Thomas Watson has easily been the greatest influence on me. Did a long
Wednesday Night lecture series a while back simply on his teaching through the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer. I also
ended up quoting his Body of Divinity (on the WSC) in long sections at the end of each of my lectures of a class through the Westminster Confession of Faith (and it was the part clearly most profound for all each time, and
I made an article out of his introduction on being theologically settled and often refer to it in discipleship). Made significant use of his book on the Lord's Prayer when preaching through Matthew. First introduced to him in seminary with his books,
Heaven Taken by Storm and
All Things for Good and incredibly blessed by them and have gone back to share their nuggets with others often. In fifteen years of ministry I've quoted him constantly in many other sermons, lectures, and articles as well--Watson just seems to be the go-to for his incredible gift at succinct profundity in summarizing his thorough work by blending explanation, illustration, and application into something which everyone can immediately get in the gut and easily go with it.
Here's what we share on our website about the importance of the Puritans (
https://puritanchurch.com/about):
"Puritan: The name ‘Puritan’ is borrowed from the nickname given to Reformed ministers in 17th century England, who sought to purify the visible church from that which was contrary to the Holy Scriptures. Based on the work of many before them, the Puritans gave us as a heritage the
King James Version of the Bible (agreed to by King James in God’s gracious providence). To learn more, read,
Why Read the Puritans — Don Kistler. Also, read this brief summary,
“Definition of Puritanism,” by Dr. Joel Beeke (President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary).
"Further, Dr. Bruce Bickel shares in his book,
Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit, what has long been and can be expected of the preaching of our ministers: “The Puritan’s concern was light and heat–light from the pure Word of God to penetrate the darkness of the heart and soul of the hearer, heat from the pathos and passion of the heart and soul of the preacher to bring about conviction.” This of course recognizes complete dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit both in the preacher of the Word and the hearers of the Word, so the pastor prays the plea John Owen instructs, “make the preaching successful”. And he expects, in and out of season, to see the Spirit work. This is why the Westminster Larger Catechism #155 says that “The Spirit of God maketh the reading of the Word, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.” As well, Puritans were concerned with pure theology joined with purity of life — wisdom and truth with godliness and holiness. The Protestant Reformation further developed by the Puritans was a Biblical movement not only seeking a pure faith, but a pure practice. Our lifestyle must match our life’s doctrine. The two go hand in glove all through the Scriptures: “But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself …” (
Psalm 4:3). Here the Puritans left us their lives as a legacy along with their legacy of sound doctrine that we aim to emulate. Dr. Bickel also writes, “Puritanism grew out of three central concepts: the New Testament pattern of personal piety, sound doctrine, and properly ordered church life … Genuine godliness is the child of the royal marriage of truth with grace, and the godly Puritan was a child of both parents.”
"Daniel M. Doriani writes: “In this treatise ‘puritan’ means a zealous, converted Protestant who actively seeks to give the Bible foremost authority in his life. The puritan is one who believes that he is saved from sin and the wrath of God, that he has received eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ, that by the grace of God he is a new man. His conviction is heartfelt, not merely intellectual, and he cares deeply about it. He strives for a new, godly life. The guide and authority for his new life is the Bible, understood and, as much as possible, followed in its literal sense … The puritans prove their reverence for Scripture by granting it the power to modify favored ideas … The puritans wanted to be Biblical Christians. They wanted to reform their society from the heart outward and they chose Biblical preaching as their chief tool.” (From,
The Godly Household in Puritan Theology: 1560-1640). We hope the Lord will always be growing the same spirit and effort in our own homes and church family."
Some other quotes that "rotate" on our home page:
“Puritanism … is a type of mind ... an attitude ... a spirit … the essential and most characteristic note ... the feeling that the Reformation had not gone far enough … it has kept the church, and the doctrine of the church, in the central position.” -- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "Puritanism and its Origins”, in
The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors.
“The intensity of the Puritans’ beliefs and actions is adequately understood only when one realizes their devotion to the Bible as the Word of God … the principal source of Puritan ideology was the Bible itself.” -- Allen Carden,
Puritan Christianity in America
“The age of the Puritans changed a nation and planted faithful seed throughout the world.” --Chuck Baynard,
Commentary on the Westminster Larger Catechism
“ … to the Puritan divines, the authority of the Bible was so important and so obvious that even to raise a question on the matter was to succumb to ‘strange temptations, hellish blasphemies.’” -- Allen Carden,
Puritan Christianity in America
“What gives Puritanism its strength is its bedrock foundation of committed Biblicism, its public and private worship in the church and in the home which reinforce each other, and its ethical commitment of service.” -- Horton Davies,
The Worship of the English Puritans
"One of the things that strikes me when I read the Puritans is how these men knew the Word of God ... Read the Puritans, and do so with your Bible in your right and and the Puritan in your left."-- J. Douglas MacMillan,
The Lord Our Shepherd
