The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors

by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What did the Puritans and their successors teach? Was their teaching biblical? What can we learn from them for our life and witness today? These questions guided Dr. LLoyd-Jones in giving the addresses in this volume. Far from sharing the idea that a knowledge of the past is useless or irrelevant, he believed that the study of history is vital to the well-being of the church today. In these addresses given at the Puritan Studies and Westminster Conferences between 1959 and 1978, Dr. LLoyd-jones ranges widely over the history of Reformed Christianity from the Reformation to the nineteenth century, drawing lessons from major figures like Calvin and Knox, Bunyan and Owen, Edwards and Whitefield, and from lesser-known men such as Henry Jacob, John Glas and Robert Sandeman. Written in an absorbing and stimulating style, these studies continue to speak with great insight and relevance to the church of the twenty-first century.

Genres: Church History, History, Theology, Christian, Biography

436 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1987

About the author

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher and medical doctor who was influential in the Reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. Lloyd-Jones was strongly opposed to Liberal Christianity, which had become a part of many Christian denominations; he regarded it as aberrant. He disagreed with the broad church approach and encouraged evangelical Christians (particularly Anglicans) to leave their existing denominations. He believed that true Christian fellowship was possible only amongst those who shared common convictions regarding the nature of the faith.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was married to Bethan Lloyd-Jones

Books about D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...

Reviews

[Benjamin Clow · Rating 4 out of 5]

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is one of my favourite authors for how equally wise, knowledgeable and practical he is. Here he is at his very best when dealing with matters of church history (if you're looking for a comprehensive description of Puritans this isn't it) but still there is plenty of practical knowledge you can glean from Puritans, Great Awakening Preachers and English Church History. His gift is in making truths applicable to the church, to the pastor and to the Christian.

[Barac Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

O carte “istorică” (deși cu un conținut bogat teologic), care îți va aduce multă lumină în privința a ceea ce a fost mișcarea puritană, influențele ei, roadele ei, dificultățile cu care s-au confruntat, și cu un mare accent pe echilibrul de care au dat dovadă acești oameni în controversele la care au luat parte.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quotes:
(1) Ch. 1 (Revival: An Historical and Theological Survey
*Then, as the result of their quickening and enlivening, they begin to pray. New power comes into the preaching of the ministers, and the result of this is that large numbers who were previously outside the church are converted and brought in.
-If there had been a period of spiritual drought, if things were not going well in the church, the first thing they thought of was this--'Should not we have a time of concession and humiliation and prayer to God to visit us again?'
-The influence of Finney's teaching upon the outlook of the church has been quite extraordinary. People now, instead of thinking instinctively about turning to God and praying for revival when they see the church is languishing, decide rather to call a committee, to organize an evangelistic campaign, and work out and plan an advertising programme to 'launch' it, as they say.

(1) Ch. 2 (Knowledge--False and True).
-And age which attaches greater importance to reading than to the preaching of the Word is already in a dangerous position.
*But when you realize that all this knowledge, everything in the Bible, is meant to bring us to know God, the Everlasting and the Eternal in the Glory and the Majesty and the Holiness of His Being--how can a man be proud of his knowledge when he realizes that that is the knowledge about which we are speaking?
-(referring to those who profess Arminian convictions): No, no! Let us rather say with Whitefield, that their hearts are better than their heads.

(3) Ch. 3 (Summing-up: Knowing and Doing)
*How many are there that stir themselves up to lay hold upon God? That is the call to us, it seems to me, at a time like this. Here is the Truth. Yes, but why is it so ineffective? It needs this power to come upon it, the Spiritual and the Word, the Spirit upon the Word, the Spirit using the Word, the Spirit through the Word. Let us pray to God to give us this 'demonstration of the Spirit and of power', this power and unction that can take a word that often sounds so dead, a mere letter, and turn it into a living flame that will do its saving and transforming work in the minds and the hearts of men and women.

