherto, should cause us in justice to redeem our time with all diligence. The more so, seeing that our life is not only very short but also very uncertain; wherefore we should rightly view each day which dawns upon us as that which could be the last day of our lives, and on that account never dare to put off for one hour the discharging of our conscience before God. (Heb. 3.7; Psa. 119.60).

Jonathan Edwards, The Preciousness of Time, and the Importance of Redeeming It:

Time is precious for the following reasons:

First, because a happy or miserable eternity depends on the good or ill improvement of it. Things are precious in proportion to their importance, or to the degree wherein they concern our welfare. Men are wont to set the highest value on those things upon which they are sensible their interest chiefly depends. And this renders time so exceedingly precious, because our eternal welfare depends on the improvement of it. — Indeed our welfare in this world depends upon its improvement. If we improve it not, we shall be in danger of coming to poverty and disgrace; but by a good improvement of it, we may obtain those things which will be useful and comfortable. But it is above all things precious, as our state through eternity depends upon it. The importance of the improvement of time upon other accounts, is in subordination to this.

Gold and silver are esteemed precious by men; but they are of no worth to any man, only as thereby he has an opportunity of avoiding or removing some evil, or of possessing himself of some good. And the greater the evil is which any man hath advantage to escape, or the good which he hath advantage to obtain, by anything that he possesses, by so much the greater is the value of that thing to him, whatever it be. Thus if a man, by anything which he hath, may save his life, which he must lose without it, he will look upon that by which he hath the opportunity of escaping so great an evil as death, to be very precious. — Hence it is that time is so exceedingly precious, because by it we have opportunity of escaping everlasting misery, and of obtaining everlasting blessedness and glory. On this depends our escape from an infinite evil, and our attainment of an infinite good.

Second, time is very short, which is another thing that renders it very precious. The scarcity of any commodity occasions men to set a higher value upon it, especially if it be necessary and they cannot do without it. Thus when Samaria was besieged by the Syrians, and provisions were exceedingly scarce, “an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.” 2 Kin. 6:25. — So time is the more to be prized by men, because a whole eternity depends upon it; and yet we have but a little of time. “When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.” Job 16:22. “My days are swifter than a post. They are passed away as the swift ships; as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.” Job 9:25, 26. “Our life; what is it? It is but a vapour which appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Jam. 4:14. It is but as a moment to eternity. Time is so short, and the work which we have to do in it is so great, that we have none of it to spare. The work which we have to do to prepare for eternity, must be done in time, or it never can be done; and it is found to be a work of great difficulty and labor, and therefore that for which time is the more requisite.

Third, time ought to be esteemed by us very precious, because we are uncertain of its continuance. We know that it is very short, but we know not how short. We know not how little of it remains, whether a year, or several years, or only a month, a week, or a day. We are every day uncertain whether that day will not be the last, or whether we are to have the whole day. There is nothing that experience doth more verify than this. — If a man had but little provision laid up for a journey or a voyage, and at the same time knew that if his provision should fail, he must perish by the way, he would be the more choice of it. — How much more would many men prize their time, if they knew that they had but a few months, or a few days, more to live! And certainly a wise man will prize his time the more, as he knows not but that it will be so as to himself. This is the case with multitudes now in the world, who at present enjoy health, and see no signs of approaching death. Many such, no doubt, are to die the next month, many the next week, yea, many probably tomorrow, and some this night. Yet these same persons know nothing of it, and perhaps think nothing of it, and neither they nor their neighbors can say that they are more likely soon to be taken out of the world than others. This teaches us how we ought to prize our time, and how careful we ought to be, that we lose none of it.

Fourth, time is very precious, because when it is past, it cannot be recovered. There are many things which men possess, which if they part with, they can obtain them again. If a man have parted with something which he had, not knowing the worth of it, or the need he should have of it; he often can regain it, at least with pains and cost. If a man have been overseen in a bargain, and have bartered away or sold something, and afterwards repents of it, he may often obtain a release, and recover what he had parted with. — But it is not so with respect to time. When once that is gone, it is gone forever; no pains, no cost will recover it. Though we repent ever so much that we let it pass, and did not improve it while we had it, it will be to no purpose. Every part of it is successively offered to us, that we may choose whether we will make it our own, or not. But there is no delay. It will not wait upon us to see whether or no we will comply with the offer. But if we refuse, it is immediately taken away, and never offered more. As to that part of time which is gone, however we have neglected to improve it, it is out of our possession and out of our reach.

