Part 8: To Quote or not to Quote?
“The great Puritan preacher Jeremiah Burroughs once said of this passage …”
If you think this is the only way (or the best way) to integrate the Puritans into your sermon, this post is for you.
That was me a few years ago. I was introduced to the Puritans and fell in love, going bonkers quoting this Puritan and that Puritan. My listeners, (unfortunate college students), were forced to endure 150-word quotes by John Owen. I’m certain as soon as I said “In the words of one Puritan…” they began thinking about their homework or dinner or (living off 3 hours of sleep each night) simply blacked out.
In this post we answer the questions regarding the best use of the Puritan quotations.
Authority
First, it must be stated that there is both a good way and a very poor way to use the Puritans.
The poor way is to force a Puritan thought or quote on a text that does not complement the clear meaning of the biblical text. The quote may be good and it may be biblical, but if it does not fit with the text it appears the preacher is forcing another authority upon the text for his own end. Your hearers know when you are not being straight with them, and they will dismiss you and your quote.
The best use of the Puritans (or any other source for that matter) is to reinforce the plain meaning of a text. We should let the text stand on its own and bring in quotations and thoughts that drive the thought home. Another way to say this: The text of scripture should authenticate the Puritan quote, not the other way around.
For example, let the biblical text teach on the importance of God’s perfect holiness. Let John Owen then come along and instruct the Christian to find their delight and affection in that perfect holiness of God.
I can say after several years of preaching experience, no source will better help you reinforce the plain meaning of scripture than the Puritans. They cherish what God cherishes, delight in what God delights, and hate what He hates. If ever there were people suited for complementing the text of scripture, the Puritans are it.
Narrow the quotes
After studying our printed Puritans, e-Puritans, and online Puritan sources, we have a mountain of material that may fit our sermon. What do we do?
It is essential (before writing your sermon notes) to carefully sift through the quotations for the most appropriate. I have found that 10 quotes per sermon is more than enough for me. And in selecting only the 10 best, there are dozens of other excellent quotations that hit the cutting-room floor. You may have a ton of great material, but the truth is that your sermon will become more powerful the more focused it becomes.
Buffer zone
As an aside, I formerly pasted directly all interesting quotations into my Microsoft Word sermon note file and then tried to incorporate all the material into my sermon. I would discourage this practice. It’s important that preachers use a buffer between what you find in your research and your sermon notes themselves.
For me, I use a Moleskine notebook for my quotes. When I write my sermon out (usually in about one day) I consult this notebook. I am amazed how many quotes simply do not fit my sermon! Had I started typing out my sermon with 50 quotes and points from various day’s thoughts, I could never write a clear sermon. It would be confusing and broken. Use a buffer.
Now what?
Let’s say we have our 10 best quotations that fit our sermon notes well. No what? We have three separate options.
(1) Directly quote. I am still committed to directly quoting the Puritans (even to college students). My series of photo cards entitled “Quotes from Dead Guys with Cool Hair” was an attempt to introduce my students to the Puritans. The cards were geared towards issues in the college life and were well received.
Here are some examples of direct quotes.
In a sermon on Galatians 6:12-15, Thomas Manton provided me an excellent quotation to explain the reciprocating crucifixion of the believer to the world and the world to the believer. It’s from my sermon delivered on 12/17/04,
Manton: “And truly to eye our pattern, Christ, hanging and dying on the cross will pierce the world to the very heart. He was contented to be the most despicable object upon earth in the eyes of men. If Christians be not ashamed of their head and glorious chief, this spectacle should kill all our worldly affections, and make us despise all the honor, and riches, and pomp, and pleasure of the world, the favor or frowns, the love or wrath, the praise or dispraise of men, so far as it is opposite to the kingdom of Christ. When it is crucified to us, we should be crucified to it.”
In a sermon to college students I wanted to convey the importance of redeeming the time. This quote is from my sermon delivered 10/21/05 on Ephesians 5:15-16,
Richard Baxter: “1. To redeem time is to see that we cast none of it away in vain; but use every minute of it as a most precious thing, and spend it wholly in the way of duty. 2. That we be not only doing good, but doing the best and greatest good which we are able and have a call to do. 3. That we do not only the best things, but do them in the best manner and in the greatest measure, and do as much good as possibly we can. 4. That we watch for special opportunities. 5. That we presently take them then they fall, and improve them when we take them. 6. That we part with all that is to be parted with, to save our time … This is the true redeeming of our time.”