(4) Ch. 4 (Puritan Perplexities--Some Lessons from 1640-1662)
-The Church of England would continue to be a meeting place of divers traditions, but, broadly speaking, its essential position, and the limits of its comprehensiveness, were finally established by the decision made in 1662...the Laudian triumph resulted in judgment of equal moment-that the Ecclesia Anglicana was of another spirit than Geneva'.
-(re: O. Cromwell) Though he took, in a sense, the Eurasian view of a State Church and held it and practiced it, his idea was to use the power of the State to guarantee tolerance and variety and liberty, not to enforce particular points of view.
-If we are told in I Corinthians 6 that members of the Christian church should not take even matters of private personal disputes to the public Law Courts, how much less should we take matters of doctrine.

(5) Ch. 5 (John Owen on Schism)
-'The schism, then, here described by the apostle, and blamed by him, consists (and here is the vital definition) in causeless differences and contentions amongst the members of a particular church, contrary to that exercise of love, prudence, and forbearance, which are required of them to be exercised amongst themselves, and towards one another.'
-He keeps on repeating that--it must be the breaking of a union appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

(6) Ch. 6 (John Calvin and George Whitefield)
-Calvin was tremendously concerned that all Reformed and Evangelical people should come together in unity.
-...and, by Whitefield's own request, John Wesley was the man who preached his funeral sermon.
-And Whitefield crossed the Atlantic thirteen times...It is computed that he probably preached eighteen thousand sermons in the thirty-four years of his preaching life.
-When it was heard that he was in the neighborhood and about to preach, shopkeepers shut their shops at once, for they must hear him; business men forgot their business, farmers put down their tools. He could get a congregation of thousands any time of day or night; he could get them and hold them in snow, sleet, frost, rain - it did not matter what the conditions were.
-Another way in which he put that was to say that, to him, for a man to preach what he called an 'unfelt Christ' was a most terrible thing - to preach about Christ without feeling the Christ within.

(7) Ch. 7 (Ecclesiola in Ecclesia)
-(speaking of early reformational times ecclesiola) Their object in the formation of this nucleus was that it might act as a leaven and influence the life of the whole church for the better.
-Luther's relationship to the Anabaptists is a most fascinating one; it is a kind of ambivalent relationship. He reacted against them, and yet in a sense he admired them and was a little bit jealous of the wonderful discipline that they were able to exercise in their own churches.
-(Re: Zinzendorf): He is an interesting case from the standpoint of this idea of the 'ecclesiolae' because, having started with it, he departed from it.
-What happened to these efforts, these experiments in forming little churches within the churches? The answer is that with the notable exception of Norway they all ended in failure.
-(Re: Spener): He said that you would find that, if you start separating, you will have to go on separating.

(8) Ch. 8 (Henry Jacob and the First Congregational Church)
-But the interesting point is that terms like Independent, Baptist and Presbyterian, rather than Puritan, were used more and more frequently from 1640 onwards.
-We believe that the nature and essence of Christ's true visible church under the gospel is a free congregation of Christians for the service of God, or a true spiritual body politic containing no more ordinary congregations but one, and that independent.
-That is, it hath from God the right and power of spiritual Administration, and government in itself, and over itself by the common and free consent of the people independently, and immediately under Christ, always in the best order they can.

(9) Ch. 9 (Sandemanianism)
-Now here is the point: he maintains, 'that the whole benefit of this event is conveyed to men only by the Apostolic report concerning it, that every one who understands this report to be true, or is persuaded that the event actually happened as testified by the Apostles, is justified and finds relief to his guilty conscience.
-What was their object in doing this; what led them to do this? Their answer was that they were trying to safeguard the doctrine of justification by faith only; and they felt that the others were re-introducing works.
-They said that if you introduced any element of feeling, any kind of holy affections or desires you were introducing works, and that the only way to safeguard 'justification by faith only' was to say that faith was solely in the intellect.
-That might well lead perhaps to feelings and to actions by the will later, but you must exclude everything like that entirely from your definition of faith.
-Jn. 8:39-42: ...if God were your Father, you would love me...

