As a new Christian I was quickly drawn to the writings of the Puritans. Initially I was attracted to how they wrote in such flowery and well decorated sentences. This style combined with my newly birthed passion for Jesus Christ made me a fast fan of the kindred-spirited Puritans.
But as I read I noticed two things, 1) There is a lot of depth to their writings, 2) There are a lot of Puritans.
My problem became clear; I don’t have the ability or the time to read everything from everyone. But, I would like to have a thoughtful and thorough reference book that can give me some personal history of these great divines as well as surveys from their writings.
This is why I am thankful for the book Meet the Puritans by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson. These guys know their Puritans and they do a fantastic job introducing you and keeping you acquainted with their writings.
As far as book format I want to quote Tim Challies who summed it up perfectly:
The format of the book is simple. After a Preface explaining how to profit from reading the Puritans, a brief word about where to begin and a brief history of English Puritanism, there comes a long list of authors. Each author has his own chapter containing a short biography and a list of his books that have been reprinted. There is a review of each book along with publishing information and the number of pages. And that is the heart of the book and continues for some 800 pages. Five appendices deal with collections of Puritan writings, Scottish divines, Dutch further Reformation divines, secondary sources on the Puritans and a final word on Puritanism courtesy of J.I. Packer. In short, this is a one-stop-shop for all you could want to know as a beginner to the Puritans. And if you are already a fan of their writing, this book will lead you further and deeper, guiding you to the best books available.
My book sits on my shelf and serves to be a ready documentary on any guy who is mentioned that I am not familiar with (or have forgotten). I am quickly able to be exposed to his writings and the time in which he ministered. This is very helpful.
If you have benefited from their writings but have been hindered by your own exposure then this resource will probably be helpful to you as well.
Discounted copies of this hefty hardback are available at our friend and sponsor Westminster Books.