These were both excellent quotations. In both cases, I took a little liberty in updating spelling for clarity.
Print handouts
Once I started quoting Puritans directly in sermons I began using sermon handouts. This practice has worked well for me over the years. Handouts provide great freedom by allowing you to quote lengthier Puritan quotes.
Handouts also give the preacher the freedom to skip over quotes. Let your people read them at home. I quoted eight different authors in my sermon on Ephesians 5:15-16 (download notes here), though I doubt I read more than four of them.
Be certain when you print notes that you define difficult words for your hearers in aggregations [that is ‘brackets’].
(2) Paraphrase quote. Often the Puritan quotes are excellent but could be better stated for clarity and conciseness. This is where paraphrasing comes in. Paraphrasing is simply the act of restating an idea with new words.
The best examples I can give come from my book entitled, Come Unto Me: God’s Invitation to the World, where I used hundreds of quotes and paraphrases from the Puritan sermons.
I thought this quote by Spurgeon too difficult for a non-Christian. So I paraphrased it.
Charles Spurgeon: “The gospel was brought near to us, earnest hearts were set a praying for us, the text was written which would convert us; and as I have already said, the blood was spilt which cleanses us, and the Spirit of God was given, who should renew us. All this was done while as yet we had no breathings of soul after God” (Sermons 23:216).
Paraphrase: “During the same period as the ungodly were in a state of spiritual rebellion towards God, Christ gave Himself on the Cross to die for those who were undeserving. The blood of Christ was shed, the text of the bible was written, the actions of God were moving all while the sinner was loving the sin which alienates himself from God!”
I really liked Thomas Boston’s likening a worldly man’s pursuit of wealth to a blind mole, but I didn’t like the wording.
Thomas Boston: “Hence the carnal man, I may say, never gets up his back, but on his belly doth he go, and labours, as if he were a slave condemned to the mines, to dig in the bowels of the earth; like the blind moles, his constant labor is in the earth, and he never opens his eyes till he is dying.”
Paraphrase: “The soul that pursues wealth spends its short life digging deeply into the dark mines of worldliness, like the blind mole tunneling deep into the temporal world.”
If you love the thought, but are having difficulty with the wording of a quote, paraphrase it.
(3) Create your own thought. Ironically, as I mature in preaching I find myself doing more of this. I find a great quotation by John Owen and by the time I’m getting ready to insert the thought into my sermon I find his quote has catapulted my thoughts further into the text and I cut the quote itself.
I did this in the last post with the quote from John Owen. His thought led me to my own. Frequently, the more useful the Puritans become in your life and ministry, the less you will mention them.
Psalm 73 sermon
An interesting thing happened to me recently to illustrate the point. When I was asked to preach on Psalm 73 (title: Depression, Worldliness and the Presence of God), I used more Puritan resources than on any other sermon I can recall (over 200 printed pages). However, I only quoted one Puritan, an excerpt from Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God. As you will see in the sermon notes, Edwards’ thoughts are authenticated by the text.
I was amazed how many people asked me after the sermon for that title so they could read the entire sermon by Jonathan Edwards (although the church bookstore 20-feet away carries a paperback version of the sermon). This reminds us that pulpit promotion increases interest. Even if you have a bookstore full of Puritans, you still need to tell your people who they are any why they are important. Sermons are great place for this.
Now, back to the Psalm 73 sermon. I only quoted one Puritan although there were many paraphrases of the Puritans throughout the entire sermon and many thoughts catapulted from my Puritan research. All of the comments I received were encouragements for how deeply the text had taken hold of me. “You grasped the text, or rather, the text grasped you,” one said. Another said, “The sermon was text-driven.” Certainly, I let the text drive everything else but the reality is that its depth also drew from the meditations of 14 faithful Puritan preachers.
What I learned was this: The more you use Puritan literature and the less you directly quote Puritan literature the more impressed your hearers will be with God’s Word. It wasn’t that I didn’t use other sources, but that I carefully discerned the important Puritan sources from the not-so-important, let scripture authenticate the Puritan quotes, and then internalized those quotes. The final product was deeply biblical and very mature because it was deeply Puritan.
Conclusion
I hope my intention in this post has become clear by now. We want to use the Puritans, but not so our hearers are impressed with our scholarship. Nor should our intention be to impress people with the wisdom of the Puritans themselves. Our goal must be to use the power of the Puritan sermons to display the power of God’s Word.
