The Works of John Cotton, Volumes 1-5

Description

John Cotton shaped the doctrine, worship, and discipline of a fledgling society striving to live fully under God’s Word. With clarity, conviction, and pastoral warmth, he addressed both the great ecclesiastical questions and the intimate personal wrestlings of his time. The Works of John Cotton gathers his most important treatises and sermons in a newly edited, cloth-bound set. It recovers a vital link in the chain of Reformed thought and reintroduces a voice that helped shape the American church before it had a name.

Contents

Volume 1: Puritan Piety

General Preface
Introduction—Puritan Piety

1. The Way of Life, or God’s Way and Course in Bringing the Soul in, Keeping It in, and Carrying It on the Ways of Life and Peace
2. A Brief Exposition with Practical Observations upon the Whole Book of Ecclesiastes
3. God’s Mercy Mixed with His Justice, or His People’s Deliverance in Times of Danger
4. Milk for Babes, Drawn Out of Both Testaments, Chiefly for the Spiritual Nourishment of Boston Babes in Either England, but May Be of Like Use for Any Children
5. Treatise of Faith; Twelve Fundamental Articles of Christian Religion; A Doctrinal Conclusion; Questions and Answers upon Church Government
6. Some Treasure Fetched Out of Rubbish
7. God’s Promise to His Plantation
8. Prefatory Epistle in John Norton, Responsio ad totam quaestionum syllogen à clarissimo viro domino Guilielmo Apollonio
9. Prefatory Epistle in John Norton, The Orthodox Evangelist, or A Treatise Wherein Many Great Evangelical Truths Are Briefly Discussed, Cleared, and Confirmed
10. Prefatory Epistle in Arthur Hildersham, Lectures upon the Fourth of John

Scripture Index
Subject Index

Volume 2: Antinomian Controversy

General Preface
Introduction—Antinomian Controversy

1. A Practical Commentary, or an Exposition, with Observations, Reasons, and Uses upon the First Epistle of John
2. Gospel Conversion, Discovering (1) Whether Any Gracious Conditions or Qualifications Are Wrought in the Soul before Faith in Christ, (2) How the Assurance of a Man’s Salvation Is to Be Evidenced, and (3) the Manner of the Soul’s Closing with Christ
3. Several Questions of Serious and Necessary Consequence, Propounded by the Teaching Elders, unto Mr. John Cotton of Boston in New England with His Respective Answer to Each Question
4. Rejoinder
5. The Covenant of God’s Free Grace, Most Sweetly Unfolded and Comfortably Applied to a Disquieted Soul from the Text of 2 Samuel 23:5

Scripture Index
Subject Index

Volume 3: Religious Liberty

1. Christ, the Fountain of Life, or Sundry Sermons on Part of the Fifth Chapter of the First Epistle of John
2. A Treatise of the Covenant of Grace, as It Is Dispensed to the Elect Seed Effectually unto Salvation, Being the Substance of Divers Sermons Preached upon Acts 7:8
3. A Sermon Preached by the Reverend Mr. John Cotton, Teacher of the First Church in Boston, New England, Delivered at Salem, 1636
4. The Controversy Concerning Liberty of Conscience in Matters of Religion, Truly Stated, and Distinctly and Plainly Handled
5. A Letter of Mr. John Cotton’s, Teacher of the Church in Boston, New England, to Mr. Williams, a Preacher There
6. The Bloody Tenet, Washed and Made White in the Blood of the Lamb. Whereunto Is Added a Reply to Mr. Williams’s Answer
7. A Discourse about Civil Government in a New Plantation Whose Design Is Religion
8. An Abstract of the Laws of New England, as They Are Now Established

Scripture Index
Subject Index

Volume 4: Congregational Polity

General Preface
Introduction—Congregational Polity

1. The True Constitution of a Particular Visible Church, Proved by Scripture
2. The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Power Thereof, according to the Word of God
3. The Way of the Churches of Christ in New England, or The Way of Churches Walking in Brotherly Equality or Coordination, without Subjection of One Church to Another
4. The Way of Congregational Churches Cleared, in Two Treatises. In the Former, from the Historical Aspersions of Mr. Robert Baillie’s Book Called A Dissuasive from the Errors of the Time. In the Latter, from Some Contradictions of Vindiciae Clavium, and from Some Misconstructions of Learned Mr. Rutherford’s Book Entitled The Due Right of Presbyteries
5. The Holiness of Church Members, in Two Treatises
6. Certain Queries, Tending to Accommodation and Communion of Presbyterian and Congregational Churches
7. A Modest and Clear Answer to Mr. Ball’s Discourse of Set Forms of Prayer
8. Singing of Psalms: A Gospel Ordinance, or A Treatise wherein These Particulars Are Handled: The Duty Itself, the Matter to Be Sung, the Singers, the Manner of Singing
9. The Grounds and Ends of the Baptism of the Children of the Faithful, Opened in a Familiar Discourse by Way of a Dialogue or Brotherly Conference
10. A Short Discourse of Mr. John Cotton, Touching the Time When the Lord’s Day Begins, Whether at the Evening or in the Morning

