The Influence and Impact of the Puritans on
World Mission and Evangelization
Leen J. van Valen
Who are the Puritans?
If ever thou hadst experience of this day of power, these visitations of Christ upon
thine own spirit, I suppose thee to be one who hast embarked many prayers for the
success of the gospel in those dark corners of the earth, to strengthen thy faith, enlarge
thy heart, and assure thy soul that God is a God of hearing prayers 1
This is a fragment of a preface in a pamphlet written by Thomas Shepard (1605-1649), The
Clear Sunshine of the Gospel breaking forth upon the Indians in New England. He was a
puritan minister in New England, North America and this book was introduced by eight
prominent Puritans in England and offered to the Parliament and people of England. It is an
account of the origin and progress of the mission work among the Indians. This is the first
experiment of the protestant propagation of the Christian belief among the heathens.
It is a well known fact that the Reformers and their successors concentrated their work on
doctrine and practical church issues. It was their aim to remodel the church according to New
Testament rules. They were not focussed on matters as church extension and world mission.
Their ecclesiology was one of their high priorities in which they expended much energy.
Who were the Puritans? They were exponents of a movement which arose in the Church of
England in the last decades of the sixteenth century. Their aim was to promote ‘the New
Testament pattern of personal piety, sound doctrine and a properly ordered Church-life’. 2
They were promoters of a godly life and of the practice of personal piety in their daily
devotions as well as in church and in society. In the first place they were people of ‘spiritual
experience’. As Packer says: ‘In the Puritans’ communion with God, as Jesus Christ was
central, so Holy Scripture was supreme (…). Knowing themselves as creatures of thought,
affection, and will, and knowing that God’s way to the human heart (the will) is via the
human head (the mind), the Puritans practised meditation, discursive and systematic, on the
whole range of biblical truth as they saw is applying to themselves’. 3 Their ministers were
‘Physicians of the Soul’. Their writings were mostly devotional en practical guides for a
biblical Christian life, with a great stress on the applying work of the Holy Spirit.
Symptomatic for these themes is the second title of The Seven Treatises, written by an early
Puritan, Richard Rogers: Containing Such Directions as it is gathered out of the Holy
Scriptures, leading and guiding to true happiness, both in this life, and in the life to come:
and may be called the practise of Christianity...4
Thomas Shepard Works, vol. 3, [reprint Soli Deo Gloria, Ligonier, 1992], Second preface of ‘Clear Sunshine of
the Gospel breaking fort upon the Indians in New England’, p. 451..
2
Peter Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism, [Hayward Heath, 1975], p. 11.
3
J.I. Packer, Among God’s Giants. The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, [Eastbourne, 1991], p. 27.
4
Mentioned in William Haller, The Rise of Puritanism, [repr. Pennsylvania, 1972] p. 36. Richard Rogers,
William Perkins, William Ames, Arthur Hildersham are authors of the last decades of 16 th and the first decades
of 17th century. Their books were widely spread and a lot of them were translated in foreign languages such as
Dutch and German.
1
It is out of the order in this lecture to describe their ideals for purity in church and worship.
Their struggle for it is worth reading and studying. 5But I will lay stress on their movement as
‘A Movement of Revival’. This is their exclusiveness. They were soul winners longing for
revival, revival of heart, of life, of church, and of society. An example of the fulfilling of
their efforts we see in the ministry of Richard Baxter in Kidderminster from 1641 to 1660.
Let’s hear to his account of revival:
When I first entered on my labours I took special notice of everyone that was humbled,
reformed or converted; but when I had laboured long, it pleased God that the converts
were so many, that I could not afford time for such particular observations…families
and considerable numbers at once (…) came in and grew up I scarce knew how. 6
In this way the Puritans built on the framework which was laid by the Reformers such as John
Calvin. They tried to deepen and to analyse pneumatic subjects, not in a theoretical but in a
practical sense. Their spirituality was heart felt and experimental.
The Puritan Experiment
The ecclesiastical struggle of the Puritans in England brought them into an isolated position.
