For His Glory

Here is the research paper I did for our Humanities course this year, if anyone is interested:

Today, many people would probably say that Puritans were people who derived no enjoyment out of life, who were a dour, artless, close-minded somber people. In fact, the very title of “Puritan” is a derogatory one and was coined by their adversaries to use in reference to them implying disdain for their lifestyle and their supposed peevishness, sternness, conceit, and hypocrisy. As this happened in the 1560s, right around the time the Puritan movement “began”, it should be easy to see that there have always been people who have been adverse to the Puritans. This aversion has led to many persecutions of these people, one of the most notable being by the King of England in the 1600s, which led to a mass migration of the Puritans to America.

Yet, despite what people may think, gloomy and somber men were the exception rather than the rule. Generally, the Puritans were people who sought to live their lives realistically and biblically, applying their faith to every area. They took a great interest in life and were a colorful, lively, and passionate community of Christian people who also took great delight in manifesting the values of beauty, goodness, and truth in their lifestyle and their actions. (Wilson, 11)

There are many people who could be used as an example of the vitality and exuberance of the Puritan life, but perhaps the best example is Anne Bradstreet. Mrs. Bradstreet was a woman of education and winsome personality and one sees in her life that, though she was a woman and is presumed today to have lived in a “suppressed” position, her life was actually very vibrant and diverse and she is therefore an excellent example of the vitality and joy that the Puritans found in life. This leads to the fact that contrary to the seemingly common conception that Anne Bradstreet was an early feminist, who advocated the rights’ of women and their liberation from being “just” a wife, the opposite is true; as she lived her life in accordance with Biblical womanhood, giving glory and praise to God in all that she did including being a write, a homemaker, and a godly wife.

The Puritan Way of Life and their Theology

The way the Puritans lived was grounded in their Christian faith and their desire to serve God in every facet of their existence. This stretched all the way from everyday mundane tasks like housework to their Church worship on Sundays. For example, they believed that preaching was to be central in their worship. (Lloyd-Jones, 379) They believed this because they saw it as the clear exposition of God’s Word, where those who listen are being instructed to grow in the faith themselves. The Puritans took a true and increasing delight in preaching, preferring it to be plain and direct, teaching salvation through grace by faith, yet its plainness didn’t mean that it was dull and lifeless. Far from it! It was not only clear but also very dynamic and exuberant, frequently preached without the help of notes. (Lloyd-Jones, 382 – 383)

Puritan women were honored and respected, as they sought to be keepers at home, training their children and being loving and submissive wives to their husbands. Together with their husbands, they sought to train their children in the love and fear of God. Because of all this marriage was very important; it was not only the joining together of two people, but one of its primary purposes was to raise up a godly next generation. Of course, the whole purpose of raising up their children was to train them as Christians, and thus the Puritans had a strong emphasis on education, especially in reading so that each person could study and learn the Scriptures for themselves. This worldview didn’t come from their imaginings but from what they found in the Bible that directed them to these beliefs.

Their theology was made up of primarily five points, which is commonly known today under the acronym of TULIP or under the name of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and the Perseverance of the Saints. Total depravity is the belief in original sin; man by himself is unable to save himself and can only be saved through the grace and mercy of God through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross. Furthermore, faith is a gift from God to man, not something that man decides he will have. As it says in Romans 3:
“As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Because of man’s total depravity, God has chosen certain people to be saved. Contrary to what many people think, God has every right to grant grace and mercy to some while withholding it from others. This is a mystery to many people but we can all rest in the assurance, as the Puritans did, that God is a just God and that whatever He does, He has lawful, right and good reasons for those decisions. This is unconditional election. Out of the many scriptures that could be used in support of this perhaps the best is Ephesians 1 where it says in verse 4:
“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”
In the belief of limited atonement, everything necessary for the elect to be redeemed was secured in Christ’s death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection. This is a main theme of Scripture and is repeatedly addressed as in Matthew chapter 1:
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Irresistible grace is the drawing of the elect to Christ by the Holy Spirit through an internal call, which is irresistible, in other words, it cannot be rejected. As Jesus says in John 6:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…”
All of this ties in with the perseverance of the saints, where those people who are chosen by God and given faith through the workings of the Holy Spirit, persevere through their Christian walk and are eternally saved. (Gospel Outreach) Paul addresses some of the trials that Christians will go through and their triumph over these in Romans 8: 35 – 39 where it says:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
‘For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor ay other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Mistaken conceptions and the subsequent persecutions that would follow those conceptions will always accompany those brave men and women who seek to do what is right and good and who seek to glorify God with their whole lives. This is an inevitable consequence that is plainly taught in Scripture as it says in Mark 13:13,
“And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake…”
and the Puritans were no exception. They were persecuted and hunted from the very beginning and even today, with most of them “dead”, many still do live on, just not under that name, they are maligned and labeled as intolerant, stuffy, priggish and censorious people. Yet, as we will see, they weren’t like this at all.

