PRESTON, JOHN
(October, 1587, Upper Heyford, Northamptonshire, England-20 July 1628, Preston-Capes, Northamptonshire, England). Education: B.A., Queens College, Cambridge University, 1607; M.A., Queens College, 1611; B.D. Queens College, 1620; awarded D.O. while Master of Emmanuel, 1623. Career: fellow, Queens College, 1609-11; tutor, preacher, Queens College, 1611-21; preacher, Lincoln's Inn, 1622-28; Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1622-28.
John Preston's career illustrates the degree to which lives were changed by the division between Puritans and Anglicans. In another time Preston might have become one of the darlings of the court and risen through the church hierarchy to become bishop, and even archbishop. He won the attention of King James in 1615 when he presented a disputation at Cambridge on the question, "Whether dogs could make syllogisms." Preston argued that they could, to the delight of the King, who then told a dog story of his own. A contemporary of Preston's remarked that "It was easy to discern that ye king's hound had opened a way for Mr. Preston at ye court." Later Preston was summoned to preach to the king and delivered a condemnation of Arminianism, which also impressed His Majesty. In 1620 Preston was appointed chaplain-in-ordinary to Prince Charles. Five years later, on the death of King James, Preston accompanied Charles to Whitehall, and saw him proclaimed King.
All of these events might have led to greater and greater preferment, except that Preston's life was otherwise developing in directions that made him suspect to the crown and especially to William Laud, whose anti-Puritan policies would soon hold sway. Preston's life had been skewed in a Calvinistic direction in 1611, when he heard a sermon at Cambridge by John Cotton*, then a fellow of Emmanuel. Cotton was reputed to be an elegant preacher, of a type favored by the Anglicans. But on the day that Preston heard him, Cotton delivered a simple, evangelical sermon in a form known to the Puritans as the plain style. His audience disapproved, and Cotton returned to his Cambridge rooms crestfallen. Then came a knock at his door; Preston had come to tell Cotton how much the sermon had moved him. That began a close association of the two men in promoting the sort of "heart religion" favored by the Puritans. Cotton went to Boston to preach, and Preston rose at Cambridge, becoming master of Emmanuel College. Preston sent his most promising divinity students to Boston, for seasoning under the guidance of Cotton.
While flirting with royal preferment, Preston was deeply involved in promoting Puritanism, as a teacher, a preacher, and a writer. His posthumous works, particularly The New Covenant, were among the most influential statements of Puritan doctrine. They had the virtue of profundity and simplicity and are still among the best statements of the Puritan faith. When Preston began his career it was possible to hope that a man with strong Calvinist sensibilities might become a power in the Anglican Church. But by the late 1620s the church was increasingly divided, and opportunities for men like Preston were few.
He might have taken his tremendous talents to America and stood with men like Cotton and Hooker as one of the great early leaders of American
Congregationalism. But he was weakened by a lung disease and died at the age of forty, two years before the Winthrop migration. Because of his friendship with Cotton, however, and many other early immigrants to America and because of the enduring influence of his books, John Preston was one of the founders of American Puritanism.
Bibliography
A: The New Covenant (London, 1629); The Saint's Daily Exercise (London, 1629); The Breastplate of Faith and Love (London, 1630); Life Eternal (London, 1631); Sinnes Overthrow (London, 1633); The Saint's Qualifications (London, 1634); Sermons Preached before His Majesty (London, 1637); The Saints Submission (London, 1638); The Fulnesse of Christ for Us (London, 1640); An Abridgment of Dr. Preston's Works (London, 1648).
B: DNB 16, 308-12; Thomas Ball, The Life of the Renowned Doctor Preston [published in part in Samuel Clarke, A Generall Martyrologie, London, 1651, edited and published by E. W. Harcourt, Oxford, 1885]; Irvonwy Morgan, Prince Charles's Puritan Chaplain (London, 1957).
John Preston's career illustrates the degree to which lives were changed by the division between Puritans and Anglicans. In another time Preston might have become one of the darlings of the court and risen through the church hierarchy to become bishop, and even archbishop. He won the attention of King James in 1615 when he presented a disputation at Cambridge on the question, "Whether dogs could make syllogisms." Preston argued that they could, to the delight of the King, who then told a dog story of his own. A contemporary of Preston's remarked that "It was easy to discern that ye king's hound had opened a way for Mr. Preston at ye court." Later Preston was summoned to preach to the king and delivered a condemnation of Arminianism, which also impressed His Majesty. In 1620 Preston was appointed chaplain-in-ordinary to Prince Charles. Five years later, on the death of King James, Preston accompanied Charles to Whitehall, and saw him proclaimed King.
All of these events might have led to greater and greater preferment, except that Preston's life was otherwise developing in directions that made him suspect to the crown and especially to William Laud, whose anti-Puritan policies would soon hold sway. Preston's life had been skewed in a Calvinistic direction in 1611, when he heard a sermon at Cambridge by John Cotton*, then a fellow of Emmanuel. Cotton was reputed to be an elegant preacher, of a type favored by the Anglicans. But on the day that Preston heard him, Cotton delivered a simple, evangelical sermon in a form known to the Puritans as the plain style. His audience disapproved, and Cotton returned to his Cambridge rooms crestfallen. Then came a knock at his door; Preston had come to tell Cotton how much the sermon had moved him. That began a close association of the two men in promoting the sort of "heart religion" favored by the Puritans. Cotton went to Boston to preach, and Preston rose at Cambridge, becoming master of Emmanuel College. Preston sent his most promising divinity students to Boston, for seasoning under the guidance of Cotton.
While flirting with royal preferment, Preston was deeply involved in promoting Puritanism, as a teacher, a preacher, and a writer. His posthumous works, particularly The New Covenant, were among the most influential statements of Puritan doctrine. They had the virtue of profundity and simplicity and are still among the best statements of the Puritan faith. When Preston began his career it was possible to hope that a man with strong Calvinist sensibilities might become a power in the Anglican Church. But by the late 1620s the church was increasingly divided, and opportunities for men like Preston were few.
He might have taken his tremendous talents to America and stood with men like Cotton and Hooker as one of the great early leaders of American
Congregationalism. But he was weakened by a lung disease and died at the age of forty, two years before the Winthrop migration. Because of his friendship with Cotton, however, and many other early immigrants to America and because of the enduring influence of his books, John Preston was one of the founders of American Puritanism.
Bibliography
A: The New Covenant (London, 1629); The Saint's Daily Exercise (London, 1629); The Breastplate of Faith and Love (London, 1630); Life Eternal (London, 1631); Sinnes Overthrow (London, 1633); The Saint's Qualifications (London, 1634); Sermons Preached before His Majesty (London, 1637); The Saints Submission (London, 1638); The Fulnesse of Christ for Us (London, 1640); An Abridgment of Dr. Preston's Works (London, 1648).
B: DNB 16, 308-12; Thomas Ball, The Life of the Renowned Doctor Preston [published in part in Samuel Clarke, A Generall Martyrologie, London, 1651, edited and published by E. W. Harcourt, Oxford, 1885]; Irvonwy Morgan, Prince Charles's Puritan Chaplain (London, 1957).