Church and State tried to take away their freedom. Some of them separated from the Anglican
Church, but most waited for better times. Less militant Puritans chose for propagating their
principles of piety, insofar as it was possible to stay in the Church. But when persecution
increased, a number of the Separatists fled to Holland and from this country sailed in 1620 to
the English colonies in America. They got a Charter for freedom, trade and the opportunity to
set up worship according to their principles. The ‘Pilgrim Fathers’, as they were called, were
followed in the years of 1630’s by numbers of Puritans who had not separated from the State
Church. They established in New England a theocratic community wholly based on puritan
principles. The godly governor John Winthrop saw the colonists engaged in a national
covenant with God. ‘They had been chosen by God to assist Him in the redemption of the
world by their complete obedience to His will.’ Winthrop told his fellow immigrants:
The Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us, as His own people and will
command a blessing upon us, in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His
wisdom, power, goodness and truth then formerly we have been acquainted with… for
we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon
us (…) 7
One of de experiments of the puritan colonists was the beginning of a missionary work among
the Indians, the native people of North America. The Seal of Massachusetts colony shows a
poor Indian who cries: “Come over and help us!’ The eminent John Eliot, pastor of Roxbury,
was chosen and called to be the first missionary among the natives. After study of their
language he went in 1646 to some tribes. He laboured with some fruit. The first converts
5
To the opinion of some scholars their struggle for church purity was the most dominant and not their inspiration
for holiness. To my opinion both sides are prominent in their aims. In the standard work of Daniel Neal, History
of the Puritans, their ‘power struggle that went on in church and state’ is essential, but he describes them in
context of their times. See Packer, Giants, p. 43.
6
Quoted by Packer, op,.cit., p. 53.
7
Francis J. Bremer, The Puritan Experiment. New England Society from Bradford to Edwards, [University Press
of New England, Hanover and London, 1995], p 89.
among the Indians were a great encouragement to continue the mission work.
Mather, pastor in Boston, wrote later on in a letter those striking words:
8
Increase
Behold, ye Indians, what love, what care, what cost, has been used by the English here,
for the salvation of your precious and immortal souls. It is not because we have
expected any temporal advantage from you that we have been thus concerned for your
good; no, it is God that has caused us to desire His glory in your salvation; and our
hearts have bled with pity over you, when we have seen how horrible the devil
oppressed you in this, and destroyed you in another world. 9
Eschatological motives
The great stimulation for mission and evangelization through what the Puritans were
constrained, was not only based on the biblical calling to ‘teach all nations’ (Matt. 28:19).
Their zeal was also stirred into action by their positive hope for future. Their hope was
revived and ripened in the first half of the seventeenth century, and was formed in the most
important expression of puritan belief, the Westminster Confession and two Catechisms. We
read in Question 191 of the Larger Catechism, ‘What do we pray for in the second petition’
(of the Lord’s Prayer; ‘Thy Kingdom come), as part of the Answer:
(…) we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel
propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought
in (….) 10
This sentence involves a new vision on the unfilled prophecy concerning the coming glorious
period on earth before the Second Advent of Christ, when His Name will be spread around the
world. This signiefies an abounding outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the Jews as well as
among the heathens. William Perkins (1558-1602) speaks plainly of a future conversion of the
Jews: “The Lord saith, “All the nations shall be blessed in Abraham”: Hence I gather that the
nation of the Jews shall be called, and converted to the participation of this blessing; when,
and how, God knows, but it shall be done before the end of the world we know’. 11 Some
Puritans as Thomas Brightman (1562-1607) and Joseph Mede (1586-1638) gave not only a
new exegesis of Romans 11 but turned the ‘Millennium’ of Revelation 20 from a symbolic
exposition into a reign of Christ on earth during thousands years. As Iain Murray says:
‘Brightman was one of the first divines of the puritan school to reject the argument that
Jews’conversion must be placed at he very end of history (…) The Jews calling, he believed,
would be part of a new and most era of history and not the end’. 12 Elnathan Parr (ca. 15801622) does not accept the interpretation of Continental theologians that the ‘fullness of the
Gentiles’ will precede the Jews’ national conversion and means that God’s work among them
will be complete:
The casting off of the Jews, was our calling; but the calling of the Jews shall not be our
casting off, but our greater enriching in grace, and that two ways: First, in regard of the
8
Alden T. Vaughan, New England Frontier,Puritan and Indians 1620-1675, [University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman and London, 1995], p 252-259.
