Mather's Student Library

Many have proposed recommended reading for the Christian student of the Word, or student for the ministry, as I have referenced previously in my own Books for People of the Book. I thought it might be useful for some if I set forth such a list as prepared by Cotton Mather, along with bracketed information for the modern reader who might be less familiar with the names and titles identified by Mather, as a window into early 18th century American Puritan studies.

In consideration of a young ministerial student's choice of books, it is wise to remember Cotton Mather's adage: “What and where my Relish for BOOKS, which I may be hungry for? LORD, Because I shall see THEE, or serve THEE, the more for the Reading of them.”

Cotton Mather, "A Catalogue of Books for a Young Student's Library," in Manuductio Ad Ministerium: Directions for a candidate of the ministry. Wherein, first, a right foundation is laid for his future improvement; and, then, rules are offered for such a management of his academical & preparatory studies; and thereupon, for such a conduct after his appearance in the world; as may render him a skilful and useful minister of the gospel (1726), pp. 148-149:

[Nathan] Bailey's English Dictionary. [Before Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster, Nathan Bailey (d. 1742) helped to pioneer English lexicography with his An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721), which became the most popular English dictionary of the 18th century, and went through nearly thirty editions.]

[John] Ward's Introduction to the Mathematicks. [John Ward of Chester (1648-c. 1730) published in 1703 the Young Mathematician's Guide, which became a favorite textbook at Harvard and elsewhere.]

[Basil] Kennet's, Roman Antiquities. [Basil Kennett (1674-1715) was the author of Romae Antiquae Notitia, or the Antiquities of Rome. . . .To which are prefixed two Essays concerning the Roman Learning and the Roman Education (1696).]

[John] Potter's, Archeologia Attica. [Archbishop John Potter of Canterbury (c. 1673/74-1747) was the author of Archæologiæ Græcæ: or, The antiquities of Greece (1706), which served as the definitive work on Greek Antiquities until the middle of the 19th century.]

[Thomas] Lewis's Origines Hebraeae. [Thomas Lewis (1689-1749) was a controversialist and an opponent of Scottish Presbyterians; he wrote Origines Hebraeae: The Antiquities of the Hebrew Republic (1724).]

[Edward] Wells's, Sacred Geography. [Edward Wells (1667-1727) was an Anglican  minister and author of Sacred Geography: being a geographical and historical account of places mentioned in the Holy Scriptures

Mat. Prideaux, his Introduction for Reading all Sorts of History. [Mathias Prideaux (1622-c. 1646), son of the Calvinistic Anglican churchman John Prideaux, wrote An easy and Compendious Introduction for Reading all sorts of Histories (1648), which was edited by his father after his early death.]

[William] Whiston's Chronology. [William Whiston (1667-1752) was the protégé of Isaac Newton, as well as his mathematics professorship at Cambridge, though the two parted ways upon Whiston's conversion to Arianism. His A Short View of the Chronology of the Old Testament and of the Harmony of the Four Evangelists (1702) was based on Archbishop James Ussher's earlier Annals but came into conflict with the Biblical chronology of Isaac Newton.

[Friedrich] Spanheim, his Introductio ad Historiam Sacra. [Friedrich Spanheim the Younger (1632-1701) was a Swiss-German Reformed theologian of conservative views, son of Friedrich Spanheim the Elder, who as a member of the faculty at the University of Leiden was of the Voetian party. He wrote Introductio ad Chronologiam et Historiam Sacrum (1694).

[Cotton Mather] The Christian Philosopher. [Inspired by Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, a novel by 12th-century Islamic philosopher Abu Bakr Ibn Tufail, Mather wrote in 1721 the first systematic book on science published in America.]

[Bulstrode] Whitlock's, Memorials, both Volumes. [Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1675) was an English lawyer and historian, author of Memorials of the English affairs from the beginning of the reign of Charles I (1682). Mather wrote of this work (Manuductio Ad Ministerium, p. 63: "If you would come at all near to the Truth of what Concerns those Times, you must look for it, in Whitlock, his Memorials of English Affairs, from the Beginning of K. Charles I. to the Restoring of K. Charles II."]

[Thomas] Fuller's Worthies of England. [Anglican churchman and historian Thomas Fuller's The History of the Worthies of England (1662) is one of the great Christian hagiographies.]

