A Puritan Theology of Preaching

The history of preaching has not been ignored in recent years on any level, and yet there are still gaps in our understanding of the history of preaching.  This study proposes something .distinct from previous studies in that it narrows the scope from Puritanism in general to the Puritans of the Westminster Assembly in particular.  The Westminster Assembly is of particular historical importance because of the influence the Assembly had on the pulpit ministry of later Puritan and Reformed ministers.
 
The major objective of this study is to outline specifically what the Assembly as a whole had to say about preaching.  Certainly Westminster's divines were not promoting preaching in the abstract; some preachers and preaching they liked, some they opposed.  The study then goes on to canvass the views of the Assembly's members, briefly tracing earlier English conflicts about the pulpit by way of orientation, and then outlining the Assembly's debates over preaching, delving into one of them.  The Latter part of the study outlines the biblical and intellectual foundations of a Puritan pulpit theology, enabling the Assembly to be viewed through the lens of preaching.