9
Cotton Mather, The Great Works of Christ in America. Magnalia Christi Americana, vol. I, [The Banner of
Truth Trust, Edinburgh repr. 1979] p. 574.
10
The Confession of Faith (…) [published by the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Inverness, 1962], p. 274.
11
Iain Murray, the Puritan Hope, A Study in Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy, [The Banner of Truth
Trust, London, 1971] p42.
12
Iain Murray, o.c., p. 45, 46..
company of believers, when the thousands of Israel shall come in, which shall
doubtless cause many Gentiles which now lie in ignorance, error and doubt, to receive
the Gospel and join with them. The world shall be a golden world (…) Secondly, in
respect of the graces, which shall then in more abundance be rained down upon the
Church. 13
We will not discuss the several opinions on the Millennium, such as the Pre-millennialism or
Post-millennialism, or if the thousands years of Revelation 20 have a literal or symbolic
signification. 14 We speak of the longing of the Puritans for a ‘latter day glory’ on this not
renewed earth which will accompany by a national conversion of the Jews. Brightman who
hold the post-millennium view emphasizes the unity of Jews and Gentiles in ‘the revitalized
church during the millennium’.
‘He stressed the harmony of Old Testament prophecy on this point’: ‘The Lord shall
be King over all the earth, in that day there shall be one Lord, and His Name shall be
one’(Zach. 14:9). ‘And the Lord shall destroy in this mountain the covering that
covereth all people, and the veil that is spread upon all Nations, and the Lord shall
wipe away the tears from all faces’ (…). 15
Brightman was the first English divine who integrated the conversion of the Jews in a postmillennialistic eschatology. Many contemporaries took over his opinions and his motives
were applied to the political en ecclesiastical situation during the English Civil war in which
the Puritans played a foremost roll. They regarded the Pope as the antichrist and the Anglican
ritual as antichristian. They saw their political victory as a certain forerunner of the coming
worldwide glory of the Church of God. 16
The puritan movement in the seventeenth century had strong eschatological motives. The
combination of a deep personal piety with full attention to the needs of country and world are
theological elements of most English Puritans. Their religion was not introvert, but they were
conscious of the commission of the Saviour, not only to walk as children of light but also to
spread their light to the sinful world. This is no introspective pietism, but a demonstration of a
firm belief that Christ is not only the Head of His people and Church, but also King of all
nations. In ‘A Sermon preached to the Honourable House of Lords’ of the English Parliament,
the eminent Dr John Owen sayd:
The text [Hebr. 12:27: ‘And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of
those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot
be shaken may remain’] is plain, that it must be previous to the bringing in of those
things that cannot be moved; that is, the prosperous estate of the kingdom of Christ.
Only we may observe, that besides other shakings in particular nations, of less general
concernment and importance, this prophecy hath and shall receive a twofold eminent
13
Iain Murray, p. 46, 47.
The post-millennium view embraces a spiritual reign of Christ after the conversion of the Jews and before His
Advent; the pre-millennium view teaches a reign of Christ in person on earth after His coming.
15
J.A. de Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea. Millennial expectations in the rise of Anglo-American missions
1640-1810, [ J.H. Kok, Kampen, 1970] p. 20.
16
R.J. van Elderen, Toekomst voor Israël. Een theologie-historisch onderzoek naar de visie op de bekering der
Joden en de toekomst van Israël bij Engelse protestanten in de periode 1547-1670, tegen de achtergrond van
hun eschatologie, [Dissertatie-uitgeverij Mondiss, Kampen, 1992] p. 93-105.