If we have lived fifty, or sixty, or seventy years, and have not improved our time, now it cannot be helped. It is eternally gone from us. All that we can do, is to improve the little that remains. Yea, if a man have spent all his life but a few moments unimproved, all that is gone is lost, and only those few remaining moments can possibly be made his own. And if the whole of a man’s time be gone, and it be all lost, it is irrecoverable. — Eternity depends on the improvement of time. But when once the time of life is gone, when once death is come, we have no more to do with time; there is no possibility of obtaining the restoration of it, or another space in which to prepare for eternity. If a man should lose the whole of his worldly substance, and become a bankrupt, it is possible that his loss may be made up. He may have another estate as good. But when the time of life is gone, it is impossible that we should ever obtain another such time. All opportunity of obtaining eternal welfare is utterly and everlastingly gone.

Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience, pp. 367-369:

XVII. My next counsel is, that you set a high value upon your time. Time is short; and its flight is rapid. The swiftness of the lapse of time is proverbial in all languages. In Scripture, the life of man is compared to a multitude of things which quickly pass away, after making their appearance; as to a post, a weaver's shuttle, a vapour, a shadow, &c. All the works of man must be performed in time; and whatever acquisition is made of any good, it must be obtained in time. Time, therefore, is not only short, but precious. Every thing is suspended on its improvement, and it can only be improved when present; and it is no sooner present, than it is gone: so that whatever we do must be done quickly. The precious gift is sparingly parcelled out, by moments, but the succession of these is rapid and uninterrupted. Nothing can impede or retard the current of this stream. Whether we are awake or asleep, whether occupied or idle, whether we attend to the fact or not, we are borne along by a silent, but irresistible force. Our progressive motion in time, may be compared to the motion of the planet on which we dwell, of which we are entirely insensible; or, to that of a swift-sailing ship, which produces the illusion that all other objects are in motion, while we seem to be stationary. So in the journey of life, we pass from stage to stage, from infancy to childhood, from childhood to youth, from youth to mature age, and finally, ere we are aware of it, we find ourselves declining towards the last stage of earthly existence. The freshness and buoyancy of youth soon pass away: the autumn of life, with its "sere leaf," soon arrives; and next, and last, if disease or accident do not cut short our days, old age with its gray hairs, its wrinkles, its debility and pains, comes on apace. This period is described by the wise man, as one in which men are commonly disposed to be querulous, and to acknowledge that the days draw nigh in which they have no pleasure. "The keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened. When men rise up at the noise of the bird -- when all the daughters of music are brought low, and there shall be fears. And the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper be a burden."

Time wasted can never be recovered. No man ever possessed the same moment twice. We are, indeed, exhorted "to redeem our time," but this relates to a right improvement of that which is to come; for this is the only possible way by which we can redeem what is irrevocably past. The counsels which I would offer to the young on this subject are: Think frequently and seriously on the inestimable value of time. Never forget that all that is dear and worthy of pursuit must be accomplished in the short span of time allotted to us here. Meditate also profoundly, and often, on the celerity of the flight of time. Now you are in the midst of youthful bloom, but soon this season will only exist in the dim shades of recollection, and unless it has been well improved, of bitter regret.

If you will make a wise improvement of your time, you must be prompt. Seize the fugitive moments as they fly; for, otherwise, they will pass away before you have commenced the work which is appropriated to them.

Diligence and constancy are essential to the right improvement of time. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." "Work while it is called to-day." Walk while you have the light; for the dark night rapidly approaches, when no work can be done.

Let every thing be done in its season. There is a time for all things; and let all things be done in order. The true order of things may be determined by their relative importance, and by the urgency of the case, or the loss which would probably be sustained by neglect.

If you would make the most of your time, learn to do one thing at once, and endeavour so to perform every work, as to accomplish it in the best possible manner. As you receive but one moment at once, it is a vain thing to think of doing more than one thing at one time; and if any work deserves your attention at all, it deserves to be well done. Confusion, hurry, and heedlessness, often so mar a business, that it would have been better to omit it altogether.

Beware of devolving the duty of to-day on to-morrow. This is called procrastination, which is said, justly, to be "the thief of time." Remember, that every day, and every hour, has its own appropriate work; but if that which should be done this day, is deferred until a future time, to say the least, there must be an inconvenient accumulation of duties in future. But as to-morrow is to every body uncertain, to suspend the acquisition of an important object on such a contingency, may be the occasion of losing forever the opportunity of receiving it. The rule of sound discretion is, never to put off till to-morrow, what ought to be done to-day.

