In the previous article we sought to introduce the
forgotten doctrinal Puritan, Thomas Adams,
surveying what little is known of his life, identifying
his substantial literary legacy and drawing some
contemporary lessons from his homiletical style.
In this concluding article we want to concentrate on
the content of Adams' preaching. Style is of some
importance, certainly, but content is fundamental.
Adams himself says:
Indeed, rhetorical flourishes without solid matter is like
an Egyptian bondwoman in a queen's robes. (1)
In the course of his sermons, Adams considers a
wide variety of themes. In this article we wish to
consider something of what he has to say in the
central area of Christian piety. From the time of
Elizabeth we can trace an increasing interest in
matters of personal piety, but the interest goes back
to Tyndale, Bradford and the Reformers. Adams
himself declares that
The main intents of all preachers and the contents of all
sermons aim to beat down sin and to convert sinners. (2)
This he seeks to do by a variety of means. Here we wish
to outline some of his more distinctive approaches.
At the end of a sermon on Psalm 94:19 called Man's
Comfort in a passage typical of his style he likens sin,
repentance and pardon to the English Spring
months of March, April and May.
Sin comes in like March, blustering, stormy, and full of
bold violence. Repentance succeeds like April, showering,
weeping, and full of tears. Pardon follows like May,
springing, singing, full of joys and flowers. In application, he says
If our hands have been full of March, with tempests of
unrighteousness, our eyes must be full of April, with the
sorrow of repentance; and then our hearts shall be full of
May, in the true joy of forgiveness.
Sin, repentance and forgiveness are themes that
Adams often deals with and an examination of what
he says on these three great subjects will give us a
good idea of his approach. Adams spoke of sin in
order to excite repentance, and repentance in order to
help people to find forgiveness. He tends to spend
more time on sin and less on repentance and
forgiveness. As he himself might have put it, in his
sermons March is longer than April or May!
Sin
I D E Thomas records typical aphorisms from
Adams on this subject.
Heaven begins where sin ends.
When gifts are in their eminency, sin may be in its
prevalency.
Sin is the strength of death and the death of strength.
Iniquity can plead antiquity. (3)
Adams is clear on original sin, as is apparent from
his sermon on Psalm 58:4 A generation of serpents and
his Meditations on the creed. (4)
In a sermon on Galatians
5:9 he likens sin to leaven. As leaven is 'not bread
but the corruption that maketh bread' so 'sin is not
a created quality, but the corruption of a created
quality.' Dough becomes leaven by adding salt, so
'The very same work that might be good and
acceptable to God, by addition of out pravity
becomes evil.' As sour leaven makes bread tasty, 'so
by the ungodly's most cursed sins God will advance
his glory.' As man cannot live on bread alone, much
less on leaven so 'No man can live for ever by his
righteousness and good works, much less by his
sins.' 'Lastly, sin and leaven are fitly compared for
their sourness' to God, angels, saints and the sinner
himself.
In the second half of The fool and his sport Adams speaks about actual sin. He says some eight things to show that it must be taken very seriously. Sin is entirely contrary to goodness. It brings on judgements even in this life and where it does not that should make us alert to the fearful judgement ahead. Though little sense of guilt is present now, there will be a very great sense of it one day. Sin provokes God to anger. What a fearful thing to fall into his hands. Sin was punished even in heaven, when the angels that sinned were thrown down. It is so loathsome that God 'could not save his own elect because of it, bur by killing his own son.' 'Lastly, Sin shall be punished with death'. (6)
In another place he compares sin with leprosy, emphasizing that sin is ubiquitous, soul infecting, hereditary, incurable, going on beyond death, shutting us out from fellowship with God and, unpurged by repentance, from heaven itself. (7) We need to see that
Every sin dishonours God and offers to stick ignominy upon that infinite majesty; therefore deserves an infinite penalty. (8)
The trouble is that we fall to temptation too easily. Satan doth diversify his drinks, to keep the wicked man's appetite fresh and sharp. If he be weary of one sin, behold another, stands at his elbow. (9) Temptation misleads the navigators with a pirate's light'. Sin is like a bloody prince that, having invited several great men to a great feast, flattered them one by one and then chopped off their heads. She hath a siren's voice, mermaid's face, a Helen's beauty, to tempt thee; but a leper's touch, a serpent's sting, a traitorous hand to wound thee. The best way to conquer sin is by Parthian war, to run away. (10) What we need to see, therefore, is the harm that sin does. In the second part of The fatal banquet Adams goes to great lengths to show that 'every sin robs some'. Some sins particularly harm God - atheism, heresy, sacrilege, faction and profaneness. Others particularly harm men - irreverence, murder, adultery, thievery, slander and flattery. Still others directly harm ourselves - pride, epicurism, idleness, envy, drunkenness, covetousness. All these should be incentives to turn from sin. (11) This last section highlights Adams' determination not to preach simply against sin in general terms but against particular sins. In another listing of sins he attacks epicurism, pride, lust, hypocrisy, avarice, usury, ambition, drunkenness, idleness, swearing lying busybodying, flattery, ingratitude, anger, envy, contention, impatience, vainglory and papistry. (12)
In a generation of serpents he attacks the 'salamander' of contentiousness, the 'dart' of anger, the 'dipsas' of drunkenness, (13) the 'crocodile' of hypocrisy, the 'cockatrice' of prostitution, the 'caterpillar' of covetousness, the 'asp' of the Roman Catholic infiltrator, the 'lizard' or 'tortoise' of sloth, the 'sea serpent' of piracy, the 'stellion' of extortion and the 'draco' or devil himself. (14) Besides these sins he also attacks failing to pay debts or keep promises, (15) extortion, (16) duelling (17) and other sinful practices. (18) Often he is very specific regarding the sins of certain callings. He rails against the tricks of shopkeepers who hide the truth, especially apothecaries who might cause their customers' deaths. (19) In one place he lists 'many kinds of private thieves'. These are magistrates ruled by popularity, partiality or passion; lawyers who double deal or are dishonest in other ways; officers involved in bribery; tradesmen with false weights and measures, deficient goods and preying on men's necessities; those who take advantage of the church to line their pockets; covetous landlords; engrossers who 'hoard up commodities and by stopping their community raise the price'; enclosers who were still taking common land for themselves; (20) tap-house keepers and taverners who 'chop away a good conscience for money' and encourage drunkenness; flatterers who think of ways for the rich to make money; brokers and breakers, by which he means unscrupulous pawnbrokers and bailiffs; usurers. (21) Adams often opposed this latter sin, little spoken against today. (22) With all this negative content it must not be supposed that Adams fails to encourage virtue. In his A contemplation of the herbs mentioned above he advocates humility, patience, joy, charity, contentment, continence, meekness, frugality, peaceable love, pureness of heart, confidence in God's promises, following Christ, casting care away and good resolution. (23) Among the gates to the City of peace are patience and beneficence. (24)
