John Preston (priest)
John Preston (1587–1628) was an
Upbringing
John Preston, the son of Thomas Preston, a farmer, and his wife Alice, daughter of Lawrence Marsh of Northampton, was born at
Career as a preacher
About 1611, the year in which he commenced MA, he heard a sermon at St Mary's from
His biographer tells a curious story of his activity in securing the election (1614) of John Davenant as master of Queens' in succession to Tyndal. George Montaigne, afterwards Archbishop of York, had his eye on this preferment; but immediately on Tyndal's death Preston rode post-haste to London, reaching Whitehall before day-break. Here he made interest with Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, with a view to secure court sanction for the choice of Davenant. Returning to Cambridge, he had the election over before Montaigne got wind of the vacancy.[1]
During the visit of
Puritan leanings
His coolness in the direction of court favour gave rise to suspicions of his
The college buildings were enlarged to provide for the influx of students. He was in the habit of sending those designed for the church to finish their studies with Cotton, now vicar of Boston, Lincolnshire. Meanwhile, Preston's health was suffering, and he was troubled with insomnia. Twice he applied for advice (once in disguise) to William Butler of Clare Hall, a successful empiric. Butler only told him to take tobacco; on doing so he found his remedy in 'this hot copious fume.'[1]
Holy orders
Preston had now taken orders, and become
The matter came before the heads of houses, and there was talk of Preston's expulsion from the university. At the suggestion of
Chaplain-in-ordinary
Preston's kinsman, Sir Ralph Freeman, who had married a relative of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, now took occasion to represent to Buckingham that he might make friends of the puritans by promoting Preston. Through Buckingham's interest he was made chaplain-in-ordinary to Prince Charles. He took the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1620. On Davenant's election (11 June 1621) to the see of Salisbury, Preston had some expectation of succeeding him as Margaret professor of divinity. He felt his Latin to be rusty, and, as an exercise in speaking Latin, he resolved on a visit to the Dutch universities, a project which he carried out with a singular excess of precaution.[1]
From the
Master of Emmanuel
In February 1622
The statutes limited the master's absence to a month in every quarter. This would interfere with Preston's preaching at Lincoln's Inn. His ingenuity found out evasions to which the fellows consented; the statutes condoned absence in case of 'violent detention ' and of 'college business'; a 'moral violence ' was held to satisfy the former condition, and a suit at law about a college living, which lasted some years, formed a colourable pretext for alleging college business. But Preston was inflexible on the point of vacating fellowships. According to Ball, he had been selected by Buckingham to accompany Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester, on a projected embassy to Germany, and was, on this occasion, was made a doctor of divinity by royal mandate. There is probably some confusion here: Chichester's actual expedition to the palatinate was in May–September 1622.[1]
Cambridge again
Preston was anxious for opportunities of preaching at Cambridge, and listened to proposals in 1624 for putting him into a vacant lectureship at
Death of James I
He was in attendance as Charles's chaplain at Theobalds on Sunday, 27 March 1625, when James I died, and accompanied Charles and Buckingham to Whitehall, where the public proclamation of Charles's accession was made. For the moment it seemed as if Preston was destined to play an important part in politics. He exerted influence on behalf of his puritan friends, obtaining a general preaching license (20 June 1625) for
When the news reached Plymouth of the disaster at Rochelle (on the 15/16 Sep 1625, when the French under
Preston, however, could not draw the puritans to the side of Buckingham, whom they profoundly distrusted. Preston's friends urged the necessity of a conference on Montagu's books, and nominated on the one side
Buckingham was elected chancellor of
Death of Preston