A Help to Stay the Heart

John Flavel, A Saint Indeed (Keeping the Heart), in Works, Vol. 5, p. 444:

Help 7. Again, It may stay thy heart, if thou consider, That in these troubles, God is about that work, which if thou didst see the design thereof, thy soul would rejoice. We, poor creatures, are bemisted with much ignorance, and are not able to discern how particular providences work towards God's end; and therefore, like Israel in the wilderness, are often murmuring, because Providence leads us about in a howling desert, where we are exposed to straits; though yet, then he led them, and is now leading us, by the right way, to a city of habitations. If you could but see how God, in his secret counsel, hath exactly laid the whole plot and design of thy salvation, even to the smallest means and circumstances; this way, and by these means such a one shall be saved, and by no other; such a number of afflictions I appoint for this man, at this time, and in this order; they shall befal him thus, and thus they shall work for him: Could you, I say, but discern the admirable harmony of divine dispensations, their mutual relations to each other, together with the general respect and influence they all have unto the last end; of all the conditions in the world, you would chuse that you are now in, had you liberty to make your own choice. Providence is like a curious piece of arras, made up of a thousand shreds, which single we know not what to make of, but put together, and stitched up orderly, they represent a beautiful history to the eye. As God works all things according to the counsel of his own will, so that the counsel of God hath ordained this as the best way to bring about thy salvation; Such a one hath a proud heart, so many humbling providences I have appointed for him: such a one an earthly heart, so many impoverishing providences for him: Did you but see this, I need say no more to support the most dejected heart.

A Bargain With the Devil?

John Brown of Haddington was a poor, orphaned shepherd boy in 1742 or so when, having been affected following a series of illnesses by a spiritual awakening in connection with reading the Bible and various theological works (he mentions the Westminster Larger Catechism and the expositions of the Shorter Catechism by Thomas Vincent and John Flavel, Joseph Alleine's Alarm to the Unconverted, William Guthrie's The Christian's Great Interest, Samuel Rutherford's Letters, and Thomas Gouge's Christian directions Shewing How to Walk with God All the Day Long), Brown was inspired to take it upon himself to learn the Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages. It is said that, leaving his sheep "on the braes of Abernethy" in the care of a trusted companion, he set off on a midnight hike to St. Andrews, twenty-four miles away. The next morning he visited a bookseller seeking to purchase a Greek New Testament. The bookseller only smiled at his request, but a Professor from the University of St. Andrews, having engaged him in conversation, told him that if he could read a passage from the Testament, he would buy the book for him. He did so, and obtained the book, which was the beginning of a life-long love of languages that would lead him to learn Greek and Hebrew without a tutor, and Latin, studying under a tutor for one month; as well as, later, Arabic, Syrian, Persian, Ethiopian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German and Italian.

After mastering the first three languages, he casually conferred with a student at the University about his accomplishments, but this individual took it amiss and accused him of having acquired his great linguistic learning by means of a compact with the Devil. Others supported his accuser, and in fact, the accusation, as outrageous as it sounds, dogged him over the years to such an extent that at one point he was denied a certificate of church membership based on this allegation. He was forced to vindicate his learning in a letter dated August 6, 1745 (when he was 23 years old), in which he gives an account of his studies and relates his thought processes in some detail, a published extract of which maybe found here (pp. 29-33). Despite the false aspersion, Brown would go on to become one of Scotland's greatest and most famous and godly ministers of the eighteenth century.

His great-grandson Dr. John Brown would later quip, speaking of the Devil, "That astute personage would not have employed him on the Greek Testament."

Be Not Too Quick To Bury The Church

I came across two similar quotes from a couple of my favorite Puritans which resonated with me as I consider how darkness seems to be overspread across the church, and many faithful saints wonder where they can worship God purely, and hear the true gospel preached. Thankfully, we have the promises of God that the gates of hell shall never prevail against the church (Matt. 16.18); we have the witness of history that when times are dark, God is nevertheless able to bring about a time of Reformation; and we have such encouraging words as these to consider even in our own day. Having such promises, such a witness, and such encouragements, God grant that the saints, by His grace, will not give up, but will trust that He who first planted the church will never let her be overwhelmed by her enemies but will bring her to glory in the end.