Scripture Index
Subject Index

Volume 5: Apocalyptic History

General Preface
Introduction—Apocalyptic History

1. The Pouring Out of the Seven Vials, or An Exposition of the Sixteenth Chapter of Revelation with an Application of It to Our Times
2. The Church’s Resurrection, or The Opening of Revelation 20:5–6
3. An Exposition upon the Thirteenth Chapter of the Revelation
4. A Brief Exposition of the Whole Book of Canticles, Lively Describing the Estate of the Church in All the Ages Thereof, Both Jewish and Christian, to This Day
5. A Brief Exposition with Practical Observations upon the Whole Book of Canticles

Scripture Index
Subject Index

Endorsements

"Not only was John Cotton the patriarch of New England in terms of his influence on both the civil and ecclesiastical life of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; he was also a patriarch of the Puritan movement at large, a preacher in the tradition of experiential and plain preaching inherited from William Perkins, and a cornerstone of the Puritan legacy in America and beyond. In a day when antinomianism is rife, biblical churchmanship is often neglected, and the enemies of the gospel continue to wage their futile warfare against Christ, John Cotton’s writings on antinomianism, ecclesiology, and exegetical richness displaying the fullness of Christ (for example, see his remarkable First John sermonic commentary)—now painstakingly edited and freshly introduced by Dr. Stephen Yuille for a new generation. While Cotton will not please everyone in all that he writes—he can be rather provocative in his writings on civil government, polemical in his work on church government, and speculative in his comments on Revelation—few can deny the power of his experiential preaching, the vibrancy of his Puritan piety, the zeal of his love for Christ, and the depth of his acquaintance with Scripture. Let this spiritual giant, who helped bring the Puritan tradition of Old England to the shores of New England, guide you into the old paths of piety where you will find rest for your soul."
—Dr. Joel R. Beeke, Chancellor and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and pastor of Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan

"The publication of the Works of John Cotton marks a monumental accomplishment. For the first time in nearly four hundred years, we have an accessible and faithful compilation of the writings and theology of one of the greatest divines in Puritan history. What was common knowledge two centuries ago but has been lost to modern believers is the titanic influence of John Cotton on both Puritan and American history. He was a lion in the pulpit for the truth and a stalwart for the Reformed faith. His writings are thoughtful, rich, gracious, and pastoral. His powerful impact on the church in his day was unquestionable. He truly is a Puritan great who is worthy of remembrance and faithful study. It is my hope that these volumes will be devoured and studied, and that the faithful legacy of John Cotton will be permanently reclaimed."
—Nate Pickowicz, pastor of Harvest Bible Church, Gilmanton Iron Works, New Hampshire, and co-author of The American Puritans

"With a ministry that spanned the Atlantic Ocean, touching both old and new England, John Cotton stands as one of the most influential figures in the Puritan tradition. His exposition of congregational polity and covenant theology are as important today as the day it was first penned. Combining scholarly acumen with keen pastoral insight, Cotton’s application of biblical doctrine to all of life still resonates centuries later. Every student of Puritan theology will find in Cotton’s works a deep well of biblical wisdom that continues to illuminate the path of godliness."
—Stephen Yuille, Director of Puritan Publishing, Reformation Heritage Books

About the Editor

Stephen Yuille is director of Puritan publishing at Reformation Heritage Books. He also serves as a pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas, and as a professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

About the Author

John Cotton (1585–1652) graduated from the University of Cambridge University and is a highly regarded Puritan scholar, preacher, and counselor. He was appointed minister at St. Botolph’s Church, Boston, Lincolnshire, England, in 1612. Twenty years later, because of a crackdown in the Church of England against nonconformity, Cotton was forced into hiding and in 1633 sailed across the Atlantic to New England, where he became a minister in Boston, Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Cotton was instrumental in the establishment and growth of Congregationalism, which became the dominant church polity in New England.