(10) Ch. 10 (William Williams and Welsh Calvinistic Methodism)
-You remember the famous dictum of the great Lord Chatham with respect to the condition of the Church of England. He said that she had a Calvinistic creed, a Popish liturgy, and an Arminian clergy.
-The real beginning of Methodism is found in the mighty experience through which Whitefield passed in May 1738. In Wales Methodism was quite independent and spontaneous. Welsh Methodism owes nothing to English Methodism.
-In Wales they were all Calvinists.
-We must not think of it in terms of theological reform. What was it then? Well, Methodism is essentially experimental or experiential religion and a way of life.
-Calvinism without Methodism tends to lead to intellectualism and scholasticism--that is its peculiar temptation.
-But more, Calvinism leads to assurance, and assurance of necessity leads to joy. You cannot be assured quietly and unmoved by the fact that your sins are forgiven, and that you are a child of God, and that you are going to heaven: it is impossible. Assurance must lead to joy.
-Then, in turn, as I have been trying to say, true Calvinism is bout to emphasize the element of revival, the 'givenness' of the activity of God, the visitations of God.
-Today we look at the situation and we say -- 'Well, things are very bad, everything is going down -- what shall we do? We had better have an evangelistic campaign.' So we call a committee together and we begin to organize, and to talk about what is going to happen in a year's time or so. Calvinistic Methodists did not look at the problem like that. This is how they looked at it. They said, 'Why are things like this? What is the matter? We have offended God, He is grieved with us, He has turned His back on us. What can we do about this? We must get down on our knees and ask Him to come back, we must plead with Him.'
-This is Calvinism. Nothing so promotes prayer as Calvinism. Calvinists who do not pray, I say, are not Calvinists.

(11) Ch. 11 (Can We Learn from History?)
-The idea that Rome had always been recognized as supreme, and that there were no problems and no divisions, is simply not true history.
-I will now give you my thesis. The division between Roman Catholic and Protestant I am prepared to defend to the death; but the other divisions, I am prepared to assert, were sinful. They were manifestations of schism and all involved in them were guilty, and we are guilty, in the sight of God.
-What was really the explanation of Luther's violent antagonism to the Anabaptists? Surely there is no question at all about this. It was his fear, especially after the Peasants' Revolt, that the views and activities of those people whom at first he had rather liked, would jeopardize the whole of the Reformation. He knew the reaction of the Princes and Governments, so he did everything he could to prevent this. But that was a political move.
-The English did not like these upstarts who were getting into positions of authority. They preferred, and had always had, a king in control, and while they had more or less endured Oliver Cromwell, when his two sons did not turn out to be too successful they turned with great relief even to such a man as Charles II. They were encouraged, unfortunately, in doing that, as we know, by the Scots who, deceived by the duplicity of Charles, thought there was a real opportunity of establishing Presbyterianism, or at the very least modifying episcopacy very considerably in that direction.
-Then you are aware, I trust, of Calvin's advice to the Puritans in this country who wrote to him. They asked his advice as to whether they should stand out on the question of episcopacy and of ceremonies in England; and though it may surprise you, Calvin told them not to stand out on that.

(12) Ch. 12 (Puritanism and its Origins)
-Puritanism, I am prepared to assert with Knappen in his Tudor Puritanism, really first began to manifest itself in William Tyndale, and as far back as 1524...He issued a translation of the Bible without the endorsement and sanction of the bishops.
-The notion of an incomplete Reformation came in. That, surely, is the essential and most characteristic note of Puritanism--the feeling that the Reformation had not gone fare enough.
-Men may like aspects of the Puritan teaching-their great emphasis on the doctrine of grace, and their emphasis on pastoral theology; but however much a man may admire those aspects of Puritanism, if his first concern is not for a pure church, a gathering of saints, he surely has not right to call himself a Puritan.