William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour; A Treatise of the Saints' War Against the Devil: Wherein a Discovery is made of that grand Enemy of God and his People, in his Policies, Power, Seat of his Empire, Wickedness, and chief design he hath against the Saints. A Magazine Opened, From whence the Christian is furnished with Spiritual Arms for the Battle, helped on with his Armour, and taught the use of his Weapon: together with the happy issue of the whole War. (1662-1665), Vol. 1, pp. 110-111 (The Christian in Complete Armour, 1983 Banner of Truth ed.):

Behold therefore thy God at work, and promise thyself that what he is about, is an excellent piece. None can drive him from his work. The pilot is beaten from the helm, and can do little in a storm, but lets the ship go adrift. The architect cannot work, when night draws the curtain, yea, is driven off the scaffold with a storm of rain. Such workmen are the wisest counsellors and mightest princes on earth. A pinch may come, when it is as vain to say, Help, O king; as, Help, O beggar. Man's wisdom may be levelled with folly, but God id never interrupted. All the plots of hell and commotions on earth, have not so much as shaken God's hand, to spoil one letter or line that he hath been drawing. The mysteriousness of his providence may hang a curtain before his work, that we cannot see what he is doing, but when darkness is about him, righteousness is the seat of his throne for ever. O, where is our faith, sirs? Let God be wise, and all men and devils fools. What though thou seest a Babel more likely to go up, than a Babylon to be pulled down; yet believe God is making his secret approaches, and will clap his ladders on a sudden to the walls thereof. Suppose truth were a prisoner with Joseph, and error the courtier, to have its head lift up by the favour of the times; yet dost [thou] not remember that the way to truth's preferment lies through the prison? Yea, what though the church were like Jonah in the whale's belly, swallowed up to the eye of reason by the fury of men, yet dost [thou] not remember [that] the whale had not power to digest the prophet? O be not too quick to bury the church before she be dead. Stay while Christ tries his skill before you give it over; bring Christ by your prayers to its grave, to speak a resurrection word. Admirable hath the saints' faith been in such straits; as Joseph's, who pawned his bones that God would visit his brethren, willing them to lay him where he believed they should be brought; Jeremiah purchaseth a field of his uncle, and pays down the money for it, and this when the Chaldean army [was] quartered about Jerusalem, ready to take the city, and [to] carry him with the rest into Babylon. And all this by God's appoint­ment, Jer. 32:6-8, that he might show the Jews by this, how undoubtedly he, in that sad juncture of time, did believe the performance of the promise for their return out of captivity. Indeed God counts him­self exceedingly disparaged in the thoughts of his people, though at the lowest ebb of his church's affairs, if his naked word, and the single bond of his promise, will not be taken as sufficient security to their faith for its deliverance.

John Flavel, A Saint Indeed: or, The Great Work of a Christian Opened and Pressed; from Prov. 4. 23: Being a seasonable and proper expedient for the recovery of the much decayed power of godliness, among the professors of these times (1673, later reissued as A Treatise on Keeping the Heart; or simply, Keeping the Heart), p. 72 (Keeping the Heart, 2007 Cosimo ed.):

Direction 5. Believe that how low soever the church be plunged under the waters of adversity, it shall assuredly rise again. Fear not; for as sure as Christ arose the third day, notwithstanding the seal and watch set upon him, so sure the church shall arise out of all her troubles, and lift up her victorious head over all her enemies. There is no fear of ruining that people that thrive by their losses, and multiply by being diminished. Be not too quick to bury the church before she is dead! Stay till Christ hath tried his skill before you give her up for lost. The bush may be all in a flame, but shall never be consumed; and that because of the good-will of Him that dwelleth in it.

Quote Chain

John Brentnall wrote an eloquent publishers' foreword to the Puritan Paperback edition of Richard Sibbes' The Bruised Reed, which begins thus:

`Our books may come to be seen where ourselves shall never be heard. These may preach where the author cannot, and (which is more) when he is not.' This prediction by one of the great Puritans has had many fulfillments. An ungodly Welsh clergyman, shopping at a fair in the eighteenth century, bought an article which happened to be wrapped in a page torn from an old Puritan folio. The reading of that one page led to his sound conversion. As Luther said, `Satan hates the use of pens,' and never were pens more powerfully wielded in the cause of God than by the Puritan divines of the seventeenth century. Nor have their books outlived their usefulness. Although the original volumes are worn with age, the truths found in them are as fresh as the new formats in which they are now appearing.

To flesh out these words a bit, as a personal exercise in reading to better understand and researching as needed to fulfill that goal, I thought it would be useful to explore the allusions made. The fruits of my research turned into the following quote chain.

The author of the initial quote is Thomas Adams who, writing "[t]o the candid and ingenious reader" in Volume 1 of his Works said (pp. xix-xx):

Speech is only for presence, writings have their use in absence: quo, liceat libris, non licet ire mihi, -- our books may come to be seen where ourselves shall never be heard. These may preach when the author cannot, and (which is more) when he is not.

