Tuning the Heart: A Historical Survey of the Affections in Corporate Worship

The new edition of Foundations contains the papers delivered at our recent Theological Study Conference on the theme of corporate public worship. The fourth paper was “Tuning the Heart: A Historical Survey of the Affections in Corporate Worship, with Special Reference to Jonathan Edwards” by Graham Beynon, the pastor of Grace Church, Cambridge and Director of Independent Ministry Training at Oak Hill Theological College. He began his paper with these words:

The title of this paper promises rather more than it will deliver. The history of corporate worship is a vast topic spanning not only twenty centuries but different countries and cultures, and numerous church groups and denominations. We could explore everything from Greek Orthodox to Brethren worship, High Anglicanism in England to Pentecostalism in South America, John Calvin’s reformed liturgy to John Wesley’s class meetings. This we cannot attempt. Instead there will be some “soundings” from a very limited number of sources through history, followed by a more in-depth analysis based on Jonathan Edwards…

The full paper is available here and the complete journal (over 180 pages, including book reviews) can be found here.