(mostly taken from Meet the Puritans by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson) another longer bio by C.H. Spurgeon can be found in the intro to a Body of Divinity and some online resources I’ll mention later.
Thomas Watson was a English Puritan who lived in the 1600’s. 1620-1686.
“He was probably born in Yorkshire. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1639 and a Master of Arts degree in 1642… In 1646, Watson went to St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, London, where he served as lecturer for about ten years, and as rector for another six years.” (The Rector is the highest academic official of many universities and certain other institutions of higher, sometimes even secondary, education.)
“In about 1647, Watson married Abigail Beadle, daughter of John Beadle, an Essex minister of Puritan convictions. They had at least seven children in the next thirteen years; four of them died young.”
What was going on during his minister and life?
Watson ministered during the British Civil Wars. “They were the conflicts between England and Scotland in 1639-40, caused by fierce Scottish reaction against Charles I’s attempt to reform the Scottish church.”
The main problem for him during these times was the Act of Uniformity of 1662.
The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the English Parliament, passed, in the time of Charles II, in 1662. It required the use of all the rites and ceremonies in the Book of Common Prayer in Church of England services. It also required episcopal ordination for all for all ministers (ie by recognised bishops). As a result, nearly 2,000 clergymen left the established church in what became known as the Great Ejection.
The Test and Corporation Acts, which lasted until 1828, excluded all nonconformists from holding civil or military office. They were also prevented from being awarded degrees by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
The Act of Uniformity was an act of Parliament, prescribing the form of public prayers, administration of sacraments and other rites of the Established Church of England. Its provisions were modified by the Act of Uniformity Amendment Act of 1872.
The 1662 act re-introduced episcopal rule back into the Church of England after the Puritans had abolished many features of the Church during the Civil Wars. The Act of Uniformity itself is only one of four crucial pieces of legislation, known as the Clarendon Code, after the Earl of Clarendon.
“When the Act of Uniformity passed in 1662, Watson was ejected from his pastorate. He continued to preach in private—in barns, homes, and woods—whenever he had the opportunity. In 1666, after the Great Fire of London, Watson prepared a large room for public worship, welcoming anyone who wished to attend. After the Declaration of Indulgence took effect in 1672, Watson obtained a license for Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate, which belonged to Sir John Langham, a patron of nonconformists. Watson preached there for three years before Stephen Charnock joined him. They ministered together until Charnock’s death in 1680. Watson kept working until his health failed. He then retired to Barnston, in Essex, where he died suddenly in 1686 while engaged in private prayer. He is buried in the same grave as his father-in-law who served as a minister at Barnston.”
“Watson’s depth of doctrine, clarity of expression, warmth of spirituality, love of application, and gift of illustration enhanced his reputation as a preacher and writer.”
“All of Thomas Watson’s writings and sermons are replete with sound doctrine, practical wisdom, and heart-searching application. His profound spirituality, gripping remarks, practical illustrations, and beauty of expression make him one of the most irresistible of the Puritans.”
Why read Thomas Watson today?
1. His clear explanation of the text.
2. His urgent plea in application
(equal weight to Explaining the Doctrine and Applying it)
Watson once said he faced two great difficulties in is ministry: to make the unbeliever sad without grace and to make the believer glad with grace.
4. How he has challenged me. His Pastoral Heart:
1. Going in and out among his flock, fired with holy zeal for their eternal welfare, his years rolled on pleasantly enough amid the growing respect of all who knew him. C.H. Spurgeon said of him.
2. In the Mischief of Sin within his intro. “Reader, that God will bless these few meditations to you—and make them operative upon your heart, is the prayer of him who is your friend—and studious of your eternal welfare,”
Thomas Watson
5. Recommendations
The Christian Soldier (Heaven Taken by Storm)
The Happiness of Drawing Near to God
The Spiritual Watch
Books I hope to read next:
The Mischief of Sin
The Doctrine of Repentance
A Body of Divinity Thomas Watson’s Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; C.H. Spurgeon.
6. Resources
The Thomas Watson Reading Room. www.fivesolas.com
www.puritanlibrary.com
www.monergism.com
www.gracegems.org
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T is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.