Repentance
Adams speaks of repentance in one place as 'that old laundress'. (25) Elsewhere he assures us that tears of repentance will not drown us but will save us from drowning. Emergent repentance is 'the main plank that shall preserve thee from perishing'. (26) People do not care for repentance by nature. In one passage, Adams exclaims 'O blessed repentance, how sweet and amiable art thou! Yet how few love thee!' He identifies some of the characters who hate it - the proud great man, the greedy wealthy, the miserly 'country Nabal', cheating 'avarous citizens', the hypocritical 'muffled lawyer', the bloodthirsty 'sharking officer'. The usurer, drunkard and adulterer are obvious targets but, he points out, the tragedy is Autumn 2004 that they think they will one day repent before it is too late. (27) How foolish to think repentance is something so easy. Tears alone will not do it. Judas and Esau wept as much as David and Peter, but they did not repent in their souls. (28) In The Black Saint where he deals directly with superficial repentance, he warns that
Sin is congealed, concorporated, baked on; and must be pared and digged away by greater violence than sweeping .... Impiety is habituated by custom, hardened by impenitency, incorporated to him by his affection to it; and shall he think that a formal repentance, like a soft besom, can sweep it clean? Can a few drops and sprinklings of water purge off the inveterate foulness and corruption of the flesh? There is required much rinsing to whiten a defiled sou1. (29)
Some think they can 'boldly, stain the cloth a whole vintage, and at last let one washing serve for all' or put out a thousand fires with one tear. This is a great error. 'Repentance' can be thought of as 'an ascent of four steps'. (30) Some don't even begin on this ascent, others only come so far. Unless we ascend all four stairs we are not really repenting. We must begin with amendment of life and preparation for Christ's coming. The third rung on the ladder is abstaining from sin and setting out on a new path. All these are useless if they do not lead to actual repentance. That is the only 'bulwark to defend us from the shot of God's thunder from heaven' and hedge against 'his judgements on earth'. (31)
Repentance ought to be a daily thing. God is very gracious but to rely on a last-minute repentance is not wise. 'It is better to make this thy diet than thy physic.' 'He that will wear a crown in heaven must be all his life on earth preparing it.' (32)
Adams also speaks of repentance and her daughter, faith, as 'rwo most valiant and puissant (i.e. powerful) soldiers that are the soul's champion.' They fight sin and lust and all the powers of evil. Repentance fights with some apparent disadvantages. She fights kneeling and stoops as low as she can.' However, this invites mercy and 'the fearful thunder of vengeance is resisted by the soft wool of repentance.' Then there is the fact that her fellow-soldiers can often fail - faith droops, hope faints, conscience sleeps. However, Holy fear wakens conscience; conscience, faith; faith hope; and hope, repentance; and there is pardon and comfort. Similarly, by bringing up the rear this 'conquering queen' may seem far off but 'comes in with her reserve' and deals with sin,at last. (33)
On March 29, 1625, the first Tuesday after the death of King James I, Adams preached in Whitehall. Seeking to take advantage of the sober frame that many were in, he preached on Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. (34) It is a brief but powerful sermon in which he refuses to 'pull the text in pieces' and simply works his way through Job's words. On I repent he notes that repentance is 'better known than practised'. He seeks to urge everyone to take advantage of this 'universal antidote'. He especially warns against supposing it is something we can do at will. After some time on the subject he closes with this beautifully arresting paragraph.
If I should give you the picture of repentance, 1 would tell you that she is a virgin fair and lovely; and those tears, which seem to do violence to her beauty, rather indeed grace it. Her breast is sore with the strokes of her own penitent hands, which are always either in Moses's posture in the mount, lift up towards heaven, or the publican's in the temple, smiting her bosom. Her knees are hardened with constant praying; her voice is hoarse with calling to heaven; and when she cannot speak, she delivers her mind in groans. There is not a tear fails from her, but an angel holds a bottle to catch it. She thinks every man's sins less than her own, every man's good deeds more. Her compunctions are unspeakable, known only to God and herself. She could wish, not only men, but even beasts, and trees, and stones, to mourn with her. She thinks no sun should shine, because she takes no pleasure in it; that the lilies should be clothed in black, because she is so apparelled. Mercy comes down like a glorious cherub, and lights on her bosom, with this message from God, 'I have heard thy prayers, and seen thy tears;' so with a handkerchief of comfort dries her cheeks, and tells her that she is accepted in Jesus Christ.
In a sermon on Galatians 6:7 Man's seed-time and harvest or Lex Talionis Adams lists seven general pleas or excuses given for sin. He mentions predestination, God's will, ignorance, outweighing good deeds, God's mercy, Christ's infinite satisfaction and repentance. Dealing with this latter excuse he points out that although God promises to forgive you if you repent, whereas he will always be 'so good as his promise', you cannot be so sure that you will be 'so good as thy purpose'. You can only expect God to 'forgive thee repenting' not to 'give thee repentance sinning'. The promise is to repentance' not of 'repentance'. Repentance is Gods gift. Unless God give thee repentance, and another mind, thou shalt speed as the lost angels did; for God may as easily cast thee from the earth as he did them from heaven. (36)
Forgiveness
'God is glorious,' Adams observes, 'in all of his works, but most glorious in his works of mercy.' He suggests that this may be why Paul refers to the glorious gospel in 1 Timothy 1: 11. (37)
It is in forgiving men's sins that God shows his greatest glory.