When our hearers walk away from our sermons impressed with the power of God’s Word (rather than impressed with us or our Puritan library) we have used the Puritans correctly.
Would Jonathan Edwards have it any other way?
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Next time … Part 9: The Strategy of Building a Puritan Study
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I wrote this as a response to a blog question. Is preaching someone elses sermon legitimate? I would appreciate if you would comment. My question is simple. When preparing a sermon I find myself remembering past sermons or lectures, if I say use an outline, phrase or thought is that plagiarism? I also lesson to at least two sermons a day on various topics. I find myself questioning my own homiletical style. My sermons are filled with concepts that are not my own. They belong either to Paul, Peter or yes Boston, Calvin, Spurgeon, or someone else. I would appreciate your assistance. Now, I never, ever read someone else’s work and called it my own. I am attempting to create phrases that will assist my congregation in knowing that what I am stating is not my words or thoughts. If you have any phrases that would keep this humble servant from taking credit I would appreciate that at well as critiquing the following
Steve Sjogren writes an article on why pastors should stop wasting time preparing their own sermons and use other people’s material, ‘Don’t be original – be effective!’
I have to admit that I struggle to place before G-d’s people a well exegetical/expositional sermon. Exactly, it’s a struggle. Reading someone else’s struggle is not authentic preaching or teaching. However, reading someone else’s sermon for insight into a particular text or doctrine is in fact commendable, no commanded by the best expositors in the world (Spurgeon, Stott, Macarther, etc…) Preparing a sermon is in actuality preparing a thesis. A thesis is basically a research paper. As a Pastor I need to research the text and context. That requires reading the the thoughts of others. Yes, there are no new ideas. The only being in this universe with original ideas is G-d. Humans work with concepts that are generated by general concepts. These general concepts are heard, read and experienced and eventually they are regurgitated. Now, when we share thoughts we usually dont offer a footnote in the middle of the conversation or communication of the idea. However, when we publish ideas in writing it usually is common academic courtesy to share where we obtain the concepts. Think about it! A sermon is merely the re-communication of the G-d’s revealed original ideas that were communicated through His Apostles. When we communicate G-d’s word dont we usually cite it. When we say “For G-d so loved the world that He….” don’t we end it with John 3:16. Hey isnt that citing an original work. Therefore, when we preach or teach it is common courtesy to cite where we obtained the original work. If a shepherd chooses to read someone elses original idea (that includes the scriptures) it is his responsibility to inform the audience where he recieved his concepts. Now, if the world holds academic professors and students to a standard why is the Church not upholding a higher standard? Steve Sjogren is simply upholding his own standard. A standard based upon his moral framework. What moral framework? It’s the moral framework of pragmatism. Hey, if it works it doesn’t matter if it was someone elses original idea, just rob your neighbors intellectual property. But, hey whos to say that we are to keep G-d’s moral commandment to respect our neighbors property. Enough, of my babbling. As I stated before as a Shepherd I am required to exhort, correct, and encourage G-d’s people. That requires sound doctrine. That requires communicating clearly the word of G-d. The process of exegetical examination. That requires work. That requires research. That requires citation. Why? It’s the socialy accepted academic norm, and its the biblical norm as well. To all of the shepherds in the world. Remember, yes there are no original ideas. Only G-d is the originator of ideas. Yes, its ok to read someone elses work. But, it is our moral responsibility to let our people know that there humble servant did obtain what he is communicating from various resources (bible, commentators, lexicons, concordances, dictionaries, sermons).
For Your Growth,
Rev. Dr. Peter L. Riquelme
foryourgrowth@gmail.com
Hello and thank you for the question. Preaching embodies light and heat. As to light, we should always build off of others. This means taking the thoughts of others, but not resting there. We need to take the thoughts of others while seeing beyond what they wrote. Plagiarism is “copying” and “copying” is “imitating” and nothing kills the church more than when “imitation” abounds. Those are the words of Dargan in A History of Preaching. What actually comes from Spirit-led studying is both further light and heat. And I think it’s the heat that only comes as we wrestle in prayer over texts. Plagiarism will never be a temptation as long as we are building off the thoughts of others and wrestling with God in prayer seeking for Him to open His Word to us. Does this make sense?
Tony