Category: Biography

“Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence” by Allan Harman

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Book Details:
  • Author: Allan Harman
  • Category: Biography
  • Publisher: Christian Focus (2012)
  • Format: softcover
  • Page Count: 208
  • ISBN#: 1845507835
  • List Price: $14.99
  • Rating: Must Read

Review:
For nearly three hundred  years, the most widely used and respected whole Bible commentary has been Matthew Henry’s Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Matthew Henry teaches the Bible in simple, memorable phrases, aiming to both inform the reader and promote deeper devotion to Christ. His Christ-centered approach, clarity of thought and pastoral emphasis on applying the text have kept his work in demand these many years. Yet compared to the authors of other comparable Christian classics, we remember very little of Matthew Henry the man.

The commentaries of Martin Luther and John Calvin, the sermons of George Whitfield and Charles Spurgeon, and the writings of John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards remain as popular among Christians as ever–and these men are remembered, with numerous biographies available for each. For Matthew Henry, only one or two reprints of old biographies are available, as any search of Amazon.com or Google Books can verify. So it was with a mixture of curiosity and interest that I picked up Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence by Allan Harman (Christian Focus, 2012).

I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I thought this book was just a brief overview of Henry’s life and a discussion of his legacy. I was pleased instead to find a thoroughly researched, well-written biography of Matthew Henry. Harman details the life of Philip Henry, Matthew’s father, and the difficulties facing nonconformist Puritan ministers in late seventeenth century England. He goes on to detail Matthew Henry’s life and ministry before focusing on his writings and lasting influence. Along the way he provides excerpts of Henry’s sermons, diary and letters, to fill out the portrait of his life.

Matthew Henry’s life and ministry

Matthew Henry was born in 1662 to a Puritan minister’s family. His father, an Oxford-trained minister, lost his church due to the Act of Uniformity, ultimately never returning to a pulpit ministry. Instead he trained his children, and conducted services for his own house and servants and took many a preacher boy under his wing. Nearly all of Matthew Henry’s schooling, which included training in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, came at his father’s hand. Matthew Henry took the pastorate of a Presbyterian church in Chester, where he ministered for 26 years, before moving near London. Henry was sickly most of his life, and endured many personal trials. He lost his first wife and several children to illness. His oldest son rejected Christianity, even taking his mother’s maiden name as his own. Henry died in 1714, just 2 years after moving to London for greater ministry opportunities. Yet in the midst of a busy ministry, which saw Henry give numerous sermons or lessons each week, he found time to write what would become the most loved commentary on Scripture in the English language.

Matthew Henry’s writings and legacy

Henry’s Exposition was published in a series of volumes, beginning in 1706 up through his death in 1714. It took him just under 8 years to write his notes on the Old Testament, and he had just finished the Gospels and Acts (in 2 years) before his death. He left detailed notes on Romans and Revelation, and since he had also preached through both testaments several times in the course of his ministry, some of his friends completed the sixth volume of the commentary after his death. Besides his commentary, Henry wrote a widely-used children’s catechism, a book of family hymns (some set to his own translations from the Hebrew), a biography of his father Philip Henry, and an influential book on prayer (A Method of Prayer). Besides these he published some pamphlets, other devotional books and some of his sermons. His last published book betrays the emphasis of his life and ministry: it’s title was The Pleasantness of a Religious Life Opened and Improved; and Recommended to the Consideration of All, Particularly of Young People. Harman’s comments on this book are worth repeating:

Modern readers have to understand that this book encompasses the Puritans’ vision of the Christian life. They were not morbid and unfeeling. Rather, serving God was with them a thing of the highest joy. Matthew Henry expressed the Christian’s pleasure in God as one ‘which has no pain attending to it, no bitterness in the latter end of it; a pleasure which God himself invites you to, and which will make you happy, truly and eternally happy, and shall not this work for you?’ (Kindle location 3263-66)

Matthew Henry’s commentary has been praised by many down through the years. Charles Spurgeon recommended that his students read it through at least once, preferrably during their first year of ministry. John Ryland, a Baptist pastor of the eighteenth century, said of Matthew Henry’s commentary "a person cannot begin to read without wishing he was shut out from all the world, and able to read it through, without stopping" (Kindle location 3507-10). Harman takes pains to demonstrate the influence of Matthew Henry on Jonathan Edwards, John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield. There certainly is evidence that these men drew from Henry’s expository "well" as they carried out their own ministry. The widespread availability of Henry’s commentary, in abridged or unabridged format, and online or coupled with Bible software programs such as e-sword is the definitive statement of Henry’s lasting legacy. It is arguably the most accessible commentary to the average Bible reader today, and it is indeed average Bible readers for whom Henry wrote his Exposition.