In his sermon Mystical Bedlam (38) he says that the heart needs emptying, cleansing and replenishing. If you welcome repentance, knocking at your door from God, it shall knock at God's door of mercy for you. It asks of you amendment, of God forgiveness.
He goes on:
The heart thus emptied of that inveterate corruption, should fitly be washed before it be replenished. The old poison sticks so fast in the grain of it, that there is only one thing of validity to make it clean - the blood of Jesus Christ. It is this that hath bathed all hearts that ever were, or shall be, received into God's house of glory. This blood cleanseth us from all sin,' I John 1:7 ... In vain were all repentance without this: no tears can wash the heart clean but those bloody ones which the side of Christ and other parts wept, when the spear and nails gave them eyes, whiles the Son of eternal joy became a mourner for his brethren. Could we mourn like doves, howl like dragons, and lament beyond the wailings in the valley of Hadadrimmon, quid prosunt lachrymae - what boots it to weep where there is no mercy? And how can there be mercy without the blood of Christ? This is that ever-running fountain, that sacred pool of Bethesda,' which, without the mediation of angels, stands perpetually unforbidden to all faithful visitants. Were our leprosy worse than Naaman's, here is the true water of Jordan, or pool of Siloam 'Wash, and be clean.' Bring your hearts to this bath, ye corrupted sons of men. Hath God given you so precious a laver, and will you be unclean still? Pray, entreat, beseech, send up to heaven the cries of your tongues and hearts for this blood; call upon the preserver of men,' not only to distil some drops, but to wash, bathe, soak your hearts in this blood. Behold, the Son of God himself, that shed this blood, doth entreat God for you; the whole choir of all the angels and saints in heaven are not wanting. Let the meditation of Christ's mediation for you give you encouragement and comfort. Happy son of man, for whom the Son of God supplicates and intercedes! What can he request and not have!
He doth not only pray for you, but even to you, ye sons of men. Behold him with the eyes of a Christian, faith and hope, standing on the battlements of heaven, having that for his pavement which is our ceiling, offering his blood to wash your hearts, which he willingly lost for your hearts; denying it to none but wolves, bears, and goats, and such reprobate, excommunicate, apostate spirits that tread it under their profane and luxurious feet, esteeming that an unholy thing wherewith they might have been sanctified' Heb.l0:29. Come we then, come we, though sinners, if believers, and have our hearts washed. By his death Christ the Lamb has provided nourishment, covering and cleansing for all who trust in him. His flesh is meat indeed ... the fleece of his imputed righteousness keeps us warm, clothe our nakedness, hides our uncleanness .... His blood hath recovered our life, our health, and washed us as white as the snow in Salmon. (39) On the fullness of forgiveness he says that 'Sins are so remitted as if they had never been committed.' (40) Of course, without faith all that Christ has done is useless to us. Adams urges: The blood of Christ runs fresh; but where is thy pipe of faith to derive it from his side to thy conscience? Say it should shower mercy, yet if thou wantest faith, all would fall beside thee. There would be no more favour for thee than if there was no Saviour. (41)
Other aspects of piety
With some sadness, Adams states at one point: ... as there was never less wisdom in Greece than in the time of the seven wise men so never less piety among us than now, when upon good cause most is expected.42 With some nostalgia he compares former times with Leah, 'blear-eyed but fruitful' and his own with Rachel, 'fair, but barren'. From our vantage point the disappointment expressed may be hard to accept. The suggestion that piety was diligently sown cannot be gainsaid, however. Adams himself preaches not only sin, repentance and forgiveness, but many other aspects of piety too. Assurance has been identified as a crucial element in Puritan piety, as both a root and a fruit. Adams has a sermon called Heaven made sure or the certainty of salvation on Psalm 35:343 where he asserts: l. That salvation may be made sure to man. 2. That the best saints have desired to make their salvation sure. He carefully applies this second point, noting that there are degrees of assurance and that even 'The wealthiest saints have suspected their poverty' and 'the richest in grace are yet 'poorest in spirit.' Somewhere he also says that 'Sense of sin may be often great, and more felt than grace; yet not be more than grace.' It is like when a person's body is well but he is more aware of his finger aching. He puts it in perspective. (44)
Assurance is not always immediate. There is also such a thing as a false assurance. Assurance comes 'by word, by deed, and by seal' - Scripture, good deeds and the inward witness. It is the sweetest comfort a man can know in this life. In various ways God speaks to the Soul of the believer, speaking peace to his conscience and assurance of salvation to his soul. Adams is very clear that conversion must lead to godliness: A sound conversion is proved by a good conversation. But tremble ye wicked; if ye have not fought in his camp, ye shall not shine in his court. (45) Good deeds are such things that no-one is saved for them, or without them. We know there is a sun in heaven, yet we cannot see what matter it is made of, but perceive it only by the beams, light and heat. Election is a sun, the eyes of eagles cannot see it; yet we may find it in the heat of vocation, in the light of illumination, in the beams of good works (46)
We cannot be perfect in this life but we must seek to be thoroughly sanctified. (47) Adams warns against the traditional triumvirate of foes, the world, the flesh and the devil. (48) Worldliness is 'too much oil which quencheth our lamp'; the flesh borrows the vessel of the heart and returns it 'broken, lacerated, deformed, defaced'; the devil is a fisherman who 'baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish' , (49) then a cannibal who feeds on human flesh; a crafty fox first and then a strong lion. (50) As one would expect, Adams is a great advocate of prayer and of getting to know the all-sufficient Word of God. (51) He is keen on kneeling for prayer. 'Never tell me of a humble heart, where I see a stubborn knee.' (52)
Without fear the good child may come to his kind father . ... We believe in our Father, ability to give, never denying; wisdom to give, never repenting; goodness to give, never upbraiding. This makes us cry, not speak softly, as in fear, but loud, as in assurance. When the king has promised a boon, the subject comes with special security into the presence. Are we laden with sin ... privy to imperfections ... Do we fear some judgement ... are we haunted with a temptation ... full of thankfulness ... ? We have the warrant of a Father, Pray, and be comforted. Shake off the dust of neglect from the cover, and wear out the leaves with turning; continually imploring the assistance of God's Spirit, that you may read with understanding, understand with memory, and remember with comfort; that your soul's closet may never be unstored of those heavenly receipts which may ease your griefs, cure your wounds, expel your sicknesses, preserve your healths, and keep you safe to the coming of Jesus Christ. (53)