14
accomplishment, with reference unto a twofold eminent opposition which the kingdom
of Christ hath met withal in the world. 17
The ‘twofold’ opposition is first ‘from he Pagan-Roman state’ and in the second place ‘from
antichristian Rome‘ that must have an end, and then ‘the Lord Jesus shall reign’ through His
glorious dominion. The saintly Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford (ca. 1600-1661)
exclaimed in a kind of ecstasy:
‘(...) He shall reign as a victorious conquering King to the ends of the earth. O that
there were nations, kindred tongues, and all the people of Christ’s habitable world,
encompassing his throne with cries and tears for the spirit of supplication to be poured
down upon the inhabitants of Judah for that effect’.
(…) O to see the sight, next to Christ’s Coming in the clouds, the most joyful! Our
elder brethren the Jews and Christ fall upon one another’s necks and kiss each other!
They have been long asunder; they will be kind to one another when they meet. O day!
O longed-for and lovely day-dawn! O sweet Jesus, let me see that sight which will be
life from the dead, thee and thy ancient people in mutual embraces.’ 18
18th Century Revivals: Stimulating puritan motives
If the unfilled prophecies of the Word of God have prospects for an abundant blessing before
Christ’ Coming, there is hope for the world! The positive eschatological motives of the
Puritans to mission, are not without prayers for revivals. A mission church ought to be a
revived church! Revivals are special outpourings of the Holy Spirit which are effective
instruments for the extension of the Kingdom of Christ! The Master commands us to pray
‘Thy Kingdom be come’ and urgent prayers for it are based on biblical promises for ‘a
plentiful effusion of the Holy Spirit’. The Puritan John Howe (1630-1705) remarks:
(1) There are many passages of Scripture that respect the matter of the church’s
increase by numerous conversions; which is an increase as to its extent, as the other
will be as to its glory (…) (He mentioned Isa. 2:2, Ps. 110:3, Joel 2:28 etc.)
(2) There are many Scriptures also that speak of the great improvement and growth of
Christians by the immediate work of the Spirit of God (…) [Howe does not intend as if
the Spirit works without means but he speaks of His special operations, such as
Pentecost and other revivals of which the Bible gives accounts]. 19
The puritan movement in the 17th century caused several local revivals, mainly in Scotland. In
1630 in Kirk of Shotts 500 souls were pricked in their heart by one sermon of a young
preacher, John Livingstone. 20 The Scotsman, Robert Fleming (1630-1694), described in his
The Fulfilling of the Scripture [published in 1664] this and other revivals in church history.
Another Scottish minister, Robert Millar (1672-1752), wrote the remarkable book The History
of the Propagation of Christianity, and Overtrow of Paganism [two volumes, 1730]. He
‘articulates the missionary implications of Scottish theology’s position on the prophesied
spread of Reformed Christianity to the ends of the earth.’ This is ‘one of the earliest books in
17
The Works of John Owen, edited by William H. Goold, vol. VIII, [The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh,
reprint 1976], p. 256.
18
Iain Murray, o.c., p. 98.
19
Iain Murray, p. 51, 52, 241-250.
20
Murray, p. 28.
the English language written with a concern for the evangelization of the world.’ 21 In his
Preface he ascertains that in his country there were no great opportunities for mission work
among the heathen. He exhorts the believers to ‘lay aside their divisions, parties and
unchristian humours’ in order to endeavour to perform the Christian duty to promote the
Gospel throughout the world.
If persons of extensive knowledge, bright love and charity to perishing souls and
animated with flaming zeal for the glory of God, would offer themselves as
Missionaries and might be orderly send into heathen countries, especially where they
can be encouraged and supported by European colonies. If these things were done,
what a glorious addition to the church of Christ might we justly expect? (…) The time
is coming, when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come and all Israel shall be saved.
