Quest for Godliness # 4

The Puritans as Interpreters of Scripture

At the heart of Puritanism are the Scriptures, the very Word of the Lord. “To the Puritan the Bible was in truth the most precious possession that this world affords. His deepest conviction was that reverence for God means reverence for Scripture, and serving God means obeying Scripture” (98). The Puritan interpretation of Scripture is pre-modern and thus not encumbered by the differences and distances which they found themselves in relation to the biblical authors. Second, the Puritan grammatical-historical exegesis was extremely competent. Third, the Puritans always exegeted Scripture for the purpose of application.

There are two governing presuppositions of the Puritan approach to biblical interpretation. First, there is the nature of Scripture. They believed that the totality of Scripture was the very words of God. It was the mind of the Lord opened up in words and thoughts declared to humanity through the written Bible. Such revelation was given through a variety of authors and multiplicity of genres so that each specific author and genre deserves a careful study and recognition of their differences. Lastly, because Scripture is from God all who seek to interpret and understand it remain dependent of God for illumination. The second presupposition concerns the subject matter of Scripture. Scripture teaches us what to believe about God and then how we are to live our lives out in light of this teaching. We must live according to what we learn.

There are six methods of Puritan interpretation. First, they interpreted Scripture literally and grammatically. Attention was to be paid to grammar and context because it is the natural sense of Scripture which is to be sought after in contrast to the medieval spiritual interpretation of Scripture. Second, Scripture is to be interpreted consistently and harmonistically. All of Scripture flows from the mind of God and therefore must adhere and bind together. Therefore what is obscure must be interpreted in light of what is plain while certain ambiguities must be interpreted in harmony with more fundamental teachings. Third, interpret Scripture doctrinally and theocentrically. Scripture is a book of doctrine, a book of teaching and the teaching concerns none other than God the creator and redeemer. God is central in Scripture as opposed to those who believe man otherwise is central.

Fourth, Scripture is to be interpreted christologically and evangelically. As Isaac Ambrose notes, “Keep still Jesus Christ in your eye, in the perusal of the Scriptures, as the end, scope and substance thereof” (quoted by Packer on 103). Christ is the subject matter of Scripture. Fifth, interpret Scripture experimentally and practically. The Bible is a book chronicling spiritual experience. Therefore, it is a book that demands application. Scripture must be applied to the heart and soul of the reader or hearer. Scripture is for edification and igniting of the passions, not just the attainment of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Thus, the end of Scriptural interpretation is rightful application. Sixth, Scripture must be interpreted with a faithful and realistic application. As Packer writes, “Interpretation means making Scripture meaningful and relevant to those whom one addresses, and the work is not finished till the relevance of doctrine for their ‘reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness’ has been shown” (104). The interpretation of the Bible is to meet men where they are. It is a word for their life.