[Edward] Leigh, his Critica Sacra, both Parts. [Edward Leigh (1602-1671) was a Puritan politician and lay theologian. He wrote Critica Sacra, or Philologicall and Theologicall Observations upon all the Greek Words of the New Testament in order alphabeticall, &c. (1639, 1646) and Critica Sacra. Observations on all the Radices or Primitive Hebrew Words of the Old Testament in order alphabeticall, wherein both they (and many derivatives . . .) are fully opened, &c. (1642), with a commendatory epistle by William Gouge; both of which were published together (1650, 1662). This great lexicographical compilation endeared Leigh to Archbishop James Ussher.

[Stephen] Charnock's Works. [Stephen Charnock (1628-1680) was one of the great Puritan writers, whose magnum opus was published posthumously as The Existence and Attributes of God (1682).

[Matthew] Pool's Annotations. [Matthew Poole (1624-1679) was a Puritan minister and Biblical commentator who first compiled in Latin the Synopsis Criticorum (1669-1676), a synopsis of interpreters on the whole Bible, followed by his English Annotations on the Holy Bible (completed after his death by friends in 1683). The Latin Synopsis is being translated and published, together with the English Annotations, by The Matthew Poole Project. Poole's unfinished project to record providential occurrences was the basis of Increase Mather's (Cotton's father) An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences (1684).]

[William] Strong, On the Covenant. [William Strong (d. 1654) was a member of the Westminster Assembly. His A Discourse on the Two Covenants was published by Theophilus Gale (1678).]

[Edward] Polhil, his Speculum Theologiae in Christo. [Edward Polhill (1622-1694) was a notable Puritan minister and author of Speculum theologiae in Christo: or, A view of some divine truths, which are either practically exemplified in Jesus Christ, set forth in the Gospel; or may be reasonably duduced from thence ... (1678) . Cotton Mather wrote elsewhere "Everything of Polhill is evangelical and valuable, especially his Speculum Theologiae."]

The Leyden, Synopsis Purioris Theologiae. [Synopsis purioris theologiae disputationibus quinquaginta duabus comprehensa (1625), often referred to as the Leiden Synopsis, was co-authored by Antonius Walaeus (1573-1639), André Rivet (1572-1651), Antonius Thysius (1565-1640), and Johannes Polyander van den Kerckhoven (1568-1646), all notable members of the faculty of the University of Leiden.

[Petrus, or Peter van] Mastricht, his Theologia Theoretico-practica. [Peter van Mastricht (1630-1706) was a leading theologian of the Nadere Reformatie, best known for his systematic theology Theologia Theoretico-Practica (1682-87), which is currently being translated into English by the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. Mather wrote of him (Manuductio Ad Ministerium, p. 85): "I hope, you will next unto the Sacred Scripture, make a Mastricht the Store-house to which you may resort continually."]

[Author uncertain, attributed to John Locke], Common-Place Book to the Holy Scriptures. [Originally published in 1676 as Graphautarkeia, or, The scriptures sufficiency practically demonstrated. Wherein whatsoever is contain’d in scripture, respecting doctrine, worship, or manners, is reduced to its proper head. Weighty cases resolved, truths confirmed, difficult texts illustrated, and explained by others more plain, the title given in 1697 was A common-place-book to the Holy Bible: or, The scriptures sufficiency practically demonstrated. Wherein whatsoever is contain’d in scripture, respecting doctrine, worship, or manners, is reduced to its proper head: weighty cases resolved, truths confirmed, difficult texts illustrated, and explained by others more plain. … A 1725 edition was titled A common-place-book to the Holy Bible: or, The scriptures sufficiency practically demonstrated. Wherein the substance of scripture, respecting doctrine, worship, and manners, is reduced to its proper head, weighty cases resolved, truths confirmed, and difficult texts illustrated and explained. Commonly attributed to John Locke, this work was excluded from the 1777 edition of Locke's Works because of uncertain authorship.

New Matthew Poole Synopsis Volume (Leviticus) Is Now Available

"Rabbi Assi said: 'Why do young children commence [their studies] with the Book of 'The Law of Priests', and not with the Book of Genesis? - Surely it is because young children are pure, and the sacrifices are pure; so let the pure come and engage in the study of the pure.'" (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3)

Although in a former, and perhaps wiser, age, the Jews began the religious instruction of their children with the Book of Leviticus, it has been largely neglected by the modern Church. This is a shame, for in its pages Christ, His Priesthood, and His atoning sacrifice are set forth with a brilliance that makes a deep impression upon the mind and heart. It is a good season to recover this portion of the inheritance of God's people.