The Latin line quoted by Thomas Adams comes from Ovid's Amores (The Loves) 3.8 (Elegy VIII - To His Mistress, Complaining That She Has Given Preference To A Wealthier Rival):

cum pulchre dominae nostri placuere libelli,
quo licuit libris, non licet ire mihi;

Although my books have pleased my mistress well,
where my books are allowed to go, I am not.

The story of the Welsh clergyman converted after reading a paper torn from a Puritan folio bought at a fair evidented occurred in the 17th century rather than the 18th; the source is John Flavel who wrote The Mystery of Providence in 1678 (Part I, The Evidence of Providence, Chap. 3, The Work of Conversion):

A scrap of paper, accidentally coming to view, has been used as an occasion of conversion. This was the case of a minister in Wales, who had two livings, but took little care of either. Being at a fair, he bought something at a pedlar’s stall, and tore off a leaf of Mr Perkins’ Catechism to wrap it in, and reading a line or two in it, God sent it home so as it did the work.

Charles Buck, Anecdotes, Religious, Moral, and Entertaining (1831 ed.), p. 115, elaborates:

The Minister Converted By Going To The Fair

Various are the ways in which God is pleased to bring his people to the knowledge of himself. Sometimes it is by stated ordinances, and sometimes by means apparently insignificant. "A scrap of paper," says Flavel, "coming to view, has been used as an occasion of conversion." This was the case of a minister in Wales, who had two livings, and cared little for either. Being at a fair, he bought something at a pedlar's standing, who rent off a leaf of Mr. Perkin's Catechism to wrap it in, and reading a line or two in it, it proved the means of his conversion.

"Mr Perkins' Catechism" refers to The Foundation of the Christian Religion gathered into Six Principles by William Perkins, first published in 1591.

The line from Martin Luther has proven somewhat difficult for me to pin down, but the connection between Luther and his ink is well known. It is said that while in conflict with the Devil he would often thrown his inkwell against the wall, after which he was reported to have said that he had "driven the Devil away with ink." In fact, I have been shown stains on the wall of a room in the Wartburg Castle which are said to be evidence of these events, although it is highly unlikely that actual stains from Luther's inkwell remain on that wall.

Moncure Daniel Conway, Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879 ed.), Vol. 2, p. 286:

Referring to Luther's inkstand thrown at the Devil, Dr. Zerffii, in his lecture on the Devil, says, 'He (the devil) hates nothing so much as writing or printers' ink.'

The Continuators (Part 1)

In literature, a continuator completes the unfinished work of an author after their death or creates a new work based on another's prior text. Because I like to know when I am reading something who wrote what, I have done a bit of research on the continuators of certain Puritan works which may be of interest to some who share my love for historical or literary trivia.

I have previously listed the continatuors of Matthew Poole's English Annotations here. I would add that at least one authority claims it was not Peter Vinke but Edward Veale who completed the annotations on Acts.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Bible

Matthew Henry died after completing the section on Acts. Romans - Revelation was completed by his friends and colleagues as noted below:

Mr. [afterward Dr.] John Evans (1680-1730) (see below) - Romans.
Mr. Simon Browne (1680-1732) - 1 Corinthians
Mr. Daniel Mayo (1672-1733) (his father Richard Mayo was a continuator of Matthew Poole's English Annotations) - 2 Corinthians; 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
Mr. Joshua Bayes (1671-1746) - Galatians.
Mr. Samuel Rosewell (1679-1722) - Ephesians.
Mr. [afterwards Dr.] William Harris - Philippians; Colossians.
Mr. Benjamin Andrews Atkinson - 1 & 2 Timothy.
Mr. Jeremiah Smith - Titus; Philemon.
Mr. William Tong (1662-1727) - Hebrews; Revelation
Dr. S. Wright - James.
Mr. Zec. Merrill - 1 Peter.
Mr. Joseph Hill (1667-1729) - 2 Peter
Mr. John Reynolds, of Shrewsbury - 1, 2 & 3 John.
Mr. John Billingsley - Jude.

William Gouge's Commentary on Hebrews

William Gouge died before completing his commentary on Hebrews. His son, Thomas Gouge, completed the last chapter.

William Perkins' Commentary on Galatians

William Perkins died after completing his exposition of the fifth chapter of Galatians. The sixth chapter was completed by Ralph Cudworth (d. 1624), father of the famous Cambridge Platonist by the same name.

John Flavel's Exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism

John Flavel died before completing his exposition of the Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism. George Trosse (1631-1713) completed the last five questions.

