Journal: Puritan Reformed Journal
Volume: PRJ 02:2 (Jul 2010)
Article: William Ames And The Church’s Worship: A Puritan’s Analysis Of A “Contemporary” Question
Author: Jonathon David Beeke

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William Ames And The Church’s Worship: A Puritan’s Analysis Of A “Contemporary” Question

Jonathon D. Beeke

On the outdoor bulletin of the Presbyterian church situated across the street from my former residence reads the following bold advertisement: “Sunday Services: 8:45 a.m.—Contemporary; 10:30 a.m.—Vibrant Traditional; 5:45 p.m.—Alternative.” My purpose in quoting this advertisement is not to critique this particular church’s eclectic worship style; rather, I offer it as but one example of the contemporary solution to a perennial problem vis-à-vis worship. Depending on one’s preferences, a variety of worship styles—including or excluding drama, musical instruments, film, the sacraments, dance, scripture reading, and preaching—are currently offered in various churches and, as the above advertisement reveals, even within a particular church. These worship wars, however, are not unique to today’s culture. It is therefore the intent of this article to examine the English Puritans’ solution to this widely debated topic.

Although differences of opinion are evident within this seventeenth-century movement, I have chosen William Ames (1576-1633) as representative of the English Puritans’ views on worship. This choice serves a twofold purpose: 1) to fill a lacuna in secondary scholarship—Ames’s ecclesiology merely receives a passing glance in historiography—and 2) Ames’s explicitly voluntarist theology was arguably more consistent with his defense of the regulative principle of worship than was the implicitly voluntarist theology seen in other Puritans who also defended the regulative principle of worship. It is the contention of this article that Ames, convinced of the effective distinction between faith and observance, consistently defined the church as the elect of God wherein one’s will, as demonstrated in worship, is aligned with God’s revealed will; the church’s faith,

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he argued, is properly observant only when its worship models the express form articulated within scripture.

To demonstrate this, I will begin with a brief overview of the English Puritans’ attempts to reform the Anglican Church. I will then turn to Ames’s ecclesiology, situating his definition of the church within his twofold division of theology as well as his voluntarist emphasis. I will next examine Ames’s definition of worship and his defense of the regulative principle of worship, primarily concentrating on his Fresh Suit against Human Ceremonies in God’s Worship.1 Finally, I will analyze the few references in secondary scholarship concerning Ames’s ecclesiology as well as offer some concludin...