Complete Puritan Set

[The Calvinistic Methodist]

Hey everyone! I have saved up about $500 and I am looking at investing it in starting a puritan library. I have read quite a few puritan paperbacks and each one has been life changing! My favorites have been: The bruised reed, the mortification of sin, the loveliness of Christ, searching our hearts in difficult times, and most of all I’ve enjoyed reading their sermons! If you were going to get serious about collecting puritan complete works, where would you start? With a $500 budget?

My current ideas are
1) Save a little longer and get Menton and Flavel

2) Flavel, Baxter, Goodwin

3) Flavel, Baxter, Owen’s series on Hebrews?

What would you do? These three aren’t set in stone. I’m a father, a husband, and a seminary student aspiring to preach

 

[Andres]

Thankfully you can read most of the Puritans for free. Read as many as you can for free and hold onto your money for now.

 

[alexanderjames]

I recommend being patient and finding good deals, especially on the used book market. You'll save a small fortune compared to buying everything new at full price. The Banner of Truth winter sale is also a good time to invest if you're set on hard copies (and there are advantages that come with owning hard copies of sets).

On the above - Flavel for strong lay level treatises/sermons on Christ and other topics, Baxter for long practical treatises, Manton for sound exposition over large portions of Scripture, Goodwin for thoughtful (and more challenging) treatises/sermons on a variety of subjects (notably the Person and work of Christ), Owen's Hebrews for well.. Owen on Hebrews.

As you've already had experience with the paperback series, why not pick your favourite author(s) and go from there.

 

[cthorn14]

Monergism is a great resource.

If you like hard copies, try eBay. If you're willing to buy individual volumes, you can usually get lightly used copies for a very good price. Many people buy those big sets and then end up not putting much wear on them.

All the 'mainstream' puritans will be good reading. Personally, I am enjoying Stephen Charnock right now.

 

[Recipient of Grace]

I agree that you should definitely take advantage of the free stuff that is out there. Monergism has an app that is quite good, and I’d definitely recommend it if you enjoy eBooks. Below is a list of puritan works that you can get for free at Archive:

ADAMS, Thomas – Works (3 Volumes)
AMBROSE, Isaac – Works (1 Volume)
BATES, William – Works (4 Volumes)
BAXTER, Richard – Works (23 Volumes)
BINNING, Hugh – Works (1 Volume)
BOSTON, Thomas – Works (12 Volumes)
BRIDGE, William – Works (5 Volumes)
BROOKS, Thomas – Works (6 Volumes)
BUNYAN, John – Works (3 Volumes)
CHARNOCK, Stephen – Works (5 Volumes)
CLARKSON, David – Works (3 Volumes)
EDWARDS, Jonathan – Works (2 Volumes)
FLAVEL, John – Works (6 Volumes)
GOODWIN, Thomas – Works (12 Volumes)
HEYWOOD, Oliver – Works (5 Volumes)
HOPKINS, Ezekiel – Works (3 Volumes)
HOWE, John – Works (8 Volumes)
MANTON, Thomas – Works (22 Volumes)
OWEN, John – Works (16 Volumes)
REYNOLDS, Edward – Works (6 Volumes)
SHEPARD, Thomas – Works (2 Volumes)
SIBBES, Richard – Works (7 Volumes)
SMITH, Henry – Works (2 Volumes)
SWINNOCK, George – Works (5 Volumes)
TRAILL, Robert – Works (2 Volumes)

This isn’t even an exhaustive list, assuming you could actually read all of these in your lifetime, there are still John Bradford’s Works, Robert Leighton’s Works, Thomas Halyburton’s Works, Andrew Gray’s Works, Henry Scougal’s Works, Matthew Henry’s Works, etc.

Since you mentioned that you like their sermons, Digital Puritan has The Morning Exercises at Cripplegate available as free PDF files. The Morning Exercises are a collection of very good and practical puritan sermons on a wide variety of subjects, which I would highly recommend.

If you want to have a few works/sets as physical copies, and need help deciding which you would like to buy, the book Meet the Puritans might be of some help.