The History of the Puritans

John Evans began the work of writing a History of Nonconformity, but died before it could be completed, as it was by his assistant Daniel Neal with the title The History of the Puritans.

All God's Creatures

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. (Prov. 12.10)

Cecil Frances Alexander, All Things Bright and Beautiful:

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

While conscious of the distinction between Man and Beast (Jesus said, "Ye are of more value than many sparrows," Matt. 10.31), Puritans vehemently opposed the idea that the dominion of Man over the creatures of the earth gave license to abuse animals. In opposing certain popular sports of the day, such as bear-baiting, cockfighting, and the like, they took occasion to note that all of God's creatures, including those that men employ lawfully for their service and benefit, are also precious in His sight. Far from the fantastic notions of animal rights or even superiority over humans held by PETA, the Puritans were nevertheless counter-cultural in pioneering the basis for animal protections theologically and legislatively. The first codified animal protections in American jurisprudence are found in the Puritan Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641), authored by Nathaniel Ward.

Of the Brute Creature
Liberty 92.
No man shall exercise any Tyranny or Cruelty toward any brute creature which are usually kept for man's use.

Thomas Edwards, Gangraena (1646), I.17:

...God loves the creatures that creep upon the ground as well as the best Saints; and there is no distance between the flesh of a Man, and the flesh of a Toad.

John Flavel, Husbandry Spiritualized (1669), Part III, Chap. II, Upon the hard labour and cruel usage of Beasts, in Works, p. 166 (a poetic meditation concerning a poor, overworked horse):

What hath this creature done, that he should be
Thus beaten, wounded and tir'd out by me?
He is my fellow-creature;

Robert Bolton, General Directions for a Comfortable Walking With God (1625, 1991, 1995), p. 179:

Bathe not thy recreations in blood; refresh not thy tired mind with spectacles of cruelty. Consider the rule which divines give about recreations, that we must not make God's judgments and punishments of sin, either upon man or beast, the matter or object of them. Now, the best divines hold, that enmity amongst themselves was a fruit of our rebellion against God, and more general judgment inflicted upon the creature after the fall. Which misery, coming upon them by our means, should rather break our hearts and make them bleed, than minister matter of glorying in our shame, and vexing those very vexations which our impiety hath put upon them. Alas, sinful man, what a heart hast thou, that canst take delight in the cruel tormenting of a dumb creature! Is it too much for thee to behold with dry eyes that feaful brand which only thy sin hath impressed upon it; but thou must barbarously, also, press its opressions, and make thyself merry with the bleeding miseries of that poor, harmless thing, which, in its kind, is much more, and far better, serviceable to the Creator than thyself?

Philip Stubbes, The Anatomie of Abuses in England (1583, 1879), Part 1, pp. 177-178, 182:

For is not the baiting of a Bear, besides that it is a filthy, stinking and loathsome game, a dangerous and perilous exercise?...What Christian heart can take pleasure to see one poor beast to rent, tear, and kill another, and all for his foolish pleasure? And although they be bloody beasts to mankind, and seek his destruction, yet we are not to abuse them, for his sake who made them, and whose creatures they are. For notwithstanding that they be evil to us, and thirst after our blood, yet are they good creatures in their own nature and kind, and made to set forth the glory and magnificence of the great God, and for our use; and therefore for his sake not to be abused. It is a common saying amongst all men, borrowed from the French, Qui aime Iean, aime son chien; love me, love my dog: so, love God, love his creatures.
...
If necessity, or want of other meats, inforceth us to seek after their lives, it is lawful to use them, in the fear of God, with thanks to his name; but for our pastimes and vain pleasures' sake, we are not in any wise to spoil or hurt them. Is he a Christian man, or rather a pseudo-Christian, that delighteth in blood?

To Glorify God and To Enjoy Him Forever

In answer to the query, "What is the chief end of man?" the Westminster Shorter Catechism responds thus: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." The chief end of man is articulated to consist of two clauses, and the relationship between those two clauses has been the subject of some interest and study, particularly in light of John Piper's "Christian Hedonism" philosophy. Below I have compiled the statements of some divines in order for us to better understand the nuances of this relationship between glorifying God and enjoying God.

John Brown of Haddington:

Q. Why is the glorifying of God placed before the enjoyment of him?

A. Because the glory of God is of more value than our happiness, Isa. xl. 17.

Q. Whether is our glorifying or enjoying of God first in order?

A. We must first enjoy God in his gracious influences, and then glorify him; and this leads on to further enjoyment of him, Psalm cxix. 32.

Q. Is our delight in the glory or glorious excellencies of God as satisfying to us, to be our chief end or motive in our actions, religious or moral?