For the first time in English, Matthew Poole's Synopsis Criticorum on the Book of Leviticus is available (The Exegetical Labors of the Reverend Matthew Poole: Volume 6: Leviticus). It is something of a verse-by-verse history of interpretation, surveying the opinions of the Jewish Rabbis, Church Fathers, Medieval Schoolmen, and Reformation-era Commentators and Theologians. The ascended Lord Jesus Christ promised to provide faithful teachers for His Church in all ages (Eph. 4.11-12): Matthew Poole's Synopsis Criticorum is a record of their teaching and testimony, a thing of surpassing value. For more information on the Matthew Poole Project, click here for a radio interview with the translator, Dr. Steven Dilday.

It is a good time to get acquainted with the Matthew Poole Project. All available volumes (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Revelation) have been marked down 20% by the publisher, and 20% by the printer (coupon code: SUMMERBOOKS); but these mark-downs will not last long so don't delay.

Visit the Matthew Poole Project website for more information and join us on Facebook as well.

19th Century Poole Translation Project

Robert Young (1822-1888), was a successful bookseller, and self-taught Biblical scholar and master of oriental languages. A member of the Free Church, and most famous perhaps for publishing Young's Literal Translation of the Bible and his Analytical Concordance of the Bible, he was prolific as a publisher, and both visionary and energetic as a translator. He was the first to translate the Westminster Shorter Catechism into Hebrew (he also translated it into Syriac and 10 other languages), and he did so with a view towards supporting ongoing Free Church missionary outreach to the Jews. He himself served as a missionary in India.

Among his many translation efforts, was a project that he conceived to translate Matthew Poole's Latin Synopsis Criticorum into English for the first time. He prepared a prospectus which outlined his plan not only to translate the Synopsis itself but to append his own critical exegetical and grammatical notes (which he estimated would amount to new matter that would "be equal to one-fifth of the whole work"). Additionally, the plan was to translate fresh each chapter of Scripture preceding Poole's notes, along with an original analysis of each chapter. The 1850 prospectus, which I obtained from the New College Library in Edinburgh (Sherman Isbell graciously provided helpful assistance), contains a translation of Poole's preface to the whole work, and a translation of the summary and initial summary analysis and notes on the book of Matthew. Elsewhere, I have located translations that were prepared by his team of scholars of Poole's prefaces to the New Testament (both the Gospels-Acts and Romans-Revelation), which were published in 1869 (available to read online here, starting on p. 294).

To the best of my knowledge, Young's translation project never progressed further than the translation of these prefaces and a small introductory portion from the book of Matthew. If anyone has information to the contrary, please let me know. It is an encouragement to the current Matthew Poole Project to know that this work was deemed worthy of translation into English in the 19th century as well. The vision of Robert Young is shared by those who desire to unlock valuable Biblical scholarship and make it available to readers in their own tongue, and it is hoped that we will, by God's grace, carry on to complete the task for the edification of the church in the present age and in ages to come.

MPP at JEC

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University has recently blogged about the Matthew Poole Project here.

Matthew Poole on Revelation is Now Complete!

The third and final volume of the first-ever English translation of Matthew Poole's Synopsis Criticorum (Synopsis of Interpreters) on the Book of Revelation is now available. Revelation 15-22 can be purchased as a single volume, but if you order the full set of three volumes on Revelation this month (through August 31, 2010), you will receive a 20% discount on the first two volumes. Also, because of Lulu.com's summer special savings, if you order by August 23, 2010, you will receive free shipping on orders over $19.99.

Remember that these volumes include both his English commentary as well as the Synopsis (a collection of interpretative comments, which is a veritable history of exegesis), and so comprise much more than most commentaries on Revelation. Poole has mined the works of Puritan and Reformed, Arminian, Roman Catholic, Jewish and other scholars to bring extraordinary light to bear on this most challenging of prophetic books. He believed that John's Apocalypse was intended to be, not a concealment, but indeed a revelation. This exegetical treasury has been locked away from English readers since the Puritan era, but is now available to both scholars and laymen in the 21st century English-speaking world.