 

[paranymph]

If you have to be selective, I would go with works that you would be constantly referencing. Some are good for reading but after one reading may sit on a shelf for the rest of your life. I really like Sibbes' sermons, but I'm not sure I will ever go back to re-read them. For examples of good reference works, Charnock on Existence & Attributes of God is one to always go back to. Owen's works are also good for reference on a particular subject, since he wrote on quite a few. And Owen is so deep that you always learn more when you re-read him.

I also second the notion of waiting for sales at places like RHB, Banner of Truth (December), Crossway, and Westminster (Black Friday).

 

[davejonescue]

While no one is trying to dissuade you from physical books, as many people prefer them; the reason some people are saying if you want the most "complete" Puritan collection within your $500 budget, the best way to go is to get a good tablet and take advantage of all the free Puritan stuff. For instance, if you get a 12 inch or 13 inch tablet, you can go to Puritan Library and find most of the better known Puritans complete works in PDF. The larger tablet will allow you to read the PDF's, comfortably, say in a recliner (as opposed to sitting in front of your computer) all for free. On the other hand, if you were to attempt to purchase these sets, many start at $200 and $300 for a single set; so you can see just how far your $500 will go. Also consider the complete Puritan Paperback Series is around $445 for 62 or 63 books in physical form, but you can get almost all of them for free here Puritan Treasures from Monergism. Speaking of Monergism, here is one of their longer lists - 1,100 Free Books.

Please take this to heart, if I were you, I would really try the tablet thing first, and if you dont like it, just resave and get the physical. Since the Puritans works were written in the 1600's, with a resurgence of their republishment in the 1800's, most, if not all of their works can be accessed free in digital form. This is not to mention if you learn to read facsimiles. If you do that, many more of their works are offered free on Google and Archive.

 

[The Calvinistic Methodist]

While no one is trying to dissuade you from physical books, as many people prefer them; the reason some people are saying if you want the most "complete" Puritan collection within your $500 budget, the best way to go is to get a good tablet and take advantage of all the free Puritan stuff. For instance, if you get a 12 inch or 13 inch tablet, you can go to Puritan Library and find most of the better known Puritans complete works in PDF. The larger tablet will allow you to read the PDF's, comfortably, say in a recliner (as opposed to sitting in front of your computer) all for free. On the other hand, if you were to attempt to purchase these sets, many start at $200 and $300 for a single set; so you can see just how far your $500 will go. Also consider the complete Puritan Paperback Series is around $445 for 62 or 63 books in physical form, but you can get almost all of them for free here Puritan Treasures from Monergism. Speaking of Monergism, here is one of their longer lists - 1,100 Free Books.

Please take this to heart, if I were you, I would really try the tablet thing first, and if you dont like it, just resave and get the physical. Since the Puritans works were written in the 1600's, with a resurgence of their republishment in the 1800's, most, if not all of their works can be accessed free in digital form. This is not to mention if you learn to read facsimiles. If you do that, many more of their works are offered free on Google and Archive.

Yeah it definitely seems like it would be worthwhile to buy an e reader and attempt that first. My biggest reason for wanting physical books is I like to mark them up as I read, but I suppose a pdf could be marked up just as well? Seems like maybe a $300 e-reader might be a better way of stewarding the Lords money and promoting spiritual growth.

Thanks guys!

 

[davejonescue]

Yeah it definitely seems like it would be worthwhile to buy an e reader and attempt that first. My biggest reason for wanting physical books is I like to mark them up as I read, but I suppose a pdf could be marked up just as well? Seems like maybe a $300 e-reader might be a better way of stewarding the Lords money and promoting spiritual growth.

Thanks guys!

Just make sure you get the largest size eReader possible for your budget, if you get an eReader. While ePubs can be comfortably read on all tablets and eReaders, this is because the text can be resized. PDF's do not have this function. So if you are going to read PDF's, which most of these Puritan Sets come in, you are probably going to want to get a Tablet as opposed to eReader, and that at 12 or 13 inch. With a Tablet, you can just download the Kindle or Monergism app. Consider these two below, they are both pretty much in your range Brand New, but if you look at the "Open Box" price, it is cut back considerably. You can also use ColorVeil to help with eye-fatigue when reading from tablets.

