William Perkins (1558-1602) wrote the first book on preaching in the English language four hundred years ago. The Art of Prophesying led to a revival in plain style preaching that came to characterize the Puritan era. Perkins rejected the fashionable preaching of his day that relied on clever rhetoric and overly ornate language. He urged preachers to bring a “studied plainness” to their sermons. He likened preachers to double interpreters, standing between God and people. First, they interpret God’s Word to people in faithful preaching and second, they help people interpret their wants and needs to God in prayer.
William had the uncanny ability to reach common people. The prisoners of Cambridge, England were among the first to benefit from his plain-speaking manner. He met a young man about to be executed for his crimes. William described him as looking, “half-dead.” He asked, “Young man, what is the matter with you? Are you afraid of death?” The prisoner admitted he was less afraid of death than what would follow it in God’s judgment. William illustrated to the man “how the black lines of all his sins were crossed and cancelled with the red lines of his crucified Savior’s blood.” They knelt for prayer and William led him in making his confession. The condemned man received the assurance of God’s pardon and went to his death with uncommon serenity.
William concluded his book on preaching, “The heart of the matter is this: Preach one Christ, by Christ, to the praise of Christ. Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory!”
His prayer offered here concluded his sermon on the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name.”