(13) Ch. 13 (John Knox-The Founder of Puritanism)
-As a result of this, when the French captured St. Andrews and took a number of prisoners, John Knox found himself working as a slave in a French galley for nearly two years.
-Edward VI died at the age of 16, and Mary, 'Bloody Mary', came to the throne of England. Knox and a number of others had to escape for their lives.

(14) Ch. 14 (Hotell Harris and Revival)
-'Suddenly I felt my heart melting within me like wax before fire, and love to God for my Savior. I felt also not only love and peace, but a longing to die and to be with Christ. Then there came a cry into my soul within that I had never known before-Abba, Father! I could do nothing but call God my Father. I knew that I was His child! and He loved me and was listening to me My mind was satisfied and I cried out, Now I am satisfied! Give me strength and I will follow Thee through water and fire'.
-Is not that always the crucial test which we must apply to those who claim to have received the baptism of the Spirit? The crucial test is the concern for souls, compassion for the lost.
-Is there not a real danger of our becoming guilty of a very subtle form of Arminianism if we maintain that correct doctrine and understanding are essential to our being used by the Spirit of God?

(15) Ch. 15 ('Living the Christian Life')
-As he (Wesley) continued to preach this doctrine he provoked controversy and caused much confusion; and this became one of the main causes of the separation between George Whitefield and John Wesley and the division in Methodism. The question of Election and Predestination was also involved, but the preaching Christian Perfection was the real cause of the trouble.
-It seems to me that the only way to understand John Wesley is to see that there was a perpetual conflict in him between the mystical notions leading to perfect love and the doctrine of justification by faith, and that he oscillated between the two.
-He (Wesley) had a defective doctrine of sin. His definition of sin was that it is 'the voluntary transgression of a known law'.
-Another interesting fact concerning him is that he never claimed this experience for himself.
-That is the essence of the teaching. It is 'the rest of faith'. You 'let go and let God'. You can never fight the world, the flesh and the devil successfully. You must abandon yourself and give up the struggle.
-Paul says in Romans 8:12 that 'we are debtors, not to the flesh to live after the flesh' and then goes on in verse 13 to say, 'but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live'. This is something we have to do; we are not to 'Let go' and 'let God' do it.

(16) Ch. 16 ('The Christian and the State in Revolutionary Times')
-My whole thesis is to show that something entirely new emerged, and came into being, with the French Revolution. It is one of those great turning points in history comparable to the Reformation-not in the same way, of course, but quite as definitely a turning point as was the Protestant Reformation.
-In a book on education in 1762 he (Rousseau) said that education was to be based entirely on natural instincts, and was to be entirely free from every competing influence of society, and especially the church.
-There is the oft-quoted statement of Halévy that the Methodist awakening of the 18th century undoubtedly saved this country from a revolution such as that experienced in France.
-Are we reaching the ultimate stage? The sign of being in that 'time,' I would suggest, is the worship of man. The number of man, 666! Are we reaching that? Is not democracy bound of necessity to lead to that ultimately? The moment democracy loses any kind of biblical sanction it is bound to lead to the worship of men and the setting up of men as the ultimate power over against God, and indeed as god.
-Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man' (Luke 21:34-36). That is our supreme duty, and I suggest that the primary function of preachers at the present time is to constantly urge that exhortation upon their people. We are not to get excited about the 'christianizing' of art or politics or anything else, imagining that you can do so. Exhort people to be ready and prepared; warn them. This surely is the primary business of the preacher at a time like this.