A. No; but our shewing forth the honour of those glorious excellencies, Isa. ii. 11, Psal. xvi. 4, Isa. xliii. 21.

Q.Why may we not make our own delight in the glory of God as satisfying to our desires, our chief end and motive?

A. Because this would be a setting up of our own happiness above the glory of God.
...
Q. Why are the glorifying and enjoying of God joined as one chief end?

A. Because none can obtain or rightly seek the one without the other, 1 Cor. xv. 58.

Q. How do we most highly glorify God?

A. By receiving and enjoying him most fully.

William Gouge:

God's glory is the most principal and supreme end of all. As at the next (but subordinate) end, God in His Providence aimeth at His children's good.

Fisher's Catechism:

Q. 1.44. Why is the glorifying God made the leading part of man's chief end, and set before the enjoyment of him?

A. Because, as God's design in glorifying himself was the reason and foundation of his design in making man happy in the enjoyment of him, Rom. 11:26; so he has made our aiming at his glory, as our chief end, to be the very way and means of our attaining to that enjoyment, Psalm 50:23.

Q. 1.45. Is our happiness, in the enjoyment of God, to be our chief end?

A. No; but the glory of God itself, Isa. 42:8; in our aiming at which chiefly, we cannot miss the enjoyment of him, Psalm 91:14, 15.

Q. 1.46. Is not our delighting in the glory of God, to be reckoned our chief end?

A. No; we must set the glory of God above our delight therein, otherwise, our delight is not chiefly in God, but in ourselves, Isa. 2:11. Our subjective delighting in the glory of God belongs to the enjoyment of him, whose glory is above the heavens, and infinitely above our delight therein, Psalm 113:4.

Thomas Boston:

Glorifying of God is put before the enjoying of him, because the way of duty is the way to the enjoyment of God. Holiness on earth must necessarily go before felicity in heaven, Heb.12:14. There is an inseparable connection betwixt the two, as between the end and the means; so that no person who does not glorify God here, shall ever enjoy him hereafter. The connection is instituted by God himself, so that the one can never be attained without the other. Let no person, then, who has no regard for the glory and honour of God in this world, dream that he shall be crowned with glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, in heavenly mansions. No; the pure in heart, and they who glorify God now, shall alone see God, to their infinite joy in heaven.

Thomas Watson:

If we glorify God, he will glorify our souls forever. By raising God's glory, we increase our own: by glorifying God, we come at last to the blessed enjoyment of him.

John Willison:

Q. Do we not promote our happiness, by making God's glory our chief end?

A. Yes; and therefore glorifying God, and enjoying him for ever, are connected in the answer.

Joseph Alleine:

Q. What is mans chief duty?

A. To glorifie God.

Q. What is mans chief happinefs?

A. To enjoy God.

John Flavel:

Q. 9. Why are the glorifying and enjoying of God put together, as making up our chief End?

A. Because no man can glorify God, that takes him not for his God; and one takes him for his God, that takes him not for his supreme Good; and both these being essentially included in this Notion of the chief End, are therefore justly put together.

Thomas Vincent:

Q. 7. Why is the glorifying of God and the enjoyment of God joined together as one chief end of man?

A. Because God hath inseparably joined them together, so that men cannot truly design and seek the one without the other. They who enjoy God most in his house on earth, do most glorify and enjoy him. "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee." — Ps. 84:4. And when God shall be most fully enjoyed by the saints in heaven he will be most highly glorified. "He shall come to be glorified in his saints."— 2 Thess. 1:10.

A.S. Paterson:

Obs. 3. The glorifying of God, and the enjoyment of him, are inseparably connected.

The glorifying and the enjoyment of God are here connected as one chief end, because God hath inseparably connected them, and no one can truly design and seek the one, without, at the same time, designing and seeking the other. And we may here remark, that the glorifying of God is here set before the enjoyment of him for ever, to show that the former is the means by which the latter is obtained ; that holiness on earth must precede happiness in heaven ; and that none shall enjoy God for ever who have no desire to glorify him in this world. Heb. xii. 14; Matt. v. 8.

Thomas Doolittle:

Q. Is the principal to glorifie God? Yes.

Q. And the lefs principal to enjoy him for ever? Yes.

Q. Are thefe two joyned together with And? Yes.
...
Q. S.D. What is the firft Propofition?

A. Man's chief End is to glorifie God, I Cor. 10. 31. Whether ye eat or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the Glory of God: Rom. 11. 36.

