As a Congregationalist minister in 17th century England, Mead could not teach or preach
without censure or persecution. Eventually, the harsh religious climate of his homeland
drove Mead to Holland, although he returned to England to minister to a congregation
in Stepney in secret. Here, Mead includes two sets of sermons on joy and the power of
grace, drawing from Luke 10:20 and Psalm 131. He entreats his readers or listeners to
live lives not characterized by the things of the world, but by the things of God, finding
delight and joy in godliness rather than in the vain, passing things of worldly society.