The Life of Anne Bradstreet

General Survey of Life

Anne Bradstreet is one of those people who is viewed by today’s moderns as an exception to the general behavior and beliefs of the Puritans. Furthermore, she is viewed as being an early feminist, someone who advocated the freedom of women from the confines of household life and a woman who showed her inner rebellion through her poetry. (Woodlief, Ann) Yet this is far from the truth as can easily be seen by a careful study of her life.

She was born in 1612, living for sixty years before dying in September of 1672. Anne was born as Anne Dudley to Thomas and Dorothy Dudley, a magistrate and a gentlewoman respectively. She came from a fairly noble family line and was subsequently raised in the surroundings of the Puritan aristocracy, which led to her becoming very well educated in several languages, literature and history.

Around the age of 14 she started to become spiritually lax and apathetic in her walk with God. As she herself says,
“I found my heart more carnal, and sitting loose from God, vanity and the follies of youth take hold of me. “
Thankfully, both for her sake and for our benefit today, the Lord did not allow her to stray far and quickly brought her back to Himself by the means of a severe sickness: smallpox. As she says,
“About sixteen, the Lord laid His hand sore upon me and smote me with the smallpox. When I was in my affliction, I besought the Lord and confessed my pride and vanity, and He was entreated of me and again restored me. But I rendered not to Him according to the benefit received.”
That last sentence shows us that as a sinful human being, she was deeply aware that she was utterly incapable of being grateful enough for all that God had done for her in her life.

At the age of sixteen she was married to Simon Bradstreet, the son of a minister, who was known as a very competent, handsome and godly man, and who was also nine years older than her. (Wilson, 43) Lest anyone think that the age difference caused any gap in their marital life, on the contrary it seemed to have made little difference with her. Indeed by all accounts she seemed to have had a most joyful and contented marriage. About two years after her wedding, she and her husband migrated to America, heading for Massachusetts, aboard the ship Arbella. This voyage, although seeming hard to us today was actually viewed as an easy one. It was also at this time that Mrs. Bradstreet felt some rebellion at leaving England for a place as remote and uncivilized as America, switching from living a fairly well-to-do life to a life in the wilderness. However, she soon reconciled herself to it, realizing that it was God’s will for her life. After this, her growth in grace and character was a steady and continual one and she spent the rest of her life as a fruitful Christian woman, being sanctified by God. (Wilson, 41)

From reading about Anne’s diverse life, one would think that she enjoyed good health all her days, however this was not the case. In fact, her health was so poor throughout her life that she often feared for it. Yet despite this and in addition to everything else she did, she was blessed with eight children and she always strove to make a home for her family and to be a good wife and a helpmeet to her husband. (Wilson, 127)

In 1666, a double tragedy struck her life when the Bradstreet home burned to the ground leaving them devoid of the majority of their belongings, (Wikipedia) including Anne’s personal library, which was comprised of more than seven hundred and fifty books. Not only this, but it was about this time that their daughter Dorothy died of tuberculosis. Nevertheless, Anne did not despair. Instead she wrote a poem, accepting the trials that God had sent her and in so doing acknowledged His sovereign hand and providence in her life.
“And when I could no longer look,
I blest his grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.”
She died six years later on September 16, 1672, under the wonderful knowledge that to live was to try to be like Christ and to die was the greatest gain a Christian could ever have.

The common perception of Anne

With these basic facts of her life in hand, a closer look can now be taken of her more personal life: her character, thoughts, convictions and morals.
Most intellectual men and women today are very much aware of Anne Bradstreet, yet seemingly unaware of what she was really like. Many view her as an early advocate of the feminist movement, who inwardly fought against the harsh Puritan convictions and their view of God, (Gonzalez, Ramon) they think that her abundant writings were criticized by her husband and father and were only, by much stint on her part, able to be published at all. On the whole she is viewed as a woman who had to abide by the laws of the time and who released her vexation at this through her poetry.
However, she was none of these things nor did she advocate any of these ideas. On the contrary, she was a woman who gloried in her womanhood, who exercised her own gifts fully and completely without feeling the need to compete with men for recognition.