 

[greenbaggins]

Honestly, if you are intending to be a pastor, you need to start acquiring the best commentaries on the Bible. As has been said, you can read any of the Puritans in pdf for free. You will regret not having started your commentary collecting when it is time to start preaching, and you have nothing but your own thoughts on the text with which to work. There are some excellent commentaries you can read online (Calvin, Henry, Gill, Poole, Keil/Delitzsch), but you cannot do that with the modern commentaries.

 

[Recipient of Grace]

There are some excellent commentaries you can read online (Calvin, Henry, Gill, Poole, Keil/Delitzsch), but you cannot do that with the modern commentaries.

Although this is true, there are hundreds of excellent older commentaries that can be found for free online at Reformed Books Online.

 

[davejonescue]

Also, if you do decide to start collecting commentaries, make a decision pretty quick whether you are going to be a Logos/Accordance user, or stick to physical books. There is no need to waste your money buying tons of physical books, only to find out Logos works much better for you in sermon prep and research. Plus with Logos, while at Seminary, you can get a 30% student discount on your book purchases.

 

[py3ak]

Flavel makes it into each one of your three ideas, so he's clearly the one to get for right now. I would suggest buying that set, and once you've read a good bit of it, you can buy another.

 

[chicagophil]

If you can read online, use the pdfs at digital puritan and monergism for a start. I make notes on everything I read and the ability to copy and paste from a pdf makes that a lot easier - maybe you can do that from a reader, but I have the pdf on my note taking computer. I have 100s of pages of notes on Reformed folks from the first 200 years that I can search easily (rather than searching everything I search on things that I read and thought worth noting).

Now, I'm on a computer all day for work so am not keen to spend more time on one. And I *think* (won't know until I have a year or so where I'm not on a computer all day every day) I prefer a book anyway. The first set I bought was Owen's Works (the 16 vol Goold edition) and I keep going back to them. One I haven't seen anyone mention which is probably the one I go back to 2nd behind Owen is Perkins.

 

[Polanus1561]

Give me logos editions of puritans for like 20% the price of hard copies. And being able to search where a verse appears in one or multiple Puritan works. And having it all portable on your device

 

[Stephen L Smith]

Two of the most edifying and soul warming Puritan works are the works of Richard Sibbes and also the works of Thomas Brooks. Both Puritans would also give you edifying material for sermon preparation.

The Works of Richard Sibbes

<p>Book Description After William Perkins, ‘the heavenly Doctor Sibbes’ was the most significant of the great Puritan preachers of Cambridge. This reprint of the complete seven-volume set of the Works of Richard Sibbes shows why this is so. Strong thoughts, simple sentences, deep knowledge of...

banneroftruth.org

and.

The Works of Thomas Brooks

<p>Book Description The definitive edition of the Works of Thomas Brooks, here reissued, was first published by James Nichol in 1866. It was edited by A. B. Grosart. At that time, C. H. Spurgeon commented in The Sword and the Trowel: ‘The volumes now before us are by that marvellously rich...

banneroftruth.org

 

[Ed Walsh]

What would you do? These three aren’t set in stone. I’m a father, a husband, and a seminary student aspiring to preach

If you hope for the pastorate, then Flavel is of first importance. He lived closer to the end of the Puritan century and had much wisdom of 75 years of Puritanism. He deals with some polemical issues with wisdom, but the main reason he is so important to you is the heart and love he displayed to his flock, even when absent from them. Indeed, there are others of like disposition, but he should be a first pick for my money.

Have you considered Logos, or are you sold on paper books? Keep in mind that it is not an either-or choice. You can have many more resources for less money if you add Logos to your fledgling library. May the Lord bless you in this most important endeavor. A recent study revealed that as many as 40% of pastors are considering giving up. Such a day we live in. Gone are the small country churches where pastors and people can grow in some semblance of peace. The only ones making it are those with true faith and courage from knowing their God. As I often say, knowing about God is essential, but knowing God is always the goal. May you come to know Him who alone can sustain you in your fight of faith with great joy.