An overlooked thesis

I have tried to gather information on academic theses concerning Thomas Adams but had so far missed this interesting 1951 thesis by T B Hoover. The interesting thing here is the more theological angle. See this page for access.

Works online

Many works by Thomas Adams can now be accessed online here

Works of Adams available

The works of Adams in three volumes are currently available from Reformation Heritage. See here.

Adams on John 3:16

This extract was found here and is from Adams' Exposition upon the Second Epistle General of St. Peter (London, 1633, revised by James Sherman, reprinted: Soli Deo Gloria, 1990), 179.

Take the sum of this application. We have heard much of God’s Son, and of his dearness to the Father. Now join with it another text; “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” John iii. 16. Here meditate, wonder, and weigh the sentence; who, what, how, to what end. Who Loved? God; that made us his friends by creation; whose enemies we made ourselves by prevarication. What did he love? The world; a bad world , a mad world, a blind world, a bloody world; that hated him and all his, John xv. 19. It was no wonder that he should love the angels, for they serve him; or the very reasonless creatures, for they obey him; but that he should love the rebellious and hateful world, this is boundless mercy! How did he love it? So that he gave his only begotten Son. If, like Gideon, he had had threescore and ten sons, Judg. viii. 30, it had been much to part with one of them; but his only Son! Jacob rent his clothes, and went mourning in sackcloth many days, for losing one son of twelve, Gen. xxxvii. 34. Even a harlot pitied the fruit of her womb, and her bowels yearned upon her son; “O lord, give her the living child, and in nowise slay it,” 1 Kings iii. 28: but God gave the only Son his love. To what end? That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life! Where observe two things; the felicity that is gotten, and the facility to get it. The felicity consists of two things; deliverance, and an inheritance. He shall not perish; there is the deliverance. He shall have everlasting life; there is the inheritance. For the facility; it is not to keep the law, but only to believe. Lord, what is man, that thou shouldst so regard him? Ps viii. 4. Yea, that to regard him, thou didst not regard thyself? It is reported of a great soldier, that the very jingling of his spur was a terror to his enemies. So the very sound of this text makes all the devils in hell roar, all the foes of man’s salvation to quake. This is the Christian’s armoury, that tower of David, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men,” Cant. iv. 4. If thy conscience be assaulted with guiltiness of thy sins, remember first that this Christ his only Son. If Satan now object, Yes, but he gave him only for the holy and just; answer, Nay, he so loved the world; mundum immundum: mundum, therefore mundanum: he gave him not for the righteous, but for sinners. I am of that number, therefore I have my part in that favour. Paul says, “Put on the whole amour of God,” Eph. vi. 1; and, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom. xiii. 14. In the one place, all those pieces of armour is but the Lord Jesus taken asunder; in the other, the whole armour is but the Lord Jesus put together. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,” Ps ii. 12. To make peace with the Father, kiss the Son. “Let him kiss me,” was the church’s prayer, Cant. i. 2: let us kiss him, that be our endeavour. Indeed, the Son must first kiss us by his mercy before we can kiss him by our piety Lord grant us these mutual kisses interchangeable embraces now, that we may come to the plenary wedding supper hereafter; when the choir of heaven, even the voices of angels, shall sing epithalamiums, nuptial songs at the bridal of the spouse to the Lamb.

Godly Fear

I found this extract from Adams over on Puritanism Today here. It is taken from Day by day with the English Puritans (p 266) edited by Randall Pederson. See here.

“We must not only love our good God; we must fear our great Lord. It is objected to this, that “perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). It is answered that fear brings in perfect love, as the needle draws the thread. And it is not possible that true love should be without good fear; that is, a filial reverence. For slavish fear, be it as far from your hearts, as it shall be from my discourse. Now this fear is a most due and proper affection, and (I may say) the fittest of all to be towards God. Indeed God requires our love. But we must think that then God stoops low, and bows down to be loved by us. For there is such an infinite inequality between God and us, that without his sweet descending to us, there could be no fitness of this affection. But if we look up to that infinite glory of our great Lord, and we look down on the vileness of ourselves, sinful dust, and we will say that by reason of the disproportion between us, there is nothing so suitable to give so high a God, as fear.”

2 Peter 3:9 Link

See here for another extract from Adams on 2 Peter - this time on 3:9. Thanks again David.

2 Peter 2:1 Link

You can find a nice quotation from Adams on 2 Peter 2:1 here

Literary Biography

A literary essay on Thomas Adams can be found here

It is the appropriate entry from the

Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Prose Writers of the Early Seventeenth Century

It is by Dr Moira Baker