Wifehood and Motherhood

Anne Bradstreet was both a good mother and a good wife. The Puritans held marriage to be of high importance for three main reasons, all of which were clearly demonstrated and exemplified in the marriage she and her husband shared.
Firstly, marriage was for companionship and friendship. A husband and wife were to trust and love one another, delighting in each other’s company and seeking God’s will for their lives together. Secondly, the union of a man and woman was for the purpose of enjoying one another physically as God designed it in the beginning.

Thirdly marriage was for the propagation of children: the raising up of godly offspring who would be the leaders of the following generation. Anne was dedicated to motherhood and although she didn’t start having children until the age of 21, when she did she bore her husband eight children, four boys and four girls. All of these she nurtured and taught with wisdom despite the obstacles she faced on account of her poor health. An example of her wisdom in their training is that she didn’t subject them to all the same disciplines but recognized that they were diverse and different people and that they couldn’t all be treated the same way. At the heart of this discipline was their relationship with God. (Wilson, 125 – 127)

Anne was also a beautiful woman outwardly. She didn’t allow her sickness or her children to prevent taking good care of herself physically. She presented a pleasing appearance, dressing in attractive clothing (Wilson, 130) and not becoming dowdy or untidy. Yet all of this wouldn’t have been worth much if it had not been coupled with an inner loveliness, which was brought about by her godly character.

The Character of Anne Bradstreet

General Attributes of Character

Mrs. Bradstreet was an intelligent, educated woman, which can plainly be seen in a survey of her life and character. She had an unswerving devotion to Scripture and her careful study of the Bible and her seeking to please God from her youth brought about many good qualities in her life. As a girl and as a woman, she honored her parents and looked up to them for counsel. She was highly respected and honored by the Puritan people as a godly woman and yet she was humble in her abilities and didn’t strive for recognition. As she grew in character and years her counsel was sought by her adult children, exemplifying what it says in Proverbs 31:
“her children shall rise up and call her blessed…”.
In this Anne exemplified how a woman can exhibit leadership, not by pushing ahead of her husband and usurping his authority but by cultivating in her life and heart the wisdom God gave her and using these gifts to glorify Him in a biblical way. She was wise in her insights in the lives of others, in her discipline of her offspring and in what she said. In short, she was a complete Puritan in everything. (Wilson, 242)

Particular Attributes of Character

Anne Bradstreet’s character was full of admirable qualities manifested as a wife in her day-to-day life, so much so that it’s overwhelming. Her love of others came from her Christian faith as throughout her life she followed a God of love and loved Him devotedly.

In Scripture, women are commanded to respect and honor their husbands and Mrs. Bradstreet excelled in this Christian trait, honoring and listening to her husband and father and her mother. This respect can be seen throughout her life as in the case when she crossed over to America, showing that she trusted and respected their judgment enough to give up her comfortable life in England to go to a strange land. Her respect was rendered in a biblical and godly way and in turn men and women respected her, for it naturally follows that those who wish to be respected must have respect for others. She was also a very feminine woman, orienting herself according to the biblical role of a helpmeet and unashamedly glorying in that fact.

Leadership among women is usually not associated with submission and biblical womanhood, yet women are able to manifest leadership without usurping their husband’s, father’s or another man’s authority. A woman’s leadership is often exercised behind the scenes as a manager of their home under their husband’s authority. Women often do not realize what a very big influence they have over men, yet the fact remains that they do and that they are called to use this influence rightly. (Wilson, 117 – 119) Anne exemplified this leadership trait very well and was exalted by humbling herself under the leadership of her husband, and her father. As it says in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23:
“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Anne was also honoring to her parents, being a kind, loving, and obedient daughter to them, both as a child and as an adult as she sought to follow their good example in her own home. She also displayed a biblical tenderness for the things of God, which doesn’t mean that she was timid but rather that she extolled the things God extolled and had charity and kindness in her heart for others. (Wilson, 150)

She was full of an active courage like all the Puritans who sought to live out their worldview. This meant that she was willing to stand up for her convictions, her way of life and her beliefs. This willingness was not brought about by a blind ignorance, however, for she made sure that she was in full possession of the facts. In fact, it is in courage that all virtues are tested as C. S. Lewis said,
“Courage is not so much a separate virtue as it is the testing point of all the virtues.”