(17) Ch. 17 (Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival)
-'Another thing that some ministers have been greatly blamed for, and I think unjustly, is speaking terror to them who are already under great terror, instead of comforting them. Indeed if ministers in such a case go about to terrify persons with that which is not true, or to affright them by representing their case worse than it is, or in any respect otherwise than it is, they are to be condemned; but if they terrify them only by still holding forth more light to them, and giving them to understand more of the truth of their cae, they are altogether to be justified...'
-Edwards laid great emphasis upon this; and what we need above everything else today is moving, passionate, powerful preaching. it must be 'warm' and it must be 'earnest'.
-And should not what we have heard excite us to depend on God for his help and assistance in our great work, and to be much in seeking the influences of his Spirit, and success in our labors, by fasting and prayer; in which the persona spoken of (Edwards) was abundant? This practice he earnestly recommended on his death-bed, from his own experience of its great benefits, to some candidates for the ministry that stood by his bedside. He was often speaking of the great need ministers have of much of the Spirit go Christ in their work, and how little good they are like to do without it, and how, "when ministers were under the special influences of the Spirit of God, it assisted them to come at the consciences of men, and (as he expressed it) as it were to handle them with hands: whereas, without the Spirit of God, said he, whatever reason and oratory we make use of, we do but make use of stumps, instead of hands".

(18) Ch. 18 (Preaching)
-He (Calvin) did not agree with Zwingli that it was merely a memorial service. He believed in a spiritual Real Presence in the Lord's Supper; but he said that 'the communion without a sermon is but a dumb show'.
-On the whole, the Anglican method was to take a subject, sometimes a theological subject or an ethical subject, or some general theme, and then to preach a disquisition on this particular subject. That is what is found in the Homilies, and other places. The Puritan idea on the other hand was most concerned about exact exegesis of a text. You start with a word, with a verse or paragraph, and your first business is to discover its exact meaning. Then, having discovered the exact meaning of your text, you find the doctrine in that text.
-That excellent statement reminds us that wide reading is good and furnishes the mind of the preacher; and that while he may make use of his reading, he must not parade it, or make a display of it. A preacher whose sermon consists of a mass of quotations is simply displaying his learning, often his pseudo-learning! Perkins believed in learning; but that the preacher should conceal it. The essence of art is to conceal art. Furnish your mind, but do not parade your learning.

(19) Ch. 19 (John Bunya: Church Union)
-It is an interesting fact, also that though he himself believed in adult baptism by immersion, he had three of his children baptized in infancy in the church at Elstow, one in 1650, one in 1654, and the third in 1672, he himself having joined the church in Before in 1653. It was not central or vital to him. Another interesting fact is that the two successors to John Bunyan in the pastorate of the church in Bedford were paedo-baptists.

[Aaron Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of powerful lectures from Lloyd-Jones on various milestones, giants, and doctrines in the course of Puritan history.

Highly recommended. This book has impacted me greatly and there are so many big, life-altering takeaways - too many to list. I will restrict myself to one powerful, general principle from this book: "We must learn from Christian history." We can learn so much from history - successes, failures, doctrines, and especially the various heresies and extreme views that have branched off from sincere and uncorrupted faith.

As a young minister, when reading the Scriptures, it's easy to take a passage out of context and think, "No one has taken this issue seriously before!" But of course, there is nothing new under the sun. So many men have considered the same verses and have been tempted toward an extreme view. I was confronted quite a few times in this book with my own extreme notions on certain texts and doctrines, as well as my own misunderstandings of Scriptural views.

For example, the chapter on Sandemanianism showed me the temptation to reduce "saving faith" to mere belief (that is, an intellectual assent to the "legal facts" of the Gospel, such as Charles Finney presented) rather than to the more biblical and holistic representation of "saving faith": which has to do with the whole inner person: the heart (the affections, such as in the case of a godly grief that produces repentance without regret) and the will (a faith that is volitional, that is resolved, and that works, such as in the case of a faith that is not alone without works so as to be dead).

Another example, the chapter "Living the Christian Life" - Lloyd-Jones deals with three unbiblical views that originated in John Wesley's Christian Perfectionism (the idea that a Christian can become, in a manner of speaking, "perfect" in this life). First, Wesley's own view (called here, "Evangelical Perfectionism"), which confesses that a man can be without "conscious sin" in this life, is something I have "unconsciously" found myself sliding toward! Second, Charles Finney's view (called here, "Ethical Perfectionism"), which denies the necessity of a "physical sanctification" (the idea that we need to be regenerated, essentially) because we are already good from beginning to end! And therefore, we simply need to conform to Law of God as best to our ability (a "sliding scale" of perfection). Third, the Keswick view ("Psychological Perfectionism") which dresses up the completion of the Christian in psychological terms - you can be perfectly happy in this life if you only "let go and let God."