Project update: The Matthew Poole Project is working to both translate and publish the remainder of the Synopsis (Genesis [3 vol.] and Exodus [2 vol.] are complete and available, and Leviticus is the next book forthcoming), as well as Matthew Poole's other works (his first work, a defense of the Deity of the Holy Spirit, is forthcoming).

Take advantage of this opportunity to employ the exegetical labors of Matthew Poole on the Book of Revelation by ordering the full three-volume set today. The 20% discount is available through the end of this month, and Lulu's free shipping special expires August 23, 2010. Matthew Poole on Revelation is a goldmine of Scriptural wisdom and this is an opportunity not to be missed!

Matthew Poole's Latin Synopsis Criticorum Fully Available Online

For those interested in reading Matthew Poole's Synopsis Criticorum online, this invaluable exegetical resource for the study of the Scriptures is now available to readers of Latin in its entirety. The Post-Reformation Digital Library has links to Volumes 1, 2 and 4 here. Google Books has recently made available Volumes 3 and 5 to complete the set from the 1694 Frankfort edition, which Samuel Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of British and American Authors (1882), Vol. 2, p. 1622, describes as the "best" edition. The links are available below.

Volume 3 (as of November 30, 2009 from the University of Lausanne)
Volume 5 (as of November 30, 2009 from the University of Lausanne)
Volume 5 (as of February 25, 2010 from the Bavarian State Library)

Meanwhile, work progresses on the English translation of the Synopsis at the Matthew Poole Project. Approximately 10% of the work has been translated into English at the present time, and the third and final volume of Revelation is expected to be published later this spring, dv.

Matthew Poole's Synopsis on Rev. 8-14 Now Available

The newest volume to be released in the (first-ever) ongoing translation of Matthew Poole's Latin Synopsis Criticorum (Synopsis of Interpreters) into English is Revelation 8-14, which is now available for purchase (softcopy and electronic download). This volume also contains the English Annotations (commentary) by Poole's continuator, John Collinges. For more information and to place an order, visit The Matthew Poole Project and Master Poole Publishing.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations Online

Although it does not appear to be one of the many resources available at the newly-launched Post-Reformation Digital Library, I have recently discovered that Matthew Poole's English Annotations (his English Commentary, as opposed to his Latin Synopsis Criticorum, which is being translated into English by the Matthew Poole Project) is available to read online at Google Books. The three-volume edition now available online was published in 1853.

Vol. 1 (Genesis-Job)
Vol. 2 (Psalms-Malachi)
Vol. 3 (Matthew-Revelation)

Note: Matthew Poole authored these annotations through Isaiah 58. His continuators are listed here.

Ministers are Living Books, and Books are Dead Ministers

On October 12, 1679, on opposite sides of the North Sea, two great Puritans entered into glory: William Gurnall (b. 1616/1617) and Matthew Poole (b. 1624). Gurnall was a conforming minister of the Church of England; Poole was ejected from his pulpit for nonconformity in 1662. Each of them wrote multiple works, but it is the magnum opus of each upon which their fame rests primarily. One of Matthew Poole's last sayings, in fact, was: "Ministers are living Books, and Books are dead Ministers; and yet though dead, they speak. When you cannot heare the one, you may read the other." Charles Spurgeon had something special to say about each.

William Gurnall was the author of one of the great classics of Christian literature, that compendium of the Christian's spiritual warfare, The Christian in Complete Armour. It is not known how he died precisely, though he was a man of weak health generally, but he was buried in Lavenham, where he ministered for around 35 years.

Spurgeon says:

Gurnall’s work is peerless and priceless; every line is full of wisdom; every sentence is suggestive. The whole book has been preached over scores of times, and is, in our judgment, the best thought-breeder in all our library. This ‘Complete Armour’ is beyond all others a preacher’s book: I should think that more discourses have been suggested by it than by any other uninspired volume. I have often resorted to it when my own fire has been burning low, and I have seldom failed to find a glowing coal upon Gurnall’s hearth. John Newton said that if he might read only one book beside the Bible, he would choose ‘The Christian in Complete Armour’, and Richard Cecil was of much the same opinion. J. C. Ryle has said of it, ‘You will often find in a line and a half some great truth, put so concisely, and yet so fully, that you really marvel how so much thought could be got into so few words’. Happy Lavenham, to have been served by such a pastor!

For more on Gurnall's life, I recommend J.C. Ryle's biographical sketch, which is an introduction to an edition of The Christian in Complete Armour, and is available to read online here.

