So, we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:5

From the discovery by Columbus to the work of missionaries in the Southwest to the settlement by the Pilgrims, the Light of Christ spread in the New World. Now it was being carried forth by the Puritans. From 1630 to 1646, twenty thousand Puritans came to America. They sailed across the ocean as obedient servants to the Lord. They came committed to God and to one another, wanting to build towns and cities whose life centered on God’s Word.

Many people today do not know this about the Puritans. They think that the Puritans were a gloomy group of people who always dressed in black. They believe that the Puritans had nothing better to do than attend long church services. They view these settlers as narrow-minded and self-righteous.

Were they? What were the Puritans really like?

———

“Don’t forget to check the inn, Allen!” the pastor called. “Make sure it’s closed during service today.”

“I will, Pastor,” the tithingman replied. “I’ll also keep an eye on Mr. Tomlins this morning. Last Sunday he kept closing his eyes. I’ll use my staff if I need to. That should keep his eyes open!”

“That will do nicely!” The pastor smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

In Puritan New England, the Sunday morning service usually lasted about three hours. The church members gathered in the meetinghouse and they paid a tithingman to keep them alert during the teaching. The Puritans realized that sometimes it was difficult to stay awake and pay attention, but it was important for everyone to hear God’s Word. Because they hungered for the Word, the Puritans welcomed long services. They deeply desired a life centered on Christ.

“We must take sin seriously,” the pastor preached. “The success of God’s New Israel depends on our willingness to lay our sinful natures aside.

“The key to God’s plan in our lives is to never forget that we are sinful creatures. We must remain humble before Him. We must always remember that we need His mercy and forgiveness at every turn. His blessings will flow from our obedience.”

While the pastor spoke, the tithingman quietly walked around the meetinghouse. He strutted about, watching for anyone who might be “resting his eyes.” Sure enough, Mr. Tomlins was sleeping comfortably. His head leaned against the wall while his hand grasped the rail. The tithingman quickly pricked the man’s hand with the sharp thorn attached to the end of his staff. The man sprang up with such force that he struck his hand against the wall.

“Curse you, woodchuck!” Tomlins loudly exclaimed. He had been dreaming and thought a woodchuck had bitten his hand. When he realized where he was, the embarrassed man sat down and did not fall asleep again!

The heart of the Puritans’ lives was their willingness to deal with sin. Because sin separated them from God, the Puritans took it very seriously. That meant trying to live according to the Bible with the help of God’s grace. The Bible says that we should first look at the sin within our own hearts before we look at the sins of others. When the Puritans did sin they knew that they were supposed to repent before God and receive His forgiveness. And then they could help each other come to repentance and ask God’s forgiveness. The Puritans tried to live that way.

The case of Captain John Underhill was a good example.

“Now, Captain Underhill,” the pastor began, “you may speak.”

John Underhill stood before the congregation with tears in his eyes. “My sin was adultery. It was a sin against you as well as against God. You were right to cut me off from the church. It made me realize I was wrong.” The captain swallowed hard. “I ask you to forgive me.”

The congregation listened. One of the members spoke up. “Brother Underhill, how do we know you’ve truly repented of your sins?”

Underhill took a deep breath. “Because my heart has changed. I’m asking you to have compassion on me,” he said. “I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done.”

The church had excommunicated Captain Underhill. It hoped that he would come to repentance. Excommunication was a severe punishment in the 1600s. The church served as the center of social as well as religious life. Being cut off from it meant being cut off from everything. And Underhill did not want that. He repented, and the congregation forgave him.

At the center of the Puritans’ lives was their covenant relationship with God and with one another. This covenant shaped everything they did, and they took it very seriously. The covenant was based on Christ’s Great Commandments:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37–39

The covenant had two parts: a vertical relationship with Jesus and a horizontal relationship with other people. Both parts must be honored in order for individuals and a community to function properly.

They were a big family that had been called by God to care for one another. When it came to matters of birth and death, they rejoiced and grieved together. Training children was a sacred responsibility undertaken by both parents and church. Marriage was a sacred vow, carefully entered into only after counsel from other brethren. What happened to one Puritan affected all of them because everyone knew each other in the towns.

The Puritans were also a people who enjoyed life. Frequently, they met to build a house or hold a meeting. Quilting and sewing bees were favorite pastimes for the women. Children would gather together for games and spelling bees.

In 1682, some Puritans assembled to dedicate a new meetinghouse and to install their new pastor. Ministers from churches for miles around were invited as guests. A member of the congregation offered his barn as a place for the dinner.

While boys swept the barn clean, the girls hung large green bows and wreaths. They placed benches for the women and set a long table in the middle of the barn floor.

“Anna, you and Roger take the cows to the field,” Mrs. Hood directed. “Thomas and I will shoo off the chickens. Rebecca, you and Sarah set the table. It’s almost time for Mr. Shepherd and the others to arrive.”

Soon guests arrived. The new pastor, Mr. Shepherd, sat down with the other guests of honor. They enjoyed a feast of meats, puddings, and fruit pies. They discussed the dedication sermon and the new meetinghouse.