Let us do our duty, and we need not doubt but God will crown it with success(…)22
At the end of his book, he concludes with the impressive words:
Can we ever act as we obliged, to promote the Glory of our blessed Lord and
Redeemer, who loved us and washed us with His own blood, who purchased our
salvation with His own death and sufferings? Can any momentary hardships we can
endure for propagating His Name over the World, be compared with what He did and
suffered for us? He supports encourages and sympathies with us under all our labour
and toil. He sweetens our way, and prepares for us a Crown of glory. Should not zeal
for the glory of our God, desire for the salvation of precious and immortal souls,
perishing under darkness and infidelity, and a pious concern for our Saviour’s
Kingdom, animate us with a holy warmth in this matter, ‘That there may be one fold
and one Shepherd, that God, even our God, may bless us, and all the ends of the earth
may fear Him. Amen.’ 23
In Millar’s life a new ‘season of grace’ begun. A great spiritual awakening was spread over
the British dominion and on the Continent, as in Germany, Austria, Silesia and other countries.
In England the revival was called the Methodist revival and in America ‘the Great
Awakening’. Well known names as George Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley and
Jonathan Edwards (1703-17 with many others are connected to an immense spiritual blessing
consisting in thousands of converts. Whitefield, the great itinerary evangelist exclaimed:
Surely Jesus Christ is about to set the worlds in a flame. He is working powerfully at
home; He is working powerfully abroad. I trust He will continue working, till the earth
be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 24
When revival came to Northampton in New England, America, in 1735/35 during the
powerful ministry of Jonathan Edwards, he believed that this work of the Spirit was a
fulfilment of the promises of Scripture on the ‘later day glory’. Except an interesting
Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, written one year after the revival, he published a
series of thirty-nine sermons with great attention to this topic which he delivered in his
21
J.A. de Jong, o.c., p. 111-113.
Robert Millar, The History of the Propagation of Christianity, and Overtrow of Paganism, vol. I, [Edinburgh,
1723], p. XVII, XVIII
23
Robert Millar, vol II, p. 602.
24
J. van den Berg, Constrained by Jesus’Love. An inquiry into the motives of the missionary awakening in Great
Britain in the period between 1698 and 1815, [J.H. Kok, Kampen, 1956], p. 83.
22
congregation in 1739. They were gathered together in a book titled: A History of the Work of
Redemption. It is a review of world history with the periods of blessing and of decline. 25
After he describes the ‘Present state of things with regards to the success of the Gospel’ he
follows with the greatest revival of all times when the glorious state of the church will be seen
worldwide. Before this Millennium, there will be a period of darkness. Thereafter will follow
the glorious state of the church:
The Spirit of God shall be gloriously poured out for the wonderful revival and
propagation of religion (…) This pouring out of the Spirit of God, when it is begun,
shall soon bring great multitudes to forsake that vice and wickedness which now so
generally prevails (…). Many shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, and
shall come as it were in flocks, one flock and multitude after another continually
flowing in, as in Isa 60:4, 5 (…) 26
Unfortunately the revival in America in the years of 1730 was abruptly broken up which was
a great disappointment for Edwards. Some years later he was deposed from his charge in
Northampton. In spite of the negative aspects of the revival work he did consider it generally
as a work of God and firmly believed that the Lord will grant in His time new abundant
blessings.
There is a direct relation between the Great Awakening and missions. The mission efforts of
the young friend of Edwards, David Brainerd (1718-1747), were an encouragement for the
leaders of revival. His Diary is a classic of missionary history. Brainerd became converted
during the revival and after his study at Yale College he went to Delaware Indians. 27After a
heavy start which was aggravated by his melancholic character, his preaching was much
blessed. In August 1745 a number of natives was led to Christ and accepted Him as their
Saviour. Brainerd’s account of this small revival among the Indians in Crossweeksung is
moving.
The divine presence seemed to be in the assembly. Numbers were affected with divine
truths, and it was a season of comfort to some in particular (…) The Word of God at
this time seemed to fall upon the assembly with a divine power and influence,
especially toward the close of my discourse. There was both sweet melting and bitter
mourning in the audience (…) So much of the divine presence appeared in the
assembly that it seemed ‘this was no other than the house of God, and the gate of
heaven.’ All that had any savour and relish of divine things were even constrained by
the sweetness of that season to say, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here!’ 28
Jonathan Edwards was a warm propagandist for missionary work among the heathens in
America. He laboured for some time among the Indians in Stockbridge. Another result of the
revival work was the so called ‘Concerted Prayer’, in which Edward had am important part.
