Jeremiah Burroughs was a peace-loving Puritan. Without sacrificing the truth, he sought unity among those who professed it, and prayed, preached, and pleaded to that end. Indeed, Richard Baxter, who felt keenly the need for peace but struggled himself to promote it, once remarked that if all the Episcopalians had been like Archbishop [James] Ussher, all the Presbyterians like Stephen Marshall, and all the Independents like Jeremiah Burroughs, then the breaches of the church would soon have been healed.

Article read this week:

– James Davison, 'The Irenic Jeremiah Burroughs', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 559 (April 2010).

Further reading:

Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (paperback, 232 pages.)

This week's episode art features a detail from William Bell Scott (1811–1890), Bernard Gilpin making Peace among the Borders, takes down the Glove in Rothbury Church, circa 1570 (One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English Border). Public domain: see file on Wikimedia here.

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In Psalm 31, David prays the following about those who fear the Lord:

'In the cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you store them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.'

In a world in which deception so often seems to prevail, and good reputations are tarnished by falsehoods, we need to realise afresh the power (and danger) of the tongue. We must lay hold of the God who can deliver us both from sinning with our tongues, and from 'the strife of tongues' when they are turned unjustly against us.

Featured Resources:

– Maurice Roberts, 'The Strife of Tongues', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 460 (January 2002).

– Arnold A. Dallimore, Spurgeon: A Biography (1984, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985, 2014), p. 69.

Further reading:

John Flavel, Sinful Speech (Pocket Puritans)

N.B. the text of this Pocket Puritan is taken from 'A Caution to Seamen: A Dissuasive against Several Horrid and Detestable Sins' in The Works of John Flavel, Vol. 5 and 'The Reasonableness of Personal Reformation' in The Works of John Flavel, Vol. 6.

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The system of false teaching known as Socinianism proved a thorn in the side of the Reformed churches for more than two centuries. Even today, the essential tenets of Socinianism are still with us, and aspects of it pop up in the teaching of such movements as Unitarian Universalism, 'Oneness' Pentecostalism, Christadelphianism, and among the Jehovah's Witnesses.

As such, it is well for us to take a closer look at this movement, its key commitments, and how it emerged in the context of Reformation-era Europe.

Banner resources relevant to Socinianism:

– The Works of John Owen, Volume 12: The Gospel Defended (Clothbound, 639 pages)

– The Works of Andrew Fuller (1 Volume, 1012 pages)

– William Cunningham, Historical Theology (Clothbound, 1408 pages)

John Owen's (tragically amusing) presentation of John Biddle's Socinianism, in the form of a satirical catechism, can be found on pages 588 to 590 of The Works of John Owen, vol. 12: The Gospel Defended.

This week's podcast artwork features an image of a plaque in the Sozzini's palace in Siena which depicts Fausto and Lelio Sozzini. The etching on the plaque claims that 'During ages of fierce despotism, with their new doctrines they awoke the free thought'.

Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org

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