Committed to the Lord

The Puritans deserve better recognition. They get maligned as spoilsports. Puritan women seldom even get mentioned.

Jenny-Lyn de Klerk corrects these deficiencies in 5 Puritan Women: Portraits of Faith and Love (Crossway 2023). These short biographies depict women who submitted their lives to Christ and pursued the Christian disciplines of Bible study, prayer, journal-writing, and solitude. They were Puritans by affiliation, but also in heart as they sought a closer walk with Christ.

Lady Brilliana Harley defended her husband’s castle with her pen instead of a sword in the Civil War between Parliament and King Charles. With seven children, she led a defense of the Puritan side in a three-month siege against the king’s forces, while her husband served on the Puritan side in Parliament.

De Klerk also highlights Agnes Beaumont, who stuck to Christian convictions yet honored her father so well that he came to faith in Christ late in life.

Lucy Hutchinson was a gifted student from youth. Her future ­husband saw her library and wanted to meet this book lover. She later gave her seven children the best books, and even wrote a theology book for her daughter.

Mary Rich became a countess and philanthropist. She suffered as her husband became sick and her two children died. Early in life she liked fashion and looked down on Puritans. Then she became a Christian and a Puritan, and she used her wealth to set up a rescue mission for the poor. A friend of the more famous Richard Baxter, Rich wrote an autobiography with the devotional spirit of a David Brainerd.

These Puritans are British, except for Anne Bradstreet, the New England poet. She came to America in 1630 at age 18 for religious freedom, and originally wrote journals for her own growth and her eight children. Writing was an emotional outlet, especially when their house burned down, destroying a good-sized library.

These Puritan women suffered much, leaving a written record of drawing near to the Lord in the midst of trials. They used their time, talent, and treasures to serve the Lord in turbulent times. Both men and women can learn from their faithfulness.