He advocates the orderly piety that we associate with Puritan godliness: We must give the first hour of the day, the first work of our hands, the first words of our lips to the Lord. (54)
At night we must give account how we have spent our day; happy are we if we can make our reckoning even with God; a day misspent is lost. ... I fear too many may say so of the whole day of their lives: I have lost my day. Time is precious; and howsoever our pride and lusts think it, God so highly prizeth it that he will punish the loss of a short time with a revenge beyond all times: the misspense of a temporal day with an eternal night. Every hour hath wings, and there is no moment passing from us but it flies up to the Maker of time, and bears him true tidings how we have used it.There is no usury tolerable but of two things, grace and time; and it is only blessed wealth that is gotten by improving them to the best. We brought with us into the world sin enough to repent of all our short day. There is no minute flies over our head without new addition to our sins and therefore brings new reason for our sorrows. We little think that every moment we misspend is a record against us in heaven, or that every idle hour is entered into God's registry and stands there in capital letters till our repentant tears wash it out ... (55)
He urges self-examination, another typically Puritan activity. He calls for a natural, moral and spiritual self-contemplation, remembering our souls and spirits, considering our frequent sins and searching our hearts so that we sound 'the lowest depths of conscience' and spy 'blemishes in the face of whitest innocence'. (56) In his sermon on England's sickness, Adams commends moderation, labouring in our callings, and abstinence. (57) On the second of those subjects he says 'Let the shoemaker look to his boot, the fisher to his boat, the scholar to his book.' (58)
Finally, hear him on death: All are like actors on a stage, some have one part and some another, death is still busy amongst us; here drops one of the players, we bury him with sorrow, and to our scene again: then falls another, yea all, one after another, till death be left upon the stage. Death is that damp Autumn 2004 which puts out all the dim lights of vanity. Yet man is easier to believe that all the world shall die, than to suspect himself. (59)
Death is ready at hand about us, we carry deaths enow within us. We know we shall die, we know not how soon; it can never prevent us, or come too early, if our souls be in the keeping of God. (60) For the believer it is 'nothing else but a bridge over this tempestuous sea to paradise.' Though evil in itself, cannot ultimately harm the good, as it is the door to eternal life. He likens the believer's death to a clock-mender dismantling and cleaning a timepiece to make it 'go more perfectly'. (61) ... though the soul is got ten when man is made, yet it is, as it were, born when he dies: his body being the womb, and death the midwife that delivers it to glorious perfection. The good man may then well say ... 'Death shall be my advantage' ... His happiest hour is when ... he can say 'Into thy hands, Lord, I commend my soul'. Conclusion So should we all tush to buy copies of Adams' works for ourselves and for others? Should we be laying Bunyan, Goodwin, Owen and Watson on one side and taking up Adams? It probably would not do us any great harm, but Adams' strength is in his aphorisms and illustrations, not in his systematic treatment of doctrines and passages of Scripture. We would probably be wise to buy the Commentary on 2 Peter before the sermons. The sermons need to be put under a gentle heat until the aphorisms are distilled and then presented in something of the style found in I D E Thomas's collection. This may sound sacrilegious but when we consider the wealth of talent that followed Adams, it should be no surprise to us that, stood on his shoulders, they produced superior work. Rather than completely neglecting Adams, however, let us make what use of him we can. Hunt down his The three divine sisters and his Crucifix or some of the other items that we have mentioned, store up his axioms as best you know how and let us be thankful for a man of God, who preached faithfully and in the power of the Spirit, who served his own generation and was then gathered to his fathers in glory.
In the second half of The fool and his sport Adams speaks about actual sin. He says some eight things to show that it must be taken very seriously. Sin is entirely contrary to goodness. It brings on judgements even in this life and where it does not that should make us alert to the fearful judgement ahead. Though little sense of guilt is present now, there will be a very great sense of it one day. Sin provokes God to anger. What a fearful thing to fall into his hands. Sin was punished even in heaven, when the angels that sinned were thrown down. It is so loathsome that God 'could not save his own elect because of it, bur by killing his own son.' 'Lastly, Sin shall be punished with death'. (6)
In another place he compares sin with leprosy, emphasizing that sin is ubiquitous, soul infecting, hereditary, incurable, going on beyond death, shutting us out from fellowship with God and, unpurged by repentance, from heaven itself. (7) We need to see that
Every sin dishonours God and offers to stick ignominy upon that infinite majesty; therefore deserves an infinite penalty. (8)
The trouble is that we fall to temptation too easily. Satan doth diversify his drinks, to keep the wicked man's appetite fresh and sharp. If he be weary of one sin, behold another, stands at his elbow. (9) Temptation misleads the navigators with a pirate's light'. Sin is like a bloody prince that, having invited several great men to a great feast, flattered them one by one and then chopped off their heads. She hath a siren's voice, mermaid's face, a Helen's beauty, to tempt thee; but a leper's touch, a serpent's sting, a traitorous hand to wound thee. The best way to conquer sin is by Parthian war, to run away. (10) What we need to see, therefore, is the harm that sin does. In the second part of The fatal banquet Adams goes to great lengths to show that 'every sin robs some'. Some sins particularly harm God - atheism, heresy, sacrilege, faction and profaneness. Others particularly harm men - irreverence, murder, adultery, thievery, slander and flattery. Still others directly harm ourselves - pride, epicurism, idleness, envy, drunkenness, covetousness. All these should be incentives to turn from sin. (11) This last section highlights Adams' determination not to preach simply against sin in general terms but against particular sins. In another listing of sins he attacks epicurism, pride, lust, hypocrisy, avarice, usury, ambition, drunkenness, idleness, swearing lying busybodying, flattery, ingratitude, anger, envy, contention, impatience, vainglory and papistry. (12)