Matthew Poole was the author the Synopsis Criticorum, a masterful compendium of the history of Biblical interpretation on the whole Bible, which served as the basis of his own later English commentary on the Bible. Having been turned out of his pulpit, Poole aimed to be productive, spending 10 years laboring to prepare the Synopsis, and also writing treatises against Popery. These writings, and an experience that he had in a dark alley one night, led to some suspicion on his part that he was marked for death by Roman Catholic assassins. He left England in 1678 and retired to Amsterdam where he died. Some thought that he was in fact poisoned, although this has never been proved. He was buried in the English Reformed Church of Amsterdam.

Spurgeon writes:

If you are well enough versed in Latin*, you will find in POOLE'S SYNOPSIS, a marvellous collection of all the wisdom and folly of the critics. It is a large cyclopaedia worthy of the days when theologians could be cyclopean, and had not shrunk from folios to octavos. Query—a query for which I will not demand an answer—has one of you ever beaten the dust from the venerable copy of Poole which loads our library shelves? Yet as Poole spent no less than ten years in compiling it, it should be worthy of your frequent notice—ten years, let me add, spent in Amsterdam in exile for the truth's sake from his native land.

His work was based upon an earlier compilation entitled Critici Sacri, containing the concentrated light of a constellation of learned men who have never been excelled in any age or country.

MATTHEW POOLE also wrote ANNOTATIONS upon the Word of God, in English, which are mentioned by Matthew Henry as having passed through many impressions in his day, and he not only highly praises them, but declares that he has in his own work all along been brief upon that which Mr. Poole has more largely discussed, and has industriously declined what is to be found there. The three volumes, tolerably cheap, and easily to be got at, are necessaries for your libraries. On the whole, if I must have only one commentary, and had read Matthew Henry as I have, I do not know but what I should choose Poole. He is a very prudent and judicious commentator; and one of the few who could honestly say, "We have not willingly balked any obvious difficulty, and have designed a just satisfaction to all our readers; and if any knot remains yet untied, we have told our readers what hath been most probably said for their satisfaction in the untying of it." Poole is not so pithy and witty by far as Matthew Henry, but he is perhaps more accurate, less a commentator, and more an expositor. You meet with no ostentation of learning in Matthew Poole, and that for the simple reason that he was so profoundly learned as to be able to give results without a display of his intellectual crockery. A pedant who is for ever quoting Ambrose and Jerome, Piscator and Œcolampadius, in order to show what a copious reader he has been, is usually a dealer in small wares, and quotes only what others have quoted before him, but he who can give you the result and outcome of very extensive reading without sounding a trumpet before him is the really learned man. Mind you do not confound the Annotations with the Synopsis; the English work is not a translation of the Latin one, but an entirely distinct performance. Strange to say, like the other great Matthew he did not live to complete his work beyond Isaiah 58; other hands united to finish the design.

For more on Matthew Poole's life, one may read a biographical sketch on the website of the Matthew Poole Project, or obtain a copy of Thomas Harley's recent biography as noted here.

* The first-ever translation of Poole's Synopsis from Latin into English has been undertaken by Pastor Steven Dilday. See the Matthew Poole Project for more details.

Matthew Poole's Synopsis on Genesis - On Sale

Over the course of ten years (1666-1676), Matthew Poole compiled his massive and masterly Synopsis Criticorum. The Synopsis is something of a verse-by-verse history of interpretation. The Matthew Poole Project is now making this work available for the first time in English. You can read more about the Project here.

For a limited time, the three volumes on Genesis are available at a sale price of $60, almost 30% off of the retail price. To take advantage of this limited-time offer, visit Master Poole Publishing.

Puritan Projects

I have been pleased to note (and in some cases contribute to) the proliferation of Puritan projects in recent years aimed at making more accessible the works of select Puritans. I wish to highlight here the projects I am aware of, and I hope that any such projects not listed here will be brought to my attention. I commend the labors of all involved.

The Westminster Assembly Project
The Westminster Shorter Catechism Project
Encyclopedia Puritannica Project
The Matthew Poole Project
The Matthew Henry Project
The Stephen Charnock Project
The Timothy Cruso Project
The William Perkins Works Project
The Ussher Project
The Roger Morris Entring Book Project
1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project
Cotton Mather Biblia Americana Project