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Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet, born 1612, died 1672, was not a preacher in the traditional sense but an English Puritan poet whose deeply religious writings reflected a preaching-like devotion to faith, making her a significant spiritual voice in early colonial America. Born Anne Dudley in Northampton, England, to Thomas Dudley, a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and Dorothy Yorke, she was educated unusually well for a woman of her time, studying history, languages, and theology under her father’s tutelage. At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet in 1628, and in 1630, the couple sailed with her family on the Arbella to Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Puritan migration, seeking religious freedom. Settling in Ipswich and later Andover, she raised eight children while grappling with the harsh realities of colonial life. Though not ordained or preaching from a pulpit—roles reserved for men in Puritan society—Bradstreet’s poetry served as a form of spiritual exhortation, weaving biblical themes and personal faith into works like The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650), published without her consent by her brother-in-law in London. Poems such as “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” reveal a preacherly meditation on God’s providence, submission, and eternal hope, resonating with Puritan sermons of her day. Her health declined after a bout with smallpox in 1656, and she died on September 16, 1672, in Andover, likely from tuberculosis or childbirth complications.
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Anne Bradstreet preaches about the assurance of God's love and the privileges bestowed upon believers as children of God. She reflects on the intimate relationships believers have with God as their Father, Christ as their brother, and the Holy Spirit as their husband. Bradstreet emphasizes the profound nature of these privileges, expressing awe and gratitude for what God has done. She encourages believers to purify themselves and eagerly anticipate being in God's presence in Heaven.
Meditations When My Soul Hath Been Refreshed
Lord, why should I doubt any more when Thou hast given me such assured pledges of Thy love? First, Thou art my Creator, I Thy creature, Thou my master, I Thy servant. But hence arises not my comfort, Thou art my Father, I Thy child; "Ye shall be My sons and daughters," saith the Lord Almighty. Christ is my brother, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, unto my God and your God; but lest this should not be enough, thy maker is thy husband. Nay more, I am a member of His body, He my head. Such privileges had not the Word of Truth made them known, who or where is the man that durst in his heart have presumed to have thought it? So wonderful are these thoughts that my spirit fails in me at the consideration thereof. and I am confounded to think that God, who hath done so much for me, should have so little from me. But this is my comfort, when I come to Heaven, I shall understand perfectly what He hath done for me, and then shall I be able to praise Him as I ought. Lord, having this hope, let me purify myself as Thou art pure, and let me be no more afraid of death, but even desire to be dissolved and be with Thee, which is best of all.
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Anne Bradstreet, born 1612, died 1672, was not a preacher in the traditional sense but an English Puritan poet whose deeply religious writings reflected a preaching-like devotion to faith, making her a significant spiritual voice in early colonial America. Born Anne Dudley in Northampton, England, to Thomas Dudley, a steward for the Earl of Lincoln, and Dorothy Yorke, she was educated unusually well for a woman of her time, studying history, languages, and theology under her father’s tutelage. At 16, she married Simon Bradstreet in 1628, and in 1630, the couple sailed with her family on the Arbella to Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Puritan migration, seeking religious freedom. Settling in Ipswich and later Andover, she raised eight children while grappling with the harsh realities of colonial life. Though not ordained or preaching from a pulpit—roles reserved for men in Puritan society—Bradstreet’s poetry served as a form of spiritual exhortation, weaving biblical themes and personal faith into works like The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650), published without her consent by her brother-in-law in London. Poems such as “Upon the Burning of Our House” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” reveal a preacherly meditation on God’s providence, submission, and eternal hope, resonating with Puritan sermons of her day. Her health declined after a bout with smallpox in 1656, and she died on September 16, 1672, in Andover, likely from tuberculosis or childbirth complications.