In a generation of serpents he attacks the 'salamander' of contentiousness, the 'dart' of anger, the 'dipsas' of drunkenness, (13) the 'crocodile' of hypocrisy, the 'cockatrice' of prostitution, the 'caterpillar' of covetousness, the 'asp' of the Roman Catholic infiltrator, the 'lizard' or 'tortoise' of sloth, the 'sea serpent' of piracy, the 'stellion' of extortion and the 'draco' or devil himself. (14) Besides these sins he also attacks failing to pay debts or keep promises, (15) extortion, (16) duelling (17) and other sinful practices. (18) Often he is very specific regarding the sins of certain callings. He rails against the tricks of shopkeepers who hide the truth, especially apothecaries who might cause their customers' deaths. (19) In one place he lists 'many kinds of private thieves'. These are magistrates ruled by popularity, partiality or passion; lawyers who double deal or are dishonest in other ways; officers involved in bribery; tradesmen with false weights and measures, deficient goods and preying on men's necessities; those who take advantage of the church to line their pockets; covetous landlords; engrossers who 'hoard up commodities and by stopping their community raise the price'; enclosers who were still taking common land for themselves; (20) tap-house keepers and taverners who 'chop away a good conscience for money' and encourage drunkenness; flatterers who think of ways for the rich to make money; brokers and breakers, by which he means unscrupulous pawnbrokers and bailiffs; usurers. (21) Adams often opposed this latter sin, little spoken against today. (22) With all this negative content it must not be supposed that Adams fails to encourage virtue. In his A contemplation of the herbs mentioned above he advocates humility, patience, joy, charity, contentment, continence, meekness, frugality, peaceable love, pureness of heart, confidence in God's promises, following Christ, casting care away and good resolution. (23) Among the gates to the City of peace are patience and beneficence. (24)
Repentance
Adams speaks of repentance in one place as 'that old laundress'. (25) Elsewhere he assures us that tears of repentance will not drown us but will save us from drowning. Emergent repentance is 'the main plank that shall preserve thee from perishing'. (26) People do not care for repentance by nature. In one passage, Adams exclaims 'O blessed repentance, how sweet and amiable art thou! Yet how few love thee!' He identifies some of the characters who hate it - the proud great man, the greedy wealthy, the miserly 'country Nabal', cheating 'avarous citizens', the hypocritical 'muffled lawyer', the bloodthirsty 'sharking officer'. The usurer, drunkard and adulterer are obvious targets but, he points out, the tragedy is Autumn 2004 that they think they will one day repent before it is too late. (27) How foolish to think repentance is something so easy. Tears alone will not do it. Judas and Esau wept as much as David and Peter, but they did not repent in their souls. (28) In The Black Saint where he deals directly with superficial repentance, he warns that
Sin is congealed, concorporated, baked on; and must be pared and digged away by greater violence than sweeping .... Impiety is habituated by custom, hardened by impenitency, incorporated to him by his affection to it; and shall he think that a formal repentance, like a soft besom, can sweep it clean? Can a few drops and sprinklings of water purge off the inveterate foulness and corruption of the flesh? There is required much rinsing to whiten a defiled sou1. (29)
Some think they can 'boldly, stain the cloth a whole vintage, and at last let one washing serve for all' or put out a thousand fires with one tear. This is a great error. 'Repentance' can be thought of as 'an ascent of four steps'. (30) Some don't even begin on this ascent, others only come so far. Unless we ascend all four stairs we are not really repenting. We must begin with amendment of life and preparation for Christ's coming. The third rung on the ladder is abstaining from sin and setting out on a new path. All these are useless if they do not lead to actual repentance. That is the only 'bulwark to defend us from the shot of God's thunder from heaven' and hedge against 'his judgements on earth'. (31)
Repentance ought to be a daily thing. God is very gracious but to rely on a last-minute repentance is not wise. 'It is better to make this thy diet than thy physic.' 'He that will wear a crown in heaven must be all his life on earth preparing it.' (32)
Adams also speaks of repentance and her daughter, faith, as 'rwo most valiant and puissant (i.e. powerful) soldiers that are the soul's champion.' They fight sin and lust and all the powers of evil. Repentance fights with some apparent disadvantages. She fights kneeling and stoops as low as she can.' However, this invites mercy and 'the fearful thunder of vengeance is resisted by the soft wool of repentance.' Then there is the fact that her fellow-soldiers can often fail - faith droops, hope faints, conscience sleeps. However, Holy fear wakens conscience; conscience, faith; faith hope; and hope, repentance; and there is pardon and comfort. Similarly, by bringing up the rear this 'conquering queen' may seem far off but 'comes in with her reserve' and deals with sin,at last. (33)
On March 29, 1625, the first Tuesday after the death of King James I, Adams preached in Whitehall. Seeking to take advantage of the sober frame that many were in, he preached on Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. (34) It is a brief but powerful sermon in which he refuses to 'pull the text in pieces' and simply works his way through Job's words. On I repent he notes that repentance is 'better known than practised'. He seeks to urge everyone to take advantage of this 'universal antidote'. He especially warns against supposing it is something we can do at will. After some time on the subject he closes with this beautifully arresting paragraph.
If I should give you the picture of repentance, 1 would tell you that she is a virgin fair and lovely; and those tears, which seem to do violence to her beauty, rather indeed grace it. Her breast is sore with the strokes of her own penitent hands, which are always either in Moses's posture in the mount, lift up towards heaven, or the publican's in the temple, smiting her bosom. Her knees are hardened with constant praying; her voice is hoarse with calling to heaven; and when she cannot speak, she delivers her mind in groans. There is not a tear fails from her, but an angel holds a bottle to catch it. She thinks every man's sins less than her own, every man's good deeds more. Her compunctions are unspeakable, known only to God and herself. She could wish, not only men, but even beasts, and trees, and stones, to mourn with her. She thinks no sun should shine, because she takes no pleasure in it; that the lilies should be clothed in black, because she is so apparelled. Mercy comes down like a glorious cherub, and lights on her bosom, with this message from God, 'I have heard thy prayers, and seen thy tears;' so with a handkerchief of comfort dries her cheeks, and tells her that she is accepted in Jesus Christ.
