The Narrated Puritan

Sorrow is excessive when it hurts and overwhelms nature itself, and destroys bodily health or understanding. Grace is the due qualification of nature, and duty is the right employment of it; but neither of them must destroy it. As civil, ecclesiastic, and domestic governments are for edification and not for destruction, so also is self-government. God will have mercy and not sacrifice. Mat 9.13 He that would not have us kill or hurt our neighbor on the pretense of religion, would not have us destroy or hurt ourselves, for we are bound to love our neighbor as ourselves.

"Welcome to the program. If you walked into a Christian bookstore seventy years ago, the profound, soul-stirring writings of the Puritans were virtually lost to history—rotting in forgotten English attics and locked away in academic vaults. Today, we're sharing the remarkable story of a quiet literary rescue mission: a global, providential relay race run not by famous celebrities, but by a colorful band of printers, pastors, and tireless book-distributors. From Martyn Lloyd-Jones launching a modest magazine in post-war London, to remote bookrooms in Choteau, Montana, a devastating warehouse flood in Pennsylvania, and a hard-charging contractor who bought books by the pallet just to give them away, join us as we trace how a handful of dedicated pioneers brought the forgotten giants of the faith back to life—and forever changed the modern pulpit."

We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yea, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises. Ah, faltering soul, severely tried fellow pilgrim, seek grace to heed Isaiah 50:10, "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

This discussion outlines the compilation of a specialized 19th-century pastoral bibliography centered on the *Ars Moriendi* (The Art of Dying) literary tradition, which contrasts the final moments of believers and non-believers to demonstrate the power of faith. Key figures in this genre include Davis W. Clark, John Gregory Pike, and John Warburton, whose works served as evangelistic tools and pastoral guides. A focal point of the research is the rare 1807 Middlebury pamphlet, *The Contrast; or, The Death-Bed of a Free Thinker and a Christian Contrasted*, which physically pairs the harrowing, despair-filled demise of the skeptic Sir Francis Newport with the triumphant, ecstatic deathbed testimony of Presbyterian minister Dr. Samuel Finley—a historical text that can be reviewed via institutional databases like HathiTrust or downloaded in full PDF format through widespread 19th-century regional reprints.

Welcome to today's program, where we are stepping back into the vibrant, often forgotten print networks and pastoral pulpits that forged the early nineteenth-century Second Great Awakening. From the foundational 17th-century English Puritanism of William Gurnall's The Christian in Complete Armour to the strategic New England revival engines of Nathan Strong's Connecticut Evangelical Magazine and Jedidiah Morse's The Panoplist, we will explore how local awakenings transformed into a unified global mission movement. Joining us on this historical journey are the towering figures of the era—including Edward Dorr Griffin, Heman Humphrey, Bennet Tyler, and Ashbel Green—whose traditional Reformed orthodoxy and orderly revival methods were defended and distributed through historic publications like The National Preacher and The Christian Advocate.

The Holiness of God is not blemished by withdrawing His Grace from a sinful creature, whereby he falls more into sin.