Suddenly, a flock of chickens flew into the barn and landed up in the rafters. They scattered feathers and dirt all over the table. The guests looked up from their plates in shock.

“Get those birds away!” ordered Mrs. Hood.

The chickens flew out, only to turn around and fly back in again.

Mr. Shepherd watched in silence while the birds continued to be a nuisance. Finally, he picked up an apple and threw it at one of them. His aim was so good that he hit it in the legs, causing it to flop down on the table! Gravy and sauces splattered on the diners’ faces. Everyone burst into laughter. Mrs. Hood removed the bird, and everyone returned to eating.

The feast continued, but not without more invading chickens and flying apples. Songs and laughter filled the occasion.

This was the Puritan way.

Because the Puritans were deeply committed to God, He blessed them frequently. Cotton Mather, a famous Puritan minister, wrote a book entitled Magnalia Christi Americana. He described many of God’s wondrous miracles in the New World.

One story was about two ships at sea. One sprang a leak when it was about a thousand miles from shore. Its crew climbed into the longboat, carrying bread and water. By the eighteenth day, they still had ample bread but only enough water to give each man one teaspoon per day. In the meantime, the other ship had run out of food. This ship spied the drifting longboat.

“Captain Scarlet,” a seaman cried, “there’s a longboat starboard! It’s filled with men.”

“Aye,” the captain replied as he walked to the starboard side. “They’re in distress. We’ll take them in!”

“But Captain,” the first mate said, “we don’t have enough food for ourselves. How can we take on more people?”

“These men are in trouble,” the captain declared. “God will have to provide for us all.”

And God did. Captain Scarlet’s ship had plenty of water. The men in the longboat had plenty of food. They shared. And when the sailors arrived in New England, they spread the word about God’s miracle.

God was planting His spiritual vineyard in the colonies with faithful followers. But all of the vines needed to be strong. So, before long He began to prune a few branches from the Bay Colony.

The first such separation involved a man named Roger Williams. Williams was a Puritan minister who did not share the Puritan vision for God’s kingdom. He did not believe God could use imperfect human beings to set up His kingdom on earth. So Williams demanded perfection from his congregation, yet he would not admit his own sins and failures. Puritan leaders tried to reason with him, but he would not listen.

In 1631, Williams finally said farewell to Massachusetts and moved to Rhode Island, where he founded the city of Providence. His missionary work there with the Narraganset Indians kept the natives from attacking any of the Rhode Island colonists.

God also pruned another branch from the Bay Colony. Her name was Anne Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson was a member of John Cotton’s church in Boston. She admired Cotton’s preaching and often invited women to her home to discuss his sermons. At first, these discussions focused on Cotton’s sermons. But as time passed, they revolved around Mrs. Hutchinson and her beliefs. Before long, the woman claimed that she alone knew what the Holy Spirit was saying. The colony had no choice but to charge her with heresy.

The courtroom was packed. Every minister within two days’ ride was there. Even Governor Winthrop attended.

“Mrs. Hutchinson, how do you know it’s not Satan who shows you these things?” The judges asked.

“By an immediate voice!” Mrs. Hutchinson shot back with fire in her eyes.

“How?”

“By the voice of God’s Spirit to my soul!” she cried. “And He has told me what He’s going to do to you! He’s going to ruin you and your children—and this whole colony.”

The Court banished Anne Hutchinson, and she moved away. In 1643, she died at the hands of Indians.

God took a third spiritual branch from the vineyard and replanted it in another colony. This branch was led by the Reverend Thomas Hooker, a friend of John Winthrop. Hooker shared Winthrop’s vision of God’s purpose for New England. He loved the Lord and had a humble spirit. But he differed from his friend in one important area—who should have the right to vote.

One evening the two men sat in Winthrop’s parlor in front of a fire. “Are you really serious?” Winthrop asked. “Do you mean that every man should be able to vote?” Winthrop got up to warm himself by the fire. “Thomas, how long do you think God would stay in office if the Kingdom of God were a democracy? If you give every man the vote you’ll end up with bad rulers.”

Hooker took a sip from his cup. “John, it’s not a matter of trusting the voters’ judgment. It’s a question of trusting the Holy Spirit to work through them.”

Winthrop turned toward his friend. “Thomas, most men don’t have the wisdom to elect good leaders. Government is better off in the hands of a few who are dedicated to God’s work.”

The two men could never agree on this point, but they remained friends. Hooker finally asked permission to move his church to Connecticut.

“I really believe that it’s God’s will for me to go, John,” Hooker said. “It will benefit both colonies. We can continue to support one another.”

With a heavy heart, Winthrop sadly addressed his old friend. “I don’t want you to go, but you have my permission—and my blessing.”

Hooker’s ideas planted the roots of future government in Connecticut. Later Connecticut’s government would serve as a model for the other colonies. Thomas Hooker believed that men should voluntarily consent to the same kind of covenant in civil government that formed the Puritan churches. His ideas laid one more stone in the building that would soon become American representative government.

———

The Puritans were a people of God, deeply committed to the Covenant Way of life. From John Winthrop’s arrival in 1630, the Covenant Way developed and advanced as the Puritans built their new lives. God’s light was shining as He built His spiritual house. That is, it was shining for a while . . .