In a sermon on Galatians 6:7 Man's seed-time and harvest or Lex Talionis Adams lists seven general pleas or excuses given for sin. He mentions predestination, God's will, ignorance, outweighing good deeds, God's mercy, Christ's infinite satisfaction and repentance. Dealing with this latter excuse he points out that although God promises to forgive you if you repent, whereas he will always be 'so good as his promise', you cannot be so sure that you will be 'so good as thy purpose'. You can only expect God to 'forgive thee repenting' not to 'give thee repentance sinning'. The promise is to repentance' not of 'repentance'. Repentance is Gods gift. Unless God give thee repentance, and another mind, thou shalt speed as the lost angels did; for God may as easily cast thee from the earth as he did them from heaven. (36)
Forgiveness
'God is glorious,' Adams observes, 'in all of his works, but most glorious in his works of mercy.' He suggests that this may be why Paul refers to the glorious gospel in 1 Timothy 1: 11. (37)
It is in forgiving men's sins that God shows his greatest glory.
In his sermon Mystical Bedlam (38) he says that the heart needs emptying, cleansing and replenishing. If you welcome repentance, knocking at your door from God, it shall knock at God's door of mercy for you. It asks of you amendment, of God forgiveness.
He goes on:
The heart thus emptied of that inveterate corruption, should fitly be washed before it be replenished. The old poison sticks so fast in the grain of it, that there is only one thing of validity to make it clean - the blood of Jesus Christ. It is this that hath bathed all hearts that ever were, or shall be, received into God's house of glory. This blood cleanseth us from all sin,' I John 1:7 ... In vain were all repentance without this: no tears can wash the heart clean but those bloody ones which the side of Christ and other parts wept, when the spear and nails gave them eyes, whiles the Son of eternal joy became a mourner for his brethren. Could we mourn like doves, howl like dragons, and lament beyond the wailings in the valley of Hadadrimmon, quid prosunt lachrymae - what boots it to weep where there is no mercy? And how can there be mercy without the blood of Christ? This is that ever-running fountain, that sacred pool of Bethesda,' which, without the mediation of angels, stands perpetually unforbidden to all faithful visitants. Were our leprosy worse than Naaman's, here is the true water of Jordan, or pool of Siloam 'Wash, and be clean.' Bring your hearts to this bath, ye corrupted sons of men. Hath God given you so precious a laver, and will you be unclean still? Pray, entreat, beseech, send up to heaven the cries of your tongues and hearts for this blood; call upon the preserver of men,' not only to distil some drops, but to wash, bathe, soak your hearts in this blood. Behold, the Son of God himself, that shed this blood, doth entreat God for you; the whole choir of all the angels and saints in heaven are not wanting. Let the meditation of Christ's mediation for you give you encouragement and comfort. Happy son of man, for whom the Son of God supplicates and intercedes! What can he request and not have!
He doth not only pray for you, but even to you, ye sons of men. Behold him with the eyes of a Christian, faith and hope, standing on the battlements of heaven, having that for his pavement which is our ceiling, offering his blood to wash your hearts, which he willingly lost for your hearts; denying it to none but wolves, bears, and goats, and such reprobate, excommunicate, apostate spirits that tread it under their profane and luxurious feet, esteeming that an unholy thing wherewith they might have been sanctified' Heb.l0:29. Come we then, come we, though sinners, if believers, and have our hearts washed. By his death Christ the Lamb has provided nourishment, covering and cleansing for all who trust in him. His flesh is meat indeed ... the fleece of his imputed righteousness keeps us warm, clothe our nakedness, hides our uncleanness .... His blood hath recovered our life, our health, and washed us as white as the snow in Salmon. (39) On the fullness of forgiveness he says that 'Sins are so remitted as if they had never been committed.' (40) Of course, without faith all that Christ has done is useless to us. Adams urges: The blood of Christ runs fresh; but where is thy pipe of faith to derive it from his side to thy conscience? Say it should shower mercy, yet if thou wantest faith, all would fall beside thee. There would be no more favour for thee than if there was no Saviour. (41)
Other aspects of piety
With some sadness, Adams states at one point: ... as there was never less wisdom in Greece than in the time of the seven wise men so never less piety among us than now, when upon good cause most is expected.42 With some nostalgia he compares former times with Leah, 'blear-eyed but fruitful' and his own with Rachel, 'fair, but barren'. From our vantage point the disappointment expressed may be hard to accept. The suggestion that piety was diligently sown cannot be gainsaid, however. Adams himself preaches not only sin, repentance and forgiveness, but many other aspects of piety too. Assurance has been identified as a crucial element in Puritan piety, as both a root and a fruit. Adams has a sermon called Heaven made sure or the certainty of salvation on Psalm 35:343 where he asserts: l. That salvation may be made sure to man. 2. That the best saints have desired to make their salvation sure. He carefully applies this second point, noting that there are degrees of assurance and that even 'The wealthiest saints have suspected their poverty' and 'the richest in grace are yet 'poorest in spirit.' Somewhere he also says that 'Sense of sin may be often great, and more felt than grace; yet not be more than grace.' It is like when a person's body is well but he is more aware of his finger aching. He puts it in perspective. (44)
Assurance is not always immediate. There is also such a thing as a false assurance. Assurance comes 'by word, by deed, and by seal' - Scripture, good deeds and the inward witness. It is the sweetest comfort a man can know in this life. In various ways God speaks to the Soul of the believer, speaking peace to his conscience and assurance of salvation to his soul. Adams is very clear that conversion must lead to godliness: A sound conversion is proved by a good conversation. But tremble ye wicked; if ye have not fought in his camp, ye shall not shine in his court. (45) Good deeds are such things that no-one is saved for them, or without them. We know there is a sun in heaven, yet we cannot see what matter it is made of, but perceive it only by the beams, light and heat. Election is a sun, the eyes of eagles cannot see it; yet we may find it in the heat of vocation, in the light of illumination, in the beams of good works (46)
