Richard Sibbes (he also spelled his name Sibbs and Sibs) was one of the most important Puritan preachers of the seventeenth century. Equal in influence to such prominent divines as William Perkins and William Ames, Sibbes articulated the mystical element within Puritan faith and practice. Emphasizing the love of God, the communion of saints, and the possibility of a millennial kingdom on earth, Sibbes preached a doctrine that sustained Puritan dissidents in a time of High Church persecutions and provided a basis for the "saints' revolution" during the English civil war.

Sibbes was born in Tostock, Suffolk, in 1577 to the wheelwright Paul Sibs and Johan (or Joanna) Sibs. He received his early education at the grammar school of Bury St. Edmunds. With the support of local ministers and gentry, Sibbes was sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1595, where he received his B.A. in 1599, M.A. in...