Evaluation of the book

Allan Harman has done the Church a service in refocusing attention onto Matthew Henry, whose commentary has been such a perpetual blessing for so many. The book reads easily, although at times some of the details that a researcher revels in, may get in the way of the account. Harman has written essays on various aspects of Matthew Henry’s life or writings, and at times it seems that he has strung together different pieces into one book. This leads to some noticeable repetition in a few spots.

Harman brings out quite a few interesting tidbits that are not widely known. Henry worked on the the last half of the book of Ezra for his commentary in the middle of the night when his wife was in labor!! He also brings out the fact that Charles Wesley’s hymn "A Charge to Keep I Have" is based on Henry’s comment on Leviticus 8:35. He also notes that from our perspective, Henry should have spent more of his free time with his family and looked after his health more. Harman also includes pictures of Henry’s old church, his study, and other places of interest.

Another fault of the book might be how Harman spends so much time detailing Matthew Henry’s childhood home and family life from when he was a child, but so relatively little time on Henry’s own home and his time with his children. Perhaps this is due to having less resources to work with, as Matthew Henry’s diary has not survived and we are dependent on quotes from earlier works for this information. On the whole, the book is solidly done and accomplishes what it sets out to. Henry’s life is detailed, we are transported back to seventeenth century England and the world of the Puritans, and we even imagine ourselves in the pews of his church in Chester.

This biography will encourage many, myself included, to pick up Matthew Henry’s commentary again and spend some time reading through it. And it will also lead to a greater appreciation of the lasting impact of a simple ministry in a country church–and of a life well lived. Henry himself pointed out shortly before his death "that a holy, heavenly life, spent in the service of God and communion with him, is the most pleasant and comfortable life that anyone can live in this world" (Kindle location 3706-8) Matthew Henry lived such a life, and this is why studying Henry’s life is so worthwhile. May God give us more men like Matthew Henry!

Author Info:
Allan Harman has had a life-time interest in exposition of the biblical text, and also in the history of interpretation. He is Research Professor of Old Testament at the Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. He has lectured and preached in many countries, and continues to serve as the senior editor of the Reformed Theological Review, Australia’s oldest theological journal.

Where to Buy:
  • Westminster Bookstore
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • direct from Christian Focus

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Christian Focus Publications for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

“A Life of Gospel Peace: A Biography of Jeremiah Burroughs” by Phillip L. Simpson

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Book Details:
  • Author: Phillip L. Simpson
  • Category: Biography
  • Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books (2011)
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Page Count: 336
  • ISBN#: 1601781229
  • List Price: $30.00
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
In recent years the English Puritans have been making a comeback. Pastors and theological students, in America and elsewhere, have been looking to their writings for inspiration and guidance. Names like John Owen, Richard Baxter, Thomas Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, John Bunyan, Samuel Rutherford,and Matthew Henry are exceedingly well known. Their books adorn my bookshelves and the shelves of many of today’s church leaders. What’s more, their appeal bridges both the Calvinism-Arminianism and the charismatic-cessationist gaps. Preachers of all stripes benefit from the wisdom of these men of years past.

Many of the Puritans have had a long history of well-written biographies. But some of the Puritans are known today by little more than their writings. One such Puritan preacher is Jeremiah Burroughs. His name may be familiar to some–he is perhaps best known for his attempts to encourage a unity of spirit in the Puritan party between the Presbyterian-leaning majority and the Congregationalists and other non-conformists. He was a preacher extraordinaire in his time and was invited to be one of the few Congregationalists admitted to the Westminster Assembly of Divines, which gave us the well-known and widely respected Westminster Confession of Faith. But in the centuries after Jeremiah Burroughs’ ministry, no full-length biography of the man had ever been written.

That misfortune has been remedied through the efforts of Phillip L. Simpson, an avid researcher of all things Jeremiah Burroughs and webmaster of the Jeremiah Burroughs Homepage website. His recently published work, A Life of Gospel Peace: A Biography of Jeremiah Burroughs (Reformation Heritage, 2011), makes a fine contribution to the study of the English Puritans in general, even as it introduces us to the largely forgotten man, Jeremiah Burroughs.

We don’t know an awful lot about Burroughs, we don’t know when he was married and what exactly his home life was like. But everything we do know about him is pieced together admirably by Simpson. We follow Burroughs from his childhood home to his days as a college student at Cambridge, influenced by Puritanism and traveling far and wide to sit at the feet of well-known Puritan preachers such as John Cotton, John Wilson and John Rogers. Burroughs’ closest friends at that time are also well-known Puritans in their own right: Thomas Goodwin, William Bridge, and Sydrach Simpson. Burroughs was also influenced by the well-known Thomas Hooker during his time at Cambridge.

