Therefore, it seems logical to me, that if you agree that there is an imbalance, and you have repeatedly stated that you do, it would seem necessary, in order to bring things back into balance, to begin to stress that which has been neglected.

acts2027 I have truly enjoyed this thread and the discussion of what “some” of the Puritans taught and preached. I do however take exception with the way you are viewing, that is what you believe, are the totality of the Puritans preaching/emphasis style.

When one emphasizes one area, as you state above, then the other areas will go “less” attended and be underemphasized. Though you may correct “the one area”, "later" the others then will need correcting and you will constantly be on a titter totter of attempting to explain the whole counsel of God. Thus, it is best to keep things “balanced” throughout.

Expository preaching is a balanced way of presenting the “whole counsel of God.” The preacher will emphasize what the “verses” say and not his own “personal agenda.” I believe the Scripture was written, as such, to bring us constant, balanced, doctrinal, and heart searching truths on a continual basis—thus a Scriptural balance.

Ministers preach for the “long term” if they are doing it right. As Bickel, states in his book, Light and Heat, Puritan View of the Pulpit, Preachers are charged with preaching a message already given and not creating one. The preacher is not called and sent by God to make a quick sale, but to deliver a message. In other words, they preach not to have “short term” balance, but rather “continual balance.” I like what Spurgeon, often referred to as the Puritan that was born a 100 years too late, states, make no mistake here; we shall not watch our congregations to make our cue from it, but we shall keep our eye on the infallible Word, and preach according to its instructions.

As a matter a fact Spurgeon himself addresses how we are to deal with “unbalance” in believers lives. Far from doing it from the pulpit he states,
If we should be faithful as stewards, we must not neglect any one of the family, not neglect any portion of the estate….This is to be done not only by [color:#FF0000]personal talk, but by personal prayer. We ought thus to beat the bounds of our parish, and go round and round our congregations, forgetting none, despairing of none, bearing all upon our hearts before the Lord.
I do not see the “Prince of Preaching” changing the emphasis of his sermons?

The Puritan system had three prominent features:
    1. Doctrinally, Puritanism proclaimed a broad and vigorous Calvinism;

    2. Experimentally, the system offered a warm and contagious devotional kind of Christianity;

    3. Evangelically, it heralded a tender, aggressive, and impassioned message of substitutionary satisfaction.
Their preaching centered on:
    1. A Scriptural Message—The preaching of the Puritans was a scriptural evangel. Biblical phrases are seen woven in and out of their sermons and works. The Puritans understood God to be the only One who could convince, convict, convert, and comfort the sinner through the Word. Their task as messengers was to communicate that Word by teaching and applying its whole counsel to the hearers. Preachers were to declare God’s mind and heart as set forth in the passage chosen so that the Holy Spirit, who did not work in a vacuum, would use the revealed truth to enable a lost soul to come to Christ. God’s message was their method.

    2. A Doctrinal Message—Not only was the Puritan message Scriptural it was doctrinal. They articulated doctrinal principles by distinguishing things that differed. When they talked about sin, they compared it to a glorious heaven that was ruled by a holy God. One can clearly see the doctrines of the general call and the effectual call in the clucking of the chickens in John Bunyan’s, Pilgrim’s Progress.

    3. A Symmetrical Message—The Puritan’s message contained the “whole counsel of God.” The Puritans were not squeamish in letting a passage say what it meant for fear of not getting a response from the audience. If the text said that salvation was difficult and a rare thing, that one must strive in one’s quest to reach God, the Puritan would let it stand as written. On the other hand, if a text said that he who believes has life, they let that passage speak in all its freeness and gospel glory. The Puritans had a beautiful symmetry in the proclamation of the gospel.

    4.An Applicable Message—The Puritans always desired to insure that messages were applied “rightly.” Joseph Alleine before ever addressing what true conversion was, addressed what it was not. Alleine presently 10 marks of an unconverted man and, then to insure no one missed the point, he revealed 12 marks of an unregenerate heart (An Alarm to the Unconverted).

    5. A Message of a Whole Christ to the Whole Man—The concept of Christ being preached as a prophet, priest, and king was a hallmark of the Puritan era. Therefore, one observes no attempt on the part of the Puritan divines to offer Christ as a Saviour from the penalty of sin while deliberately ignoring His claims as a sovereign and the Lord and His demands that one forsake the love and practice of sin. As Alleine states, once again, The unsound convert takes Christ in halves. He is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for sanctification. He is all for the privileges, but does not appropriate the person of Christ. He divides the offices and the benefits of Christ. This is an error in foundation. Of course, there is much more that could be said. I have attempted to reveal only some of their emphasis in their great preaching. I would suggest reading Bickle’s book, as he is very detailed including many of the Puritan’s own quotes on their own practices.

    IMHO the emphasis of Puritan Preaching is not a point of argument, but one of the proper education.

Reformed and Always Reforming,