This is a relatively brief chapter divided
into four subheadings, History, The Westminster Standards, Related
Documents, and Conclusion.
My wife and I had the great privilege of going to the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey in London some years ago (pictured). It was a bit eerie to visit the room where such a monumental undertaking was conducted. I think it would serve us well for me to quote the first paragraph of the chapter. “What many theologians considered to have been the largest gathering of spiritual giants since the days of the apostles met from 1643 to 1648 in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey in London. The documents they produced also rank among the theologically richest in all church history. No study of Calvinism is complete without a look at the Westminster assembly, its participants, and its documents.”
History. This
portion of the chapter consists of five paragraphs containing several
historical details that I suspect would be of little interest to those reading
this blog. However, it might interest my readers to know that the Assembly met
in 1163 sessions over almost five years. Of the 151 members, 121 were
theologians and pastors, 30 were lay “assessors” (20 from the House of Commons
and ten from the House of Lords). Most of the members were Presbyterians. Five
were Independents. A few were Anglicans. None of them were Baptists. There were
no Arminians, Catholics, Quakers, or Lutherans. On average, there were 70 men
present each day, with occasional days of prayer and fasting. Every member took
the following vow, which was read aloud every Monday morning:
I do solemnly promise and vow, in
the presence of Almighty God, that in this Assembly whereof I am a member, I
will maintain nothing in point of doctrine but what I believe to be most
agreeable to the Word of God; nor in point of discipline, but what may make
most for God’s glory and the peace and good of His church.”
Notable among the 151 were John Arrowsmith, Thomas
Goodwin, Thomas Gataker, Anthony Tuckney, William Gouge, Anthony Burgess,
Jeremiah Burroughs, Edward Reynolds, and Thomas Manton. The only member to
attend every session was John Lightfoot.
The
Westminster Standards. The Westminster Assembly issued several documents, three
of which stand out. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) is most famous.
Longer than most Reformed confessions, Baptists in London revised it in 1677
but did not publish it until 1688/89 as the Second London Confession of Faith (also
known as the Baptist Confession of 1689). The author suggests the Baptists
revised the Westminster Confession to reflect Baptist ecclesiology. That the
Baptists of London revised the Westminster Confession is true. That it reflects
Baptist ecclesiology, I dispute.[1] I think
the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith wrongly reflects
Protestant ecclesiology. The Assembly also issued the Shorter Catechism, having
107 questions and answers meant for the instruction of children. The Larger Catechism
has 196 questions and much fuller answers.
Related Documents. The
author references several works produced by members of the Assembly. The Sum
of Saving Knowledge (1650), The Form of Presbyterial-Church Government
(1645), The Directory for the Public Worship of God (1645), The Directory
for Family Worship (1647), The Westminster Annotations (1647), and The
Metrical Psalter.
Conclusion. The
author summarizes the history of the period by suggesting that the greatest
legacy of the Puritans is the Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism.
[1]
See my book John S. Waldrip, The Church of Jesus Christ: 28 Truths Every
Christian Ought To Learn, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2019),
available at www.ClassicalBaptist.Press
and on Amazon.