We cannot be perfect in this life but we must seek to be thoroughly sanctified. (47) Adams warns against the traditional triumvirate of foes, the world, the flesh and the devil. (48) Worldliness is 'too much oil which quencheth our lamp'; the flesh borrows the vessel of the heart and returns it 'broken, lacerated, deformed, defaced'; the devil is a fisherman who 'baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish' , (49) then a cannibal who feeds on human flesh; a crafty fox first and then a strong lion. (50) As one would expect, Adams is a great advocate of prayer and of getting to know the all-sufficient Word of God. (51) He is keen on kneeling for prayer. 'Never tell me of a humble heart, where I see a stubborn knee.' (52)
Without fear the good child may come to his kind father . ... We believe in our Father, ability to give, never denying; wisdom to give, never repenting; goodness to give, never upbraiding. This makes us cry, not speak softly, as in fear, but loud, as in assurance. When the king has promised a boon, the subject comes with special security into the presence. Are we laden with sin ... privy to imperfections ... Do we fear some judgement ... are we haunted with a temptation ... full of thankfulness ... ? We have the warrant of a Father, Pray, and be comforted. Shake off the dust of neglect from the cover, and wear out the leaves with turning; continually imploring the assistance of God's Spirit, that you may read with understanding, understand with memory, and remember with comfort; that your soul's closet may never be unstored of those heavenly receipts which may ease your griefs, cure your wounds, expel your sicknesses, preserve your healths, and keep you safe to the coming of Jesus Christ. (53)
He advocates the orderly piety that we associate with Puritan godliness: We must give the first hour of the day, the first work of our hands, the first words of our lips to the Lord. (54)
At night we must give account how we have spent our day; happy are we if we can make our reckoning even with God; a day misspent is lost. ... I fear too many may say so of the whole day of their lives: I have lost my day. Time is precious; and howsoever our pride and lusts think it, God so highly prizeth it that he will punish the loss of a short time with a revenge beyond all times: the misspense of a temporal day with an eternal night. Every hour hath wings, and there is no moment passing from us but it flies up to the Maker of time, and bears him true tidings how we have used it.There is no usury tolerable but of two things, grace and time; and it is only blessed wealth that is gotten by improving them to the best. We brought with us into the world sin enough to repent of all our short day. There is no minute flies over our head without new addition to our sins and therefore brings new reason for our sorrows. We little think that every moment we misspend is a record against us in heaven, or that every idle hour is entered into God's registry and stands there in capital letters till our repentant tears wash it out ... (55)
He urges self-examination, another typically Puritan activity. He calls for a natural, moral and spiritual self-contemplation, remembering our souls and spirits, considering our frequent sins and searching our hearts so that we sound 'the lowest depths of conscience' and spy 'blemishes in the face of whitest innocence'. (56) In his sermon on England's sickness, Adams commends moderation, labouring in our callings, and abstinence. (57) On the second of those subjects he says 'Let the shoemaker look to his boot, the fisher to his boat, the scholar to his book.' (58)
Finally, hear him on death: All are like actors on a stage, some have one part and some another, death is still busy amongst us; here drops one of the players, we bury him with sorrow, and to our scene again: then falls another, yea all, one after another, till death be left upon the stage. Death is that damp Autumn 2004 which puts out all the dim lights of vanity. Yet man is easier to believe that all the world shall die, than to suspect himself. (59)
Death is ready at hand about us, we carry deaths enow within us. We know we shall die, we know not how soon; it can never prevent us, or come too early, if our souls be in the keeping of God. (60) For the believer it is 'nothing else but a bridge over this tempestuous sea to paradise.' Though evil in itself, cannot ultimately harm the good, as it is the door to eternal life. He likens the believer's death to a clock-mender dismantling and cleaning a timepiece to make it 'go more perfectly'. (61) ... though the soul is got ten when man is made, yet it is, as it were, born when he dies: his body being the womb, and death the midwife that delivers it to glorious perfection. The good man may then well say ... 'Death shall be my advantage' ... His happiest hour is when ... he can say 'Into thy hands, Lord, I commend my soul'. Conclusion So should we all tush to buy copies of Adams' works for ourselves and for others? Should we be laying Bunyan, Goodwin, Owen and Watson on one side and taking up Adams? It probably would not do us any great harm, but Adams' strength is in his aphorisms and illustrations, not in his systematic treatment of doctrines and passages of Scripture. We would probably be wise to buy the Commentary on 2 Peter before the sermons. The sermons need to be put under a gentle heat until the aphorisms are distilled and then presented in something of the style found in I D E Thomas's collection. This may sound sacrilegious but when we consider the wealth of talent that followed Adams, it should be no surprise to us that, stood on his shoulders, they produced superior work. Rather than completely neglecting Adams, however, let us make what use of him we can. Hunt down his The three divine sisters and his Crucifix or some of the other items that we have mentioned, store up his axioms as best you know how and let us be thankful for a man of God, who preached faithfully and in the power of the Spirit, who served his own generation and was then gathered to his fathers in glory.
Works by Adams
Thomas Adams, The Works of Thomas Adams, Three Volumes, edited by Thomas Smith with a memoir by Joseph Angus, reprinted from the series of Standard Divines by James Nichol, 1861-1866. Reissued by Eureka, California, Tanski Publications, 1998.
Thomas Adams, The Three Divine Sisters, Faith, Hope, and Charity, edited with an introduction by W. H. Stowell, London, Thomas Nelson, 1847.
Thomas Adams, Everlasting mercy ('Majesty in misery' and 'Mercy in perpetuity'), Apples of Gold reprints, Sheffield, Zoar Publications, no date.
Thomas Adams, The Works of Thomas Adams, Three Volumes, edited by Thomas Smith with a memoir by Joseph Angus, reprinted from the series of Standard Divines by James Nichol, 1861-1866. Reissued by Eureka, California, Tanski Publications, 1998.
Thomas Adams, The Three Divine Sisters, Faith, Hope, and Charity, edited with an introduction by W. H. Stowell, London, Thomas Nelson, 1847.
Thomas Adams, Everlasting mercy ('Majesty in misery' and 'Mercy in perpetuity'), Apples of Gold reprints, Sheffield, Zoar Publications, no date.
References
1. In the preface to his 1614 set of sermons 'The Devil's Banquet' Works 3, p.xxxii.
1. In the preface to his 1614 set of sermons 'The Devil's Banquet' Works 3, p.xxxii.
2. Also in the preface to his 1614 set of sermons 'The Devil's
Banquet'. Works 3, p.xxxii.
