Last week I finished reading the massive A Learned, Pious, and Practical Commentary Upon the Gospel According to St. Mark: Wherein The Sacred Text is Logically Analysed; The meaning of the holy Spirit clearly and soundly opened: Doctrines naturally raised, strongly confirmed, vindicated from Exceptions, and excellent Inferences deduced from them: All seeming Differences in the History between this and the other Evangelists fairly reconciled: Many important Cases of Conscience, Judiciously, Succinctly, and Perspicuously solved. By that Laborious and Faithful Servant of Christ, Mr. George Petter, late Minister of the Gospel at Bread in Suffex. Printed by J. Streater, and are to be sold by George Sawbridge, at the Bible on Ludgate Hill, 1661.
In eight hundred and seventy-three pages of microscopic print, Petter indeed does what his ambitious title suggests -- it is one of the greatest, most profound and humbling commentaries I have ever read. And it was based upon his sermons at Bread. He died after finishing the eleventh chapter of Mark.
A J. Petter wrote the introduciton to the volume, let me point out three items from that introduction:
George Petter went to the University of Cambridge at sixteen years of age, and then studied at Trinity College, where he came under the influence of Mr. Simon Aldrich. Upon graduating in his twenty-fourth year, he became the pastor of Bread in Sussex and served there for the remaining fourty-four years of his life.
During his ministry, Petter preached through the Pslams, Isaiah 53, Zephaniah, Ephesians, I Thessalonians, James, Jude, the first eleven chapters of Mark, as well as The Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Sacraments.
Petter died in 1661 -- as recorded by J. Petter: "The Disease which made its Preparative Assault upon him, was an Arthritical Disposition in one of his Shoulders, the pain whereof encreasing more and more upon him, at length reduced him to a fatal Consumption, of which he dyed in the 68th Year of his Age. His departure, when once Death drew near, was speedy and peaceable."
As of yet, I have found no other works of Petter's. If anyone should know of one, I would be grateful to know where I might locate it.
4 comments:
I am trying to locate a copy of George Petter's commentary on St. Mark and I am assuming the one you just finished is the one I am seeking. Do you know how I might obtain a copy? Thank you.
Hi Karen, I got my copy as part of a CD-Rom set from www.SWRB.com. However, I believe you can purchase a printed version from them as well. Have you come across any other of his works? I haven't, but would love to read more of his writing! Hope that helps.
Hi Karen, I just checked myself (remembering that their site is a pain to navigate). Unfortunately, the CD-Rom set I bought from them that has this work "Puritan Bookshelf CD-Roms" is out of print, and I don't see a reference to a printed copy. You might check ebay for the CD-Roms. I'll see if I can figure out anything else.
Just preparing to preach through Mark's Gospel myself and noticed J C Ryle's praises for this commentary in his preface to Expository Thoughts on Mark. Thought you might be interested, or perhaps like me your search for this commentary began by reading this yourself.
Bryan
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