Truly, there's nothing new under the sun!

Another example, the chapter on "The Christian and the State in Revolutionary Times" - Lloyd-Jones' balanced view presents both a counter-revolutionary stance (against the secularizing revolutionary forces that attempt to build utopia in this age) as well as a stance that does not defend the establishment (which oftentimes does wrong, and should be reformed. He presents a stance that is not given to revolution except in extreme and impossible circumstances - which, perhaps, might be far more "radical" of a view than many Christian ministers have, come to think of it!

One final example, the last chapter, "John Bunyan: Church Unity." Essentially, Bunyan (an Open and Particular Baptist) admitted members to his church who were not water-baptized (according to the credo-baptist conception of water immersion after confession of faith) - which was scandalous to the Strict and Particular Baptists (as it is nowadays)! The force of his argument was not to despise credo-baptism (which he wholeheartedly established), but to emphasize unity and mutual-edification in the Spirit and the substance of the sign of baptism - that is, baptism in the Spirit. There is a call, here, to a truly Christian church - not building walls through denominational distinctions and ordinances, not separating or dismembering the Body of Christ by rejecting those who have all the substance of the things of Christ's Covenant, but admitting all to the Church whom Christ admits to Heaven. This is a powerful vision of a Christian Church.

Lloyd-Jones has a wonderfully balancing effect on a young minister! And I think he would have such an effect on the older ministers as well, if they have the ear to listen to this sage. Many Christian ministers need to listen to the voice of men like Lloyd-Jones, who just might help to offset the extreme views we've acquired when it comes to many issues (both theological and practical) and so I highly recommend this book and this author to all.

[Wilson Porte Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, o doutor... como ele é bom!

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 400 page book is a collection of transcribed addresses given at the annual Puritan Conferences in England from 1959 to 1978. Dr. Lloyd-Jones is quick to stress that the study of the Puritans must not be a merely academic exercise; otherwise we are in danger of lapsing into a barren intellectualism that is of no use at all. Instead, in each address he is concerned to show how the subject matter is relevant to the issues facing them in their day: issues of church-state relationship, unity in the church, and revival. He argues that Puritanism was not simply a concern about doctrine, but a "desire to carry the reform, which had already happened in the matter of doctrine, further into the nature and life and polity of the Christian church." One example, drawn from his last address, on John Bunyan, illustrates how a study of the Puritans can be very relevant to our present day concerns. In his own day (the late 17th century) the nature of the church was a hotly disputed issue, even among the Puritans, who were certainly not of one mind here. Bunyan himself was a Separatist, meaning that he considered that the church consisted of visible saints. In this regard he stood opposed to the Roman Catholics, the Anglicans, and the Presbyterians. He also considered himself an Anabaptist, believing in baptism by immersion. However for him this issue was one of secondary importance. He argued that a believer already has that which baptism signifies, that being his participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. The sign, therefore, though important, should not be something that disrupts communion between Christians. For it is the thing that water baptism signifies that is important. Bunyan wrote these things and was strongly attacked in writing by some of his strict Baptist brothers. He held his ground but hated the controversy which he was convinced was over non-essentials, and so after responding to his critics he never mentioned the subject again. A reader of his "Pilgrim's Progress" would have no idea what his denominational affiliation was. A further testimony to the liberty which he believed in can be seen in the fact that though he himself was a believer in adult baptism by immersion, he had three of his children baptized in infancy. Lloyd Jones' chapter on John Bunyan has certainly given me, who has struggled much over the question of baptism, much to think about. His discussions of John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, and others truly bring these distant Puritans to life and show how they are relevant to the issues we face in today's church.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Since each chapter is a separate address there is no unifying narrative to the book, but MLJ's insights and topics are each well worth the read. The chapters on revival and on Jonathon Edwards were worth the price of admission...