Anne was also a shrewd woman. This doesn’t mean that she was a shrew but rather that she examined the issues and ideas of her day carefully in light of the facts before writing about them. She was willing to receive correction but because of her gift of shrewd observation and insight, she couldn’t be easily persuaded into error (Wilson, 155). She was also intelligent in her perception and in her study of theology. If she had doubts about the worthiness of a particular matter she would consider its probable fruits and thus was able to hold to what was right. Her faith was comprised of a simple orthodoxy of what the Bible taught and the theology of the Puritans coming from Scripture. For example, in the study of the doctrine of God’s sovereign election of some people instead of others, which has often troubled many people, she says this:
“All the works and doings of God are wonderful, but none more awful than His great work of election and reprobation; when we consider how many good parents have had bad children, and again how many bad parents have had pious children, it should make us adore the sovereignty of God, who will not be tied to time nor place, nor yet to persons, but takes and chooses, when and where and whom He pleases; it should also teach the children of godly parents to walk with fear and trembling, lest they through unbelief fall short of a promise; it may also be a support to such as have or had wicked parents, that if they abided not in unbelief, God is able to g[r]aff them in. The upshot of all should make us with the apostle to admire the justice and mercy of God and say how unsearchable are His ways and His footsteps past finding out.”
As Doug Wilson says:
“Anne did not try to solve the mystery of God’s sovereignty and man’s free agency. Her response was one of worship and admiration.”
In Proverbs 31, Solomon writes on the virtuous woman and Anne is a good example of this Christian ideal. To be sure, she wasn’t perfect, but she always strove to follow God and seek after him. She was longsuffering in her life as she went through adversities such as her illnesses, not complaining during these trials but accepting them with gratitude for God’s grace in her life. Anne also understood the importance of discipline. She knew that it was a corrective measure and a means of plowing the soil of someone’s life to produce good crops but she also knew that some children require more and some less than others. By all accounts, her life was one of exemplary virtue yet she knew that holiness didn’t arise from herself but from God. She was full of contentment with her life and what God had seen fit to bestow upon her, even during the time of the burning of her possessions in 1666. Anne was also a sacrificial woman and because of this she was sometimes unhappy, although not in a bad way, that her illnesses prevented her from doing more for her family.

In everything she did and throughout her entire life, Anne Bradstreet was thankful to God for all his kindness and mercies to her. She saw every event of life as a part of God’s overarching plan and that subsequently God was to be thanked for all that he did. This thankfulness can especially be seen in her writings that remain, namely in her poetry.

Poetess

In her poems she reveals both her education and her natural wit. Through them we see the loveliness and godliness of her character. For example, in this poem entitled “By Night when Others Soundly Slept” she contemplates God’s unfailing goodness as a comforter:
“By night when others soundly slept
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.

I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow’d his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry Soul he fill’d with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.

What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I’ll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Loue him to Eternity.”

In another shorter poem she also gives a wonderful glimpse of her loving relationship with her husband:

“If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.”
(Shields, 55 - 56)

Her poems were first published without her knowledge by her father and husband for the main purpose of advancing God’s kingdom on earth, which they thought her poems would help do. After that they were continually republished making Anne Bradstreet the greatest, woman, poetess before Emily Dickinson.
In all of this Mrs. Bradstreet sought to glorify God and has thus left us a lasting legacy that we can study and follow.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be evident that contrary to the common conception that Anne Bradstreet was an early feminist, who advocated the rights’ of women and sought their liberation from being “just” a wife and a homemaker, the opposite is true; as she lived her life in accordance with Biblical womanhood in an abundance of joy, giving glory and praise to God in all that she did as she showed that a woman can live a fulfilled and fully satisfying life in being a homemaker and a godly wife.
Anne didn’t have to usurp a man’s God-given role, going out into the world and supporting her family, leaving others to take care of her children while she worked. This is isn’t to say that a woman is incapable of work or that her task in life is to be confined strictly to the home and taking care of children. Anne Bradstreet soundly refuted this myth in her prolific writings. Not only that, she showed that being a wife and mother can be and is meant to be a glorious task, not an easy one, by any means, but one that has just as many if not more challenges and joys as a typical day you might find in working outside of the home.
Anne is a great legacy and inspiration of how a woman can live a life biblically, showing that being a biblical woman doesn’t mean you have to work from dawn to dusk with untidy hair and clothes, doing nothing but living a life of drudgery in feeding and clothing children, in addition to being a “slave” to your husband, subject to his every whim. Rather she shows that it is a noble and beautiful undertaking, raising children to love, serve, and fear God and that the relationship between husband and wife is wonderful and lovely when the wife submits and the husband leads and both follow God.
Anne Bradstreet is a model to all women. She sought to serve God with her whole heart and as a result was by His grace happy and content with her life, her convictions, her husband, her children and her home. Yet her greatest and ultimate impact is that she is a model of a woman, one who sought to obey and give glory to God in everything, no matter how big or how small, and in so doing fulfilled the beautiful verses in Proverbs 31:
“Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life…
Her children rise us and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing.
But a woman who fears the LORD,
She shall be praised.
Giver her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.”

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