After a revival in the Scottish parishes Cambuslang and Kilsyth in 1742, a group of ministers
in Scotland started a praying movement. They advised Christians in their country and abroad
to set apart one or more fixed days in a month to pray for the extension of the Kingdom of
Christ. They hoped that God
25
J.A. de Jong, o.c., p. 126, 127.
Jonathan Edwards, The History of Redemption, [Grand Rapids, n.d.] p. 305-307.
27
J. van den Berg, o.c., p. 91, 92.
28
Jonathan Edwards (ed), The Life and Diary of David Brainerd, [Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1999] p.
239-241.
26
‘would appear in His glory and favour Zion, and manifest His compassion to the world
of mankind, by an abundant effusion of His Holy Spirit on all the churches, and the
whole habitable earth, to revive true religion in all parts of Christendom, and to deliver
all nations from their great and manifold spiritual calamities and miseries, and bless
them with the unspeakable benefits of the Kingdom of our glorious Redeemer, and fill
the whole earth with His glory.’ 29
In order to work out this initiative Edwards published in 1748 a book in which he called up to
concerted prayer. Its very long title begins with: An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit
Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer. The unfilled
prophesies of the Old and New Testament form the basic of the call for prayer. Of course
Romans 11 is mentioned:
The apostle, in the 11th of Romans, teaches us to look on that great outpouring of the
Spirit, and ingathering of souls into Christ’s Kingdom, in those days, first of the Jews
and then of the Gentiles (…) And in that context, the apostle speaks of the fullness of
both Jews and Gentiles, as what shall hereafter be brought in, distinctly from the
ingathering from among both, in those primitive ages of Christianity (…) 30
In his concluding remarks Edwards pressed the call for united prayer as follows:
It is now proposed that this extraordinary united prayer should continue for seven
years, from November 1746 (…) But let it be considered, whether it will not be a poor
business, if our faith and patience is so short-winded, that we cannot be willing to wait
upon God for seven years, in a way of taking this little pains, in seeking a mercy so
infinitely vast. For my part, I sincerely wish and hope, that there may not be an end of
extraordinary united prayer, among God’s people for the effusions of the blessed Spirit,
when the seven years are ended (…)31
The Age of World Missions
Van den Berg stated that there is a link between Edwards’ An Humble Attempt and the
mission work of William Carey (1787-1852). In 1784 Dr John Erskine of Edinburgh sent it to
a group of leading Baptist ministers in Northamptonshire in England including Carey. After
the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 Carey sailed to India. He answered his
heart cry in his book An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to use Means for the
Conversion of the Heathen. His faith in the mighty God Who is able the open the hardest en
superstitious heart was strong. His motto became: ‘Expect great things from God; attempt
great things for God.’ 32 He wrote to his brethren:
When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but amongst
many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word
is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than
they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were
29
Quoted by J. van den Berg, a.w, p. 92, 93.
The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. Two, [The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh 1974] p. 286.
31
The Works, o.c., p. 312.
32
J. van den Berg, p. 106; Paul Pease, William Carey, [Day One Publications, Leominster, 2005] p. 40, 54.
30
deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on that sure Word, would rise
above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.
In America Edwards’ call had response in the founding of the New York Missionary Society
in 1798, followed by other societies. 33 Three years before the London Missionary Society
was established. One of its founders was David Bogue (1750-1825). He was a great stimulator
for world mission. On 30th of March 1792 he preached his famous sermon at Salters-Hall in
London, based on the text ‘Thy Kingdom come’. 34 I give a part of it:
We call ourselves the disciples of Christ: but is it owing to the coldness of the zeal of
Christians for the glory of God and the salvation of their fellow-creatures, that in so
great a part of the world the darkness of paganism envelops the people? (…) To our
coldness and want of zeal it is owing that millions of our fellow creatures are still
sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. And shall we sit unconcerned under
such a charge? God forbid. (…) We pray daily for the conversion of the heathen, and
for the glory of the latter days. So far we do well. But if there be a plan proposed by
which we may be instrumental in conveying the gospel to them, our prayers, if
unaccompanied with exertions to carry the plan into execution, are nothing better than
hypocrisy (…) 35
The call of Bogue and the co-founders of the LMS was grounded on puritan eschatology. The
favourite texts for their sermons were: Psalm 2:8, 72:17; Isaiah 11:9; Daniel 2:44, 7:14;
Matthew 6:10, 13:31-32. De Jong remarks: ‘Bogue captured the sheer inspirational effect of
these passages with the words of Revelation 19:6, which had also been used by Handel,
“Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth”.’ The coming glory of God on earth
which the unfilled prophecy promises, was the desire of their hearts! 36
The 19th century became according to Scott Latourette ‘the great century of mission’.