[Becky Pliego · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of a series of talks that Dr. Lloyd Jones at the Westminster Conferences several years.

Some of these were super helpful to my personal studies of the Puritans - I must say that I skipped reading two or three of these.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read if you like the history of the Puritans

[Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most Christians', and for that matter, most people's, knowledge of the Puritans consists of knowing about the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to America on the Mayflower and some misplaced notion that the Puritans were spoilsports! Now, my knowledge and understanding of the Puritans were slightly more than that, but not by much. However, this book broadened and deepened what I knew about the Puritans.

Consisting of 19 essays or addresses given by Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones at the Puritan and Westminster Conferences, from 1959 to 1978, the book is a compendium of insights into Puritan history, theology, ecumenism and practice. The front fly-leaf states, "In these addresses ... Dr Lloyd-Jones ranges widely over the history of Reformed Christianity from the Reformation to the nineteenth century, drawing lessons from major figures like Calvin and Knox, Bunyan and Owen, Edwards and Whitefield, and from lesser-known men such as Henry Jacob, John Glas and Robert Sandeman."

It is not an easily read book, both because of its content matter and also because of Lloyd-Jones' speaking style, but perseverance does reap a reward! Not all chapters were helpful to me, but there was enough in it to keep me reading and wanting to know more. Chapters that I found particularly helpful and insightful were,

1959: Revival: An Historical and Theological Survey
1969: Can WeLearn From History
1971: Puritanism and Its Origins
1972: John Know - The Founder of Puritanism
1977: Preaching
1978: John Bunyan: Church Union.

An interesting aside: when Lloyd-Jones gave the first address he was on the eve of his 60th birthday, and almost 79 at the time of the last!

There are many passages that are worthy of marking, but if I were to pick but one that was a major takeaway, then the paragraph below is that one ...

"William Perkins in his book The Art of Prophesying, one of the first books written on the whole business of preaching, said that there are four great principles which should guide and govern the preacher:
'1. To read the text distinctly out of the canonical Scriptures.
2. To give the sense and understanding of it, being read, by the Scripture itself (In other words, your exposition must be Scriptural. You must compare Scripture with Scripture.)
3. To collect a few and profitable points of doctrine out of the natural sense.
4. To apply (if he have the gift) the doctrines, rightly collected, to the life and manner of men in a simple and plain speech'" (Page 382).

I commend this book to your consideration, and I have little doubt that as and when I return to is, God willing, in a few years time, my rating of it will have improved!

[Josué · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin duda, en este libro podemos ver una faceta un poco distinta a la que nos tiene tan acostumbrados el Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones en cuanto a su faceta como predicador y teólogo; tal faceta es la de un gran historiador. Aunque desconozco si tuvo alguna licenciatura o estudios terminados en Historia, la manera en la que la maneja es magistral y de tal manera que llega a verse como un historiador experto y con mucha experiencia en la materia. Esa fue mi primera impresión del libro y con la que personalmente quedé maravillado.

El libro en sí está dividido por diversos capítulos en los cuáles él recopila y nos enseña acerca de los diversos movimientos teológicos que impactaron principalmente en Reino Unido y algunos pocos casos que sucedieron en Estados Unidos. El nombre del libro es un poco engañoso y creo que "Banner of Truth" pudo haber puesto otro título ya que si bien es cierto que el movimiento Puritano dio la causa a muchos de los personajes que el Dr. Martyn expone, no necesariamente todos fueron parte de ese movimiento en específico.

Aún así, si eres un gran aficionado a la historia y práctica de la iglesia reformada y que tuvieron como estímulo el movimiento puritano, te va a encantar la lectura.

Mi calificación 5/5. Recomendado a todos aquellos que les guste la historia de la iglesia y los distintivos del puritanismo.

