Diary of Robert Woodford, 1637-1641

the long version

" ... From the writings of an early modern nobody emerges a compelling study of the puritan psyche and way of life. Woodford's noteworthiness lies in the sheer consistency of his outlook. Every aspect of experience -- from thoughts and feelings to the operation of the cosmos -- was scrutinized through the same lens of experimental predestinarianism. His Calvinist worldview centred on the belief in an omnipotent and omniscient creator, whose will dictated the history of the universe. Woodford apparently supported the full supralapsarian position on predestination: God had determined mankind's fate before the creation, for purely His own reasons condemning the majority to hell and electing a minority to heaven. Godly professors such as Woodford insisted on the possibility of achieving assurance of their elect status during life."--P. 11.