Thomas Adams (1583–1652) was an English clergyman and reputed preacher. He was called "The Shakespeare of the Puritans" by

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

; while he was a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

in theology, he is not, however, accurately described as a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

. He was for a time at

Willington, Bedfordshire Willington is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in the England, English county of Bedfordshire. It is west of Moggerhanger on the road from Sandy, Bedfordshire, Sandy to Bedford. The village is recorded in the Domesda ...

, and his works may later have been read by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

Life

Much of the information about Adams comes from title-pages and dedications in his works. He was educated at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, graduating B.A. in 1601 and M.A. in 1606. Ordained in 1604, he was a curate at

Northill Northill is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about southeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for Northill village as 338 and for the civ ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, a position he lost. By 1611, he was vicar of Willington. On 21 December 1614 he became vicar of

Wingrave Wingrave is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, about four miles north east of Aylesbury and three miles south west of Wing. The civil parish is called Wingrave with Rowsham within Buckinghamshire district and incorporates the hamlet of R ...

, Buckinghamshire, a position he held until 1618. From 1618 to 1623 he held the preachership of St Gregory by St Paul's, and during the same period preached occasionally at St. Paul's Cross and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. He was 'observant chaplain' to

Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (7 November 1642) was an English judge, politician and peer. Life He was the 3rd son of Edward Montagu of Boughton and grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to ...

, lord chief justice of England. Incidental references show that he was on intimate terms with William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Ellesmere. Montagu was a dedicatee, as was Sir Henry Marten. He was buried on 26 November 1652.

Works

Early sermons were ''Heaven and Earth Reconciled'', and ''The Devil's Banquet''. To Montagu he dedicated a work in 1618.''The Happiness of the Church; or a description of those Spiritual Prerogatives wherewith Christ hath endowed her considered in contemplations upon part of the twelfth chapter to the Hebrews; being the sum of divers sermons preached in St. Gregorie's, London, by Thomas Adams, preacher there.'' In 1629 he collected into a massive folio his occasional sermons, a collection he dedicated to the parishioners of

St Benet Paul's Wharf The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is a Welsh Anglican church in the City of London. Since 1556, it has also been the official church of the College of Arms in which many officers of arms have been buried. In 1666 it was destroyed in the Great F ...

, and to the Lords Pembroke and Manchester. In 1638 appeared a long Commentary on the ''Second Epistle of St. Peter'', dedicated to "Sir Henrie Marten, Knt."

Notes

References

;Attribution *

External links

Schaff-Herzog page
*''The Works of Thomas Adams'' (Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Edinburgh 1861 onwards) in three volume
''Volume I: Old Testament''''Volume II: New Testament''''Volume III: New Testament and Meditations on the Creed''''The Sermons of Thomas Adams''
selected by John Brown (1909) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas 1583 births 1652 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests English Calvinist and Reformed ministers English male writers 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge