William Perkins' Preaching Ministry (Part 4)

Precondition 2: Extent of Canon for Preaching
William Perkins holds to the common orthodox understanding of the extent of the Canon, thirty-nine OT and twenty-seven NT books. But he atypically divides the OT books into historical, doctrinal, or prophetic books. This division is illustrated in table 1.

Table 1. William Perkins' Division of OT Books

Historical Books
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
I and II Samuel
I and II Kings
I and II Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job

Doctrinal Books
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Ecclesiastes

Prophetic Books
(Major Prophetic Book)
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Lamentations of Jeremiah

(Minor Prophetic Books)
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

Perkins holds that historical books are records of stories that illustrate and confirm doctrines gleaned from other books. He also holds that doctrinal books teach and prescribe theology. And he holds that prophetic books forecasts either divine judgment upon sinners or divine deliverance of Christ’s church at His return. His division of the NT books is more typical as he divides them into two types, histories (Matt-Acts and Rev) and letters (Rom-Jude).

Perkins is convinced that these books constitute the Canon for one basic reason: the persuading power and work of the Holy Spirit. He provides the following explanation for this phenomenon: “The elect, having the Spirit of God, first of all discern the voice of Christ speaking in the Scriptures. Furthermore, they approve the voice which they discern; and what they approve they also believe. Finally, believing they are (as it were) sealed with the seal of the Spirit.” Thus, for Perkins, it is solely the regenerate who is able to believe in the sixty-six books of the Canon. It is this very Canon that Perkins faithfully proclaimed throughout his preaching years. He rejects the Apocrypha as being part of the Canon.

Notes

• Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, 12-17.
  
• Perkins’ held that there are numerous secondary witnesses that attest to the Canonicity of Scripture. See his elucidation in The VVhole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience Distinguished Into Three bookes, 130-144.
• Ibid., 18.
• Perkins, The Workes of That Famous and VVorthy Minister of Christ in the Vniversitie of Cambridge, M. VVilliam Perkins, 650.