Hundreds missionaries were sent out to all continents. After England and America followed
Scotland with many men and women who spoke of the love of Christ to heathen people living
in idolatry and superstition in Africa and in the most remote places on the earth. Names as
Alexander Duff, John G. Paton, David Livingstone, Robert Moffat and many others are not
yet forgotten. Their works and the fruit of their mission follow them. Listen to David
Livingstone what he wrote in his diary in 1852:
O Jesus fill me with Thy love now, and I beseech Thee, accept me, and use me a little
for Thy glory. I have done nothing for Thee yet, and I would like to do something (…)
I will place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the
kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be
given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping of it I shall most promote the glory of
Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity. 37
Livingstone and many other missionaries in the 19th century were men full of the Spirit of
God and men of puritan principles. Their theology was a theology of heart, of practice, full of
love and fire. Kenneth Scott Latourette speaking of this ‘fire’ of protestant missionaries,
33
J. van den Berg, o.c., p. 93.
J.A. de Jong, o.c., p. 170.
35
Quoted by Iain Murray, o.c., p. 136, 137.
36
J.A. de Jong, o.c., p. 170.
37
Iain Murray, o.c., p. 172, 173.
34
makes his conclusion: ‘(…) Never before, however, had the followers of any faith formulated
comprehensive plans covering the entire surface of the earth to make these purposes effective’.
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Relevancy
What can we learn from the Puritans and their successors? What is the significance of their
principles for to-day, living in a post-modern world in Europe which for its most part has left
biblical principles? It is not my intention to analyse today situation. It is my desire to press
upon you the following points:
1. Study seriously the practice of Pentecostal church in Acts 1 and 2, especially 1:14 and
2:42 and make a diagnosis in biblical terms.
2. Arrange praying meetings in order to pray for revival of the church.
3. Read and study the works of the Puritans and their successors, including books of
‘today Puritans’ such as D.M. Lloyd-Jones and J.I. Packer.
4. Arrange meetings for ministers and church officers and invite speakers from abroad
who have a deep and spiritual message grounded on puritan theology.
A missionary church is a revived church! There is no effective mission without a revived
church! I hope to speak on this theme tomorrow.
We need of revival! This is the scope of my lecture. May the Lord give us a consciousness of
the urgency of a new outpouring of the Holy Ghost. This begins with a personal renewal of
heart and life. Let me conclude with a fragment of the sermon of Jonathan Edwards which he
preached at the funeral of David Brainerd. Is this not relevant today?
O that the things that were seen and heard in this extraordinary person, his holiness,
heavenliness, labour, and self-denial in his life, his so remarkably devoting himself
and his all, in heart and practice to the glory of God, and the wonderful frame of mind
manifested in so steadfast a manner, under the expectation of death, and the pains and
agonies that brought it on, may excite in us all, both ministers and people, a due sense
of the greatness of the work we have to do in the world, the excellency and
amiableness of thorough religion in experience and practice, and the blessedness of the
end of such a life, and the infinite value of their eternal reward, when absent from the
body and present with the Lord; and effectually stir us up to endeavour that, in the way
of such a holy life, we may at last come to so blessed and end. 39
Dordrecht, 27th of February 2007
This lecture was spoken on a Conference of ‘Bonus Pastor Trust’ in Ozd, Romania. April
2007.
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39
Iain Murray, a.w., on backover.
Jonathan Edwards, The Works, vol. II, p. 36.