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Subsection
Translated into Common Language
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Order of Contents
Articles 6+
Books 2
Quote 1
Lawful to Read 1
Public Church Reading 1
Summaries of Scripture 2
Latin 2
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Articles
1500’s
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583), pt. 1
‘An Exhortation to the Reading of the Holy Scriptures’ in 6. ‘Of the Holy Scriptures, and of the dignity and profit of them, and of the means how to understand them’, pp. 44-48
7. ‘Whether young and incontinent men, etc. should be excluded from hearing of the Word of God’ 52-58
Musculus, Wolfgang – Common Places of the Christian Religion (1560; London, 1563)
3rd Commandment, ‘The name of God is contemned when his Word is negligently heard’ 57.b
‘Holy Scriptures’
Of the Reading of holy Scriptures 156.a
Of the profit of holy Scripture 159.b
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1600’s
Perkins, William
How a Man should Apply Aright the Word of God to his own Soul an appendix to A Golden Chain (Cambridge: Legat, 1600), pp. 663-66
The Whole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience… (d. 1602; Cambridge: Legat, 1606), bk. 2, ch. 7
Question 1, How any man may profitably, to his own comfort and salvation, hear the Word of God?
Question 2, How are they to be comforted, who after long hearing of the Word, either profit very little or not at all?
Ames, William – ch. 8, ‘The Hearing of the Word’ in The Marrow of Theology tr. John D. Eusden (1623; Baker, 1997), bk. 2, pp. 254-58
Ames (1576-1633) was an English, puritan, congregationalist, minister, philosopher and controversialist. He spent much time in the Netherlands, and is noted for his involvement in the controversy between the reformed and the Arminians. Voet highly commended Ames’s Marrow for learning theology.
Leigh, Edward – ch. 2. Of Ordinary Religious Duties; First, of Hearing the Word in A System or Body of Divinity… (London, A.M., 1654), bk. 8, pp. 607-9
London Ministers – ‘A Discourse of Profiting by Sermons’ 32 pp. in A Collection of Cases & other Discourses lately written to recover Dissenters to the communion of the Church of England by some Divines of the City of London (London, 1685), vol. 2
These were non-conformist ministers, in some respects, that were also non-separating from the Church of England.
Turretin, Francis – 18. ‘Can the Scriptures be profitably read by any believer, and ought he to read them without permission? We affirm against the papists.’ in Institutes of Elenctic Theology, tr. George M. Giger, ed. James Dennison Jr. (1679–1685; P&R, 1992), vol. 1, 2nd Topic, pp. 147-49
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Books
1900’s
Reisinger, Ernest – Many Verses!
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2000’s
McMahon, Matthew – The Lord’s Voice Cries to the City: A Biblical Guide for Hearing the Word of God Preached Buy (Puritan Publications, 2017) 190 pp.
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Quote
1700’s
Wilhelmus à Brakel
Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:81
“The reflection upon reading Scripture consists in
(1) joyfully giving thanks that the Lord has permitted His Word to be recorded, that we may have it in our homes, that we can and were privileged to read it, and that it was applied to our heart;
(2) painstakingly striving to preserve this good spiritual frame which is obtained by reading God’s Word;
(3) meditating while engaged in one’s occupation upon that which one has read, repeatedly seeking to focus his thoughts upon it;
(4) sharing with others what was read, whenever possible, and discussing it;
(5) especially striving to comply with what was read by bringing it into practice.
If the Holy Scriptures were used in such a fashion, what wondrous progress we would make in both knowledge and godliness! Children would soon become young men, and young men would soon become men in Christ Jesus.”
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It is Lawful for Laymen to Read Scripture
Article
1500’s
de Brès, Guy – ‘Of the Holy Scripture, and how it is Lawful for All Men to Read it’ in The Staff of Christian Faith… for to Know the Antiquity of our Holy Faith… gathered out of the Works of the Ancient Doctors of the Church… (d. 1567; London, 1577), pp. 293-340
de Bres (1522-1567) was a Walloon pastor, Protestant reformer and theologian, a student of Calvin and Beza in Geneva.
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Who may Publicly Read the Word to the Congregated Church?
Quotes
1600’s
French Reformed Churches
National Synod of Alez 1620
ed. John Quick, Synodicon (London, 1692), ch. 5, p. 9
“12… Whether a person that was never called to the office of an elder might warrantably read the Word of God, and the Common-Prayers unto the Church in the minister’s absence, especially in lesser churches, which have no consistories [sessions], nor any persons fit to read.
This Assembly judges that the consistory has full liberty to choose any one whom it conceives meet to read the Scriptures and prayers, although he be not in the eldership, provided he be of sufficient years and unblameable life, and that he have subscribed the Confession of our Faith, and Church-Discipline.”
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Westminster Larger Catechism
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Concise Summaries & Key Points of Scripture’s Books
See also ‘The Bible in Poetry’. For fuller, more indepth surveys of the Bible see ‘Bible Background, Survey, Authenticity & Introduction’.
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Article
Culverwell, Ezekiel – ‘A Ready Way to Remember the Scriptures’ (1637)
Culverwell was an English puritan. Here is an excerpt from Genesis:
“Chapter 1: Creation (1); God’s Image (26); Man’s Sovereignty (26); All Very Good (31).
Chapter 2: Sabbath (3); Eden (8) Tree of Knowledge (17); Woman (22); Naked and Not Ashamed (25)”
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Book
2000’s
McGraw, Ryan – A Divine Tapestry: Summaries and Memory Verses from Every Chapter of Scripture Buy (Christian Focus, 2023) 416 pp.
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Latin Articles
1600’s
Voet, Gisbert
7. Reading of Sacred Scripture in Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 1, tract 1 Abbr.
‘On the use & abuse of the divine name in the reading, hearing and application of Scripture, in the perception of the sacraments and public and private prayers’ in Select Theological Disputations, vol. 4 (Utrecht, 1667), 50. ‘A Syllabus of Questions on the Decalogue’, ‘On the 3rd Commandment’, p. 783
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Related Pages