From there, Burroughs took teaching and preaching posts which eventually got him in trouble with the Anglican authorities of the day. His opportunities to preach became severely limited and he eventually took refuge in Holland. There he was involved in a Congregationalist church and had many opportunities to preach. But when the tides of religious freedom turned, and the English Civil War saw the Puritan parliament squaring off against the Anglican monarchy, Burroughs took the opportunity to return to his beloved England.

He soon was preaching at three different churches a week, and being asked to preach before parliament. And then his services were required in the Westminster Assembly. He worked tirelessly, preaching and teaching, and turning his lectures into a number of important and widely read books. Then at the age of 47, the humble and widely respected minister died.

As Simpson details the life of Jeremiah Burroughs, he adds all the fascinating details such as Burroughs’ thoughts on church government and eschatology, his run-ins with Anglican authorities and harsh critics, his escapades in Holland, and the inner workings of the Westminster Assembly. And as Simpson walks us through Burrough’s life chronologically, he pauses to discuss the sermons and books that were written by Burroughs at each step in his life. Simpson’s expertise shines through as he summarizes and excerpts Burroughs’ works, and it seems that he must have read them all.

In reading this biography, then, you also sample many of Burrough’s writings, which are often excerpted at some length. Burroughs proves to be focused on God’s glory and has a warm style that majors on God’s grace and the glories of Christ:

In all your conversation with God, have an eye to Christ; look unto God, the infinite, glorious First Being of all things, but do it through Christ, the Mediator…. Then God is rendered sweet and amiable, lovely to the soul, like a friend that the soul can be familiar with, when He is looked upon through Jesus Christ. (pg. 151)

God the Father is infinitely satisfied in Christ. Surely if Christ is an object sufficient for the satisfaction of the Father, much more, then, is He an object sufficient for the satisfaction of any soul. (pg. 206)

Pastors and church leaders will benefit from Burroughs’ life and example–his emphasis on prayer and the manner of his dealings with various church controversies and personal criticisms. They will also benefit the excepts shared from Burroughs’ Irenicum to the Lovers of Truth and Peace, which was my favorite section of this book. In this book, Burroughs aimed to encourage the church of his day to desist from ugly divisions and to instead work for peace. Simpson points out that Richard Baxter once said, “I entreat those that would escape the sin of schism, to read the foresaid treatises of peacemakers [including] Jeremy Burroughs’s Irenicum” (pg. 255). With my background in strict fundamentalism, I found his thoughts on this subject most pertinent, and I can’t help but share a few of these excerpts with my readers.

Many men are of such spirits as they love to be altogether busied about their brethren’s differences. Their discourses, their pens, and all their ways are about these, and that not to heal them but rather to widen them. (pg. 257)

We must profess truth when the truths are necessary to salvation, and when my forbearance in them may endanger the salvation of any. [Yet he criticized the] rigidness of the judgments of some… who think all differences in religion that cannot be quelled by argument must be quelled by violence. (pg. 260)

If I must err, considering what our condition is here in this world, I will rather err by too much gentleness and mildness than by too much rigor and severity. (pg. 261)

Shall every jealous, suspicious conceit, every little difference, be enough to separate us, and that almost irreconcilably? Have we the Spirit of Christ in us? Is the same mind in us that was in Jesus Christ? (pg. 261)

Let us account those [to be] brethren in whom we see godliness, and carry ourselves towards them accordingly, even though they will not so account us. Let us not be too ready to cut off association with our brethren. (pg. 262)

Oh, that God would set the beauty and glory of peace, friendship, and love before us! That this precious pearl, union, might be highly valued by us! Let us all study peace, seek peace, follow peace, pursue peace, and the God of peace be with us. (pg. 263)

Simpson reflects on Burroughs’ death and legacy as follows:

Burroughs once said that peace was dearer to him than his own life. Time has shown that, though he did not live long, his cry for peace among brothers in Christ continues to resonate to this day. What could be more needful in this age than to adopt his attitude of graciously submitting to whatever circumstance our heavenly Father brings us? (pg. 295)

Surely such a man is worth getting to know. And you will find no better book to become acquainted with Jeremiah Burroughs than Phillip Simpson’s excellent biography. I highly recommend it.

Author Info:
Phillip L. Simpson and his wife, Sara, live in Huntington, WV, along with their two children, Zack and Molly. Phillip developed and maintains the Jeremiah Burroughs Homepage website, a site dedicated to collecting resources by and about Jeremiah Burroughs. He is a lay teacher and member of Crew Church in Huntington. Simpson graduated from Marshall University and Eastern Kentucky University, and is employed as an occupational therapist, helping people with dizziness and balance disorders. He also serves on the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy.

Where to Buy:
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • Reformation Heritage Books

Related Media:
  • Author interview about this book
  • Author’s website

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Reformation Heritage Books for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.