Pure Worship
A study in the Puritan doctrine of worship

by Steve Turley

We need the Puritans. The Puritans were a people who sought to live worship. Life and worship were synonymous. The Bible was at the very center of their lives. As J. I. Packer has noted, "In the Puritan's communion with God, as Jesus Christ was central, so Holy Scripture was supreme. By Scripture, as God's Word of instruction about divine human relationships, they sought to live..."¹ The Puritan's are powerful voices from the past who remind us that the only life worth living is one that seeks to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Thus, we Christians, who live in such a man-centered, therapeutic age, will do well to listen to these voices and study their practices of worship. For in them we find the glory of God.

Pure worship
Puritanism began as a movement of "divers Godly and learned" people "which stood for and desire the Reformation of our church in discipline and ceremonies according to the pure Word of God and the law of the land."² Puritans sought to purify the church of its "idolatries" that centered on man, and restore a Biblically-based worship that centered on God. They were not a particular denomination, but, much like Evangelicals, were "a scattered presence in a broad expanse of affiliations."³ So Puritans, and their efforts to purify worship, touched many denominations.

The Bible as center in worship
English Puritanism viewed worship as fundamentally a prophetic act. The mediation of grace was through the Word of Christ spoken by the minister in the Spirit of Christ to the people of Christ (see Romans 10). This was in direct contrast to the Anglican view of worship that was fundamentally a priestly act, whereby the mediation of grace came through the acts of the priest. "To the Puritan mind the priestly element in worship rested on the two great truths of Christ's perpetual High Priesthood and the consequent priesthood of all believers."⁴ Thus, in public worship, the Puritan exalted the Word of God as central.

What came out of this was an entire theology on the preached Word. They believed it necessary to prepare the heart for the hearing of God's Word. Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs wrote, "First, when you come to hear the Word, if you would sanctify God's name, you must posses your souls with what it is you are going to hear. That is, what you are going to hear is the [very] Word of God."⁵ Puritans savored the Word as it was preached to them. Burrough's taught that we are not only to hear God's Word, but to love and delight in it (Psalm 1:2). And lastly, to hide the Word in our hearts and preserve it in our minds. We are to put into practice that which we have heard, and pray that Satan would not snatch God's word from our hearts (Psalm 119:11).

All of life as worship
The Puritan's did not believe in ornate, lavish church buildings. They did not believe in trained choirs singing virtuostic polyphony. They did not believe that the beauty of worship came from anything we did. The beauty of worship came from the glory of God, alone, shining through the believer. That was where the attraction to worship was found, not in any external value-free decorations, but in the very heart of the believer. The Puritan believed that the church was not a building, but persons. Puritans "knew nothing of sacred buildings: the 'Church' was the people in the building and the sanctity rested in the saints, not in the place of meeting."⁶ This is not to think that the Puritan believed the quality of worship to be peripheral. He was dedicated to excellence, for everything was done as unto God.

This delocalizing of the church had profound consequences on the whole concept of worship. Worship was not limited to a particular location or building, it was not limited to priestly acts or to a particular day. Worship became something that all Christians did regardless of their activities during the course of a day. Worship was for everyone, everywhere, in everything. Home, family, work, meals, education, charity, and leisure were all given to God.

Today, the church can learn by their example. We modern evangelicals, who are so tempted to appeal to the next generation by utilizing fancy music, videos, and light shows, would do well in hearkening these God-centered voices. Let us seek to attract the next generation by living life to the glory of God. If we are praying without ceasing, giving our whole lives as living sacrifices unto Him, just imagine the impact it will have on our children and the world around us.

1  Leland Ryken, Wordly Saints, Zondervan, 1986, pg. xii.
2  Heading to A Part of a Register [Ibid., pg. 111].
3  Ibid., pg. 111.
4  Peter Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism, Soli Deo Gloria, 1996, pg. 53.
5  Jeremiah Burroughs, Gospel Worship, 1648, pg. 164.
6  Peter Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism, Soli Deo Gloria, 1996, pg. 60.

Return to the Article Index.