Q. What is the fecond Propofition?

A. Man's Chief End is, in, or next to to the glorifying of God, to enjoy him for ever, Pfal. 73. 25, to the end. Whom have I in Heaven but thee? and there is none upon Earth that I defire befides thee. 26. God is the ftrength of my Heart, and my Portion for ever: Joh. 17. 21, 22, 23.

Thomas Lye:

I. Mans chief end is,

1. To glorifie God; Proved out of 1 Cor. 10.31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatfoever ye do, Do all to the glory of God.

2. Next to the glorifying of God, to enjoy him for ever. Proved out of Pfal. 73. 25, 26. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I defire befide thee, v. 26. My flefh, and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
...
Q. How many Doctrines or diftinct Truths are there in this firft Anfwer?

A. There are Two.

Q. VVhat is the firft Doctrine in this Anfwer?

A. That Mans chief end is To glorify God.

Q. How is this Doctrine proved?

A. It is proved out of I Cor. 16.31. VVhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Q. VVhere lies the force of this Text to prove this Doctrine?

A. In thefe words, Do all to the glory of God.

Q. How know you, that the force lies in thefe Words?

A. By two things.

1. By the fenfe of the words themfelves.

2. Becaufe thefe words are printed, with a different Character, or letter, from other words of the fame Text.

Q. Wherein lies the difference?

A. The words, wherein the force lies, are printed Text. with blacker, and lefs Characters: The others, in whiter, and bigger Letters.

Q. But what if at any time, as it is very often in the Catechifm, all the words of the Text are printed alike?

A. Then the Force lies not in any particular words of the Text, but in the whole.

Q. What is the fecond doctrine in this firft Anfwer?

A. Next to the glorifying of God, to enjoy him for ever.

Q. Why fay you fo? This is no Doctrine: for A Doctrine muft be full, and perfect fenfe.

A. It is fo printed in my Catechifm.

Q. It is fo indeed. But here you muft note with all Care, That when ever you are bid to draw A Doctrine, either from the Anfwer, or Scripture, you be fure to give full, and compleat fenfe.

A. Thats but fit indeed. But I know not how to help my felf herein.

Q. To help you therefore, look narrowly into your Catechifm, and there you fhall find immediately after the Anfwer to the queftion, fome other words, which being added to what you have faid, will make the fenfe full, and compleat.

A. I now fee thefe words -- Mans chief end is -- standing juft under the Anfwer.

Q. Adde them then to the words you faid before: and now tell me, what is the fecond Doctrine in this firft Answer?

A. That Mans chief end is, next to the glorifying of God, to enjoy him for ever.

Q. Now indeed you Anfwer rightly;
How is this Doctrine proved?

A. It is proved out of Pf. 73. 25, 26. Whom have I in heaven but thee! and there is none upon Earth that I defire befides thee. 26. My Flefh and my Heart faileth, but God is the ftrength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Q. Where lies the force of this Text to prove this Doctrine?

A. In thefe words, -- Whom have I in Heaven but thee! none that I defire befides thee, 26. God is my portion for ever.

J.G. Vos:

5. Why does the catechism place glorifying God before enjoying God? Because the most important element in the purpose of human life if glorifying God, while enjoying God is strictly subordinate to glorifying God. In our religious life, we should always place the chief emphasis on glorifying God. The person who does this will truly enjoy God, both here and hereafter. But the person who thinks of enjoying God apart from glorifying God is in danger of supposing that God exists for man instead of man for God. To stress enjoying God more than glorifying God will result in a falsely mystical or emotional type of religion.

Crying Sins

All sins equally merit the condemnation of God, but not all sins are equally heinous in his sight (Westminster Shorter Catechism 83-84). Some sins are said to be "mighty sins" (Amos 5.12), while others are said to cry out to God for justice by reason of their particular heinousness. These include murder (Gen. 4.10); sodomy (Gen. 18.20-21); and oppression (Ex. 3.9; Ex. 22.21-23; Hab. 2.11; James 5.4). The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in mercy, Numb. 14.18; Ps. 103.8; Nah. 1.3 (yet "great and heinous sins are capable of forgiveness, upon true repentance; Isaiah 1:18. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -- John Flavel) but judgment will come, and how fearful a thing that is for those who will not betake themselves to the mercy of Jesus Christ. Rather than store up wrath against the coming day of judgment, may God yet grant repentance to our land. O Lord, remember us in mercy, and save us from ourselves.


Lewis Bayly, The Practice of Piety, p. 158:

And we beseech thee, O Lord, to be merciful likewise to thy whole church, and to continue the tranquillity of these kingdoms wherein we live, turning from us those plagues which the crying sins of this nation do cry for.