(Parenthetically, I note there were over 150 representatives in the Westminster Assembly, so the short series that follows can highlight just a very select handful of some of the more influential figures.)
William Twisse was unusual in that he was an Oxford man rather than part of the Cambridge group mentioned earlier this week. A very bright and learned man, he caught the attention of King James I, who appointed him chaplain to the Princess Elizabeth and sent him to Germany with her. After a short stay there, he was recalled to England to take up pastoral duties as the vicar of Newbury where he was able to further his scholarship. Despite his relationship with the royal family, he refused to obey James' edict that the Book of Sports be read in all churches (this was part of James' campaign against Sabbath observance). His standing and regard among the English Puritans can be seen in his appointment to be Prolocutor (presiding officer) of the Assembly in 1643, although the office did not suit his retiring personality and it taxed his health. After fainting in the pulpit in March 1645 his health went into a long decline and he died in July of the following year. His last words were, "Now, at length, I shall have leisure to follow my studies to all eternity."
Tomorrow: Thomas Goodwin.
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