Matthew Henry: Who Was the Well-known Bible Commentary Author?
“Matthew Henry Really helpful Assets:
Who was Matthew Henry, and what’s the Matthew Henry Commentary on the Complete Bible?
“Matthew Henry (1662—1714) was an English Presbyterian minister and Bible expositor finest remembered for his Commentary on the Complete Bible, a verse-by-verse, devotional commentary spanning each ebook in Scripture. His biblical exegesis profoundly influenced British revival leaders like John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield and, consequently, evangelical church buildings all through the world.
Matthew Henry was born in a village close to the border with Wales however lived most of his life in Chester, England. He was the son of Kathrine and Philip Henry, a Church of England clergyman who was ousted from the Anglican Church underneath the Act of Uniformity of 1662. This laws and former Uniformity Acts handed by the English Parliament sought to regulate Protestant and Anglican observe and implement uniformity in public worship all through England. Ministers who had been expelled or voluntarily left the Church of England underneath these acts had been referred to as Nonconformists. Matthew Henry’s father was amongst them.
As a boy, Henry displayed aptitude in Latin and Greek underneath his father’s instruction. A passionate reader, he’s stated to have begun studying elements of the Bible by age three. Henry additionally possessed an innate public talking present. He grew to become a Christian when he was ten: “It was one among his father’s sermons that, in Henry’s phrases, ‘melted’ him and precipitated him to ‘enquire after Christ’” (https://www.apuritansmind.com/puritan-favorites/matthew-henry-1662-1714/, accessed 8/3/2023).
Initially, Henry deliberate to pursue a profession in legislation however quickly felt referred to as, like his father, to Christian ministry. He studied theology on the Islington Academy underneath the mentorship of Thomas Doolittle, a Calvinist and Nonconformist Puritan minister. Henry was ordained within the Presbyterian Church and started preaching at age 23. He ministered in two Presbyterian parishes, the primary in Chester, the place he pastored for 25 years (1687—1712).
Henry’s first spouse, Kathrine {Hardware}, succumbed to smallpox not lengthy after the beginning of their first youngster. The infant died 15 months later. He was married once more in 1690 to Mary Warburton. They’d three daughters who died in infancy: Elizabeth, Mary, and Ann. 5 extra daughters had been born to Henry and Mary: Esther, Elizabeth, Sarah, Theodosia, and Mary. In addition they had a son, Philip, who was born in 1700.
Henry, whose well being had been delicate since childhood resulting from untimely beginning, usually struggled with fever and sickness in maturity. However, he preached passionately and traveled regularly, as he was frequently invited to talk and provides lectures. He was a devoted minister and disciplined pupil of the Bible, normally spending greater than eight hours a day in examine, prayer, sermon preparation, and writing.
Matthew Henry relocated to London for the final two years of his life. He pastored a congregation in Hackney, preached and lectured nearly every day, and wrote his six-volume Exposition of the Outdated and New Testaments, later printed as Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Complete Bible. Henry began his commentary in 1704 however died earlier than finishing it (he had written Genesis to Acts on the time of his loss of life). Nonconformist colleagues compiled the rest of the work (Romans to Revelation) utilizing Henry’s personal examine notes and writings. One other beloved work of Henry’s is A Methodology for Prayer (1712), a scriptural guideline for private prayer and conducting prayer for public events.
Charles Spurgeon, the nineteenth century “Prince of Preachers,” heartily advisable Matthew Henry, describing the person and his work in glowing phrases: “He’s most pious and pithy, sound and smart, suggestive and sober, terse and reliable. You’ll find him to be glittering with metaphors, wealthy in analogies, overflowing with illustrations, superabundant in reflections. . . . Each minister should learn Matthew Henry totally and thoroughly via as soon as no less than” (https://biblemesh.com/weblog/with-all-plainness-matthew-henrys-exposition-of-the-old-and-new-testament/, accessed 8/3/23).
At present, Matthew Henry’s Full Commentary on the Bible remains to be extensively accessible in its unique kind and is taken into account a traditional of Christian literature. Additionally accessible is the one-volume Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, in addition to a model with up to date language for contemporary English readers.
Listed here are a couple of inspiring quotes from Matthew Henry:
“The extra the waters elevated, the upper the ark was lifted up in the direction of heaven. Thus sanctified afflictions are non secular promotions; and as troubles abound consolations, way more abound” (Ritzema, E., ed., 300 Quotations for Preachers, Lexham Press, 2012).
“Delight makes a god of self; covetousness makes a god of cash; sensuality makes a god of the stomach; no matter is esteemed or beloved, feared or served, delighted in or relied on, greater than God, that (no matter it’s) we do in impact make a god of” (Commentary on the Complete Bible).
“Thanksgiving is nice, however thanks-living is healthier” (Commentary on the Complete Bible).