3. I.D.E.Thomas, A Puritan Golden Treasury (Edinburgh: Banner of
Truth Trust, 1977), pp. l33, 116, 26l.
4. Works 1, p.7l; Works 3, pp. 194ff.
5. Works 2, pp.345-349.
6. Cf. Works 1, p.248-253.
7. Cf. Works 1, pp.442, 443.
8. Works 1, p.53.
9. Works I, p.170.
10 Works I, p.222.
11. Works I, pp.175-197.
12. Works 1, pp.276-287.
13. Salamanders are amphibians,fabled to live in, or to be able to endure, fire; the dart is a snake; the dipsas is a serpent whose bite was fabled to produce intense thirst.
14. The draco and stellion are types of lizard. See Works 1, pp.77-80.
15 Works 1, pp.l45, 146.
16. Works 1, p.79.
17. Works 1, p.183; 2, pp.321, 322, 556. 32
18. Eg suicide: 'No man must let the tenant out of the tenement, till God the landlord call for it.' 'As we cannot live without a permittis, so we must not die without a dimittis.' Puritan Golden Treasury, p. 289; making images of Christ, Works 2, p.29l.
19. Works 1, p.146, 147.
20. A sin that had been preached against from at least the time of John Bradford (1510?-1555).
21. Works 1, pp.276-287.
22. Adams takes this even further when he speaks of characteristic sins of nations - Spanish pride, French lust, Italian poisoning, German drunkenness, English epicurism. Works 1, pp.368, 369.
23. Works 2, pp.446-467.
24. Works 2, pp.316-319.
25. Works 3, p.273.
26 Works 3, p.297.
27 Works 2, p.488.
28. Works 2, p.346.
29. Works 2, p.56
30. It is interesting to compare this sermon with John Bradford's popular 1552 sermon on repentance for their basic similarity and Adams' increased awareness of the danger of hypocrisy.
31. Works 2, p.490.
32. Works 2, p.572.
33. Works 3, p.297.
34. Works 1, pp.49-59.
35. Works 2, pp.360-374, see pp.364-367.
36. Works 2, p.252.
37. Works I, p.51.
38. Works 1, pp.254-293, see pp.267, 268.
39. Works 2, p.114.
40. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.110.
41. Works 2, p.276.
42. Works 2, p.179.
43. Works 1, pp.460-70.
44. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.23.
45. Works 1, pp.362, 401ff.
46. Puritan Golden Treasury, pp.127, 88.
47. Works 3, p.78.
48. Works 1, p.40 lff.
49. Cf.Puritan Golden Treasury, p.290.
50 Works 1, pp.431, 260,220, 2, p.21l. Worth noting is Adams' insistence that the devil does not know who is elect, Works 2, pp.53, 147.
51 ... now to expect revelation of things by dreams were to entreat God to lend us a candle while we have the bright sun. Works 2, p.16.
52 Puritan Golden Treasury, p.316.
53. Works 3, p.105; Works 1, p.303.
54. Works 2, p.536.
55. Works 2, p.88.
56. Works 2, p.384.
57. Works 1, pp.426, 427.
58. Works 1 p.383.
59. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.69.
60. Works 3, p.32.
61. Works 2, pp.227, 228.
6. Cf. Works 1, p.248-253.
7. Cf. Works 1, pp.442, 443.
8. Works 1, p.53.
9. Works I, p.170.
10 Works I, p.222.
11. Works I, pp.175-197.
12. Works 1, pp.276-287.
13. Salamanders are amphibians,fabled to live in, or to be able to endure, fire; the dart is a snake; the dipsas is a serpent whose bite was fabled to produce intense thirst.
14. The draco and stellion are types of lizard. See Works 1, pp.77-80.
15 Works 1, pp.l45, 146.
16. Works 1, p.79.
17. Works 1, p.183; 2, pp.321, 322, 556. 32
18. Eg suicide: 'No man must let the tenant out of the tenement, till God the landlord call for it.' 'As we cannot live without a permittis, so we must not die without a dimittis.' Puritan Golden Treasury, p. 289; making images of Christ, Works 2, p.29l.
19. Works 1, p.146, 147.
20. A sin that had been preached against from at least the time of John Bradford (1510?-1555).
21. Works 1, pp.276-287.
22. Adams takes this even further when he speaks of characteristic sins of nations - Spanish pride, French lust, Italian poisoning, German drunkenness, English epicurism. Works 1, pp.368, 369.
23. Works 2, pp.446-467.
24. Works 2, pp.316-319.
25. Works 3, p.273.
26 Works 3, p.297.
27 Works 2, p.488.
28. Works 2, p.346.
29. Works 2, p.56
30. It is interesting to compare this sermon with John Bradford's popular 1552 sermon on repentance for their basic similarity and Adams' increased awareness of the danger of hypocrisy.
31. Works 2, p.490.
32. Works 2, p.572.
33. Works 3, p.297.
34. Works 1, pp.49-59.
35. Works 2, pp.360-374, see pp.364-367.
36. Works 2, p.252.
37. Works I, p.51.
38. Works 1, pp.254-293, see pp.267, 268.
39. Works 2, p.114.
40. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.110.
41. Works 2, p.276.
42. Works 2, p.179.
43. Works 1, pp.460-70.
44. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.23.
45. Works 1, pp.362, 401ff.
46. Puritan Golden Treasury, pp.127, 88.
47. Works 3, p.78.
48. Works 1, p.40 lff.
49. Cf.Puritan Golden Treasury, p.290.
50 Works 1, pp.431, 260,220, 2, p.21l. Worth noting is Adams' insistence that the devil does not know who is elect, Works 2, pp.53, 147.
51 ... now to expect revelation of things by dreams were to entreat God to lend us a candle while we have the bright sun. Works 2, p.16.
52 Puritan Golden Treasury, p.316.
53. Works 3, p.105; Works 1, p.303.
54. Works 2, p.536.
55. Works 2, p.88.
56. Works 2, p.384.
57. Works 1, pp.426, 427.
58. Works 1 p.383.
59. Puritan Golden Treasury, p.69.
60. Works 3, p.32.
61. Works 2, pp.227, 228.