[Eleazar Maduka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was "applied" church history, which is why I enjoyed it so much.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wasn't concerned with history for history's sake. In his own words, "My contention is that the Christian should learn from history, that because he is a Christian it is his duty to do so, and he must rouse himself to do so."

And with this principle in mind, he addressed various topics and applied them to his hearers in 20th century England.

I must admit that I don't agree with all of his conclusions. For example, his definition of who a Puritan was left me with more questions than answers; it almost seemed too simplistic and was unconvincing (probably because I have listened to/read men like Michael Reeves and Joel Beeke give seemingly better answers), but that may have resulted from my own limited knowledge of Puritanism as a whole.

Nonetheless, this was a delightful read. One major benefit is that The Doctor has given me a new appreciation (and hunger) for church history. . . and a new list of books to look out for!

[Alexander Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of lectures organized by when they were taught. Each chapter therefore stands on it's own. The must reads in my opinion are from 1960 Knowledge --False and True, 1975 The Christian and the State in Revolutionary times, and the closing chapter on John Bunyan gave me context that I was missing from my understanding of him.

Also to be noted that each biographical section in the book deals with the person on one particular topic rarely giving a broad biographical sketch. That being said it is still easily read if you have little knowledge of the person or topic when you begin reading a section.

Great Book and you can read a chapter every now then making it a lot less daunting than it may seem.

[Irina Pavlikovska · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book. It helped me to understand the differences between the Christian denominations. At the same time it has a gentle and wise spirit and makes the reader see that the reconciliation would be the best way for Christendom.

[Douglas Domer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent survey of speeches given about Puritans. These speeches were given from 1959 to 1978. The speeches were given at Westminster Chapel and the pastor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones these as the final speeches of the Puritan Conference.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d like to read it again. It’s an interesting personal take from personal study, applied annually at talks. It is more of a springboard to get interested in a Puritan and then to read other autographs or biography.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reading for spiritual growth. Contains thumbnail biographies of bygone saints and discussions of revival, preaching, and other timely topics. I loved it!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter combines history, theology, and application. While there are plenty of references I had to look up, his messages are as timely as they were 50 years ago.

[Jeff Shelnutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than an exhaustive, chronological account of Puritan origins, these essays cover a wide range of theological, historical and biographical contributions to the Puritan ideal. Transcribed from addresses given by the very capable Lloyd-Jones, the latter demonstrates his breadth of knowledge on the subject gleaned from years of extensive reading. He's able to succinctly tie together various "fragments" and present a cohesive picture of what was a spiritual movement that encompassed several generations of like-minded Christians from various denominations and sects.

Ever the preacher, Lloyd-Jones doesn't stop at mere scholarship. He is supremely concerned with application. What do the Puritans teach us today? How can what they faced in their day (17th and 18th centuries) help the present generation of evangelical Christians in the spiritual battles unique to our times?

A few chapters I found particularly interesting dealt with the prominent figures in Welsh Calvinistic Methodism. Anyone familiar with either Calvinism or Methodism knows these are two words that typically don't mesh. However, it was the combination of reformed theology and Methodist "class" ecclesiology that made the particular movement so unique.

There is also an excellent chapter on Jonathan Edwards as not only representative of America Puritanism, but as arguably America's foremost theologian and philosopher. When Lloyd-Jones was first turned on to Edwards in the 1920's, there was very little of his writings in print. But due to Lloyd-Jones and others who followed him in his enthusiasm for Edwards, the latter's writings reemerged into publication and into the public eye. Even secular historians acknowledge Edward's intellectual prowess and his contributions to the field of philosophy.

If you have any interest in church history, particularly as regards the far-reaching Puritan influence, this book is well worth the time investment.

[Josue Bermeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente. Una serie de sermones donde el Dr. Lloyd-jones nos enseña como los puritanos trataban problemas que aun en este tiempo siguen.

Los mejores capítulos, John Bunyan, John Knox, Howell Harris.

Léanlo si tienen la oportunidad.

[Scott Moonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

See http://scottmoonen.com/2004/06/25/the...