However, Preston's health was now breaking; his lungs were diseased, he fell into a rapid decline, and died at a friend's house at Preston-Capes, Northamptonshire, on Sunday, 20 July 1628; When he lay dying, they asked him if he feared death, now that it was so close. "No," whispered Preston; "I shall change my place, but I shall not change my company."[3]"I feel death coming into my heart; my pain shall now be turned into joy"[4]
He was buried on 28 July in Fawsley church, John Dod, rector of the neighbouring parish of Fawsley, preaching the funeral sermon. There is no monument to his memory. A fine engraved portrait of him is prefixed to his New Covenant, 1629; it is poorly reproduced in Clarke; there are also two smaller engravings. As Ball describes him, 'he was of an able, firme, well-tempered constitution, comely visage, vigorous and vived eye'. He was unmarried. His will provided for his mother and brothers, founded exhibitions at Emmanuel College, and left his books and furniture to Thomas Ball, his favourite pupil and his minute biographer.[1]
Character of Preston
Preston's early inclination for diplomacy was symptomatic of his character, which Fuller has summed as that of 'a perfect politician' apt 'to flutter most on that place which was furthest from his eggs'. He had 'great self-command, kept his own counsel, and was impervious to outside criticism'. Only to Ball does he seem to have frankly bared his mind, and Ball's admiring delineation of him furnishes a singular picture of cautious astuteness and constitutional reserve. It is clear that his heart was firmly set on the propagation of the Calvinistic theology; his posthumous works (edited by
Publications
- 1. The Saints Daily Exercise; or a ... Treatise of Prayer, 3rd edit. 1629
- 2. The New Covenant ... XIV Sermons on Genesis xvii. 1, 2, 1629
- 3. Four Sermons, 1630
- 4. Five Sermons ... before his Majestie, 1630
- 5. The Breastplate of Faith and Love, 1630
- 6. The Doctrine of the Saints Infirmities, Amsterdam 1630
- 7. Life Eternal; or a ... Treatise ... of the Divine ... Attributes in XVII Sermons, 1631
- 8. The Law Out Lawed, Edinburgh, 1631
- 9. An Elegant ... Description of Spirituall Life and Death, 1632
- 10. The Deformed Forme of a Formall Profession, Edinburgh, 1632; London, 1641
- 11. Sinnes Overthrow; or a ... Treatise of Mortification, 2nd edit. 1633
- 12. Foure ... Treatises, 1633, including:
- 1. A Remedy against Covetousness
- 2. An elegant and Lively Description of Spiritual Life and Death
- 3. The Doctrine of Selfe-deniall
- 4. Three Sermons upon the Sacrament
- 13. The Saints Qualification, 3rd edit. 1634
- 14. A Liveles Life; or Man's Spirituall Death 3rd edit. 1635
- 15. A Sermon preached at Lincolnes-Inne, 1635
- 16. Remaines of ... John Preston, 2nd edit. 1637
- 17. The Golden Scepter ... Three Treatises, 1638
- 18. Mount Ebal ... Treatise of the Divine Love, 1638
- 19. The Saints Submission, 1638
- 20. The Fulnesse of Christ, 1640
- 21. The Christian Freedome, 1641
- 22. De Irresistibilitate Gratise Convertentis. Thesis habita in Scholis Publicis Academies Cantabrigiensis . . . Ex ipsius manuscript, 1643 (in English, The Position of John Preston ... Concerning the Irresistiblenesse of Converting Grace, 1654)
- 23. Riches of Mercy, 1658
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Gordon, Alexander (1896). "Preston, John, D.D. (1587–1628), puritan divine". Dictionary of National Biography Vol. XLVI. Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
- ^ Moore, Jonathan D (2007). English Hypothetical Universalism: John Preston and the Softening of Reformed Theology. William B Eerdmans.
- ^ Neglia, Mike (26 May 2010). "I, Michael, The Sinner: What do you say when you are about to die? pt 2".
- ^ Last and Near-Last Words of the Famous, Infamous and Those In-Between By Joseph W. Lewis Jr. M.D.
Bibliography
- Jonathan D. Moore, English Hypothetical Universalism: John Preston and the Softening of Reformed Theology (Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans, 2007).
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Preston, John (1587-1628)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
External links
- Remaines of ... John Preston, containing three excellent treatises, 1634 publication at Google Book Search
- The breast-plate of faith and love, sixth edition, 1651 publication
- "Preston, John (PRSN604J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.