Matthew Henry Popular Books

Matthew Henry Biography & Facts

Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 – 22 June 1714) was a British Nonconformist minister and author who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Life Matthew Henry was the second son born to Philip and Kathrine Henry. He was born prematurely at his mother's family estate, Broad Oak, a farmhouse on the borders of Flintshire and Shropshire. He was baptized the next day by the local parish rector. His father, Philip Henry, a Church of England cleric, had just been ejected under the Act of Uniformity 1662. As a young child, he was frequently afflicted with fevers. Unlike most of those who had been ejected, Philip Henry possessed some private means, and was able to provide his son a good education. Henry's sister was diarist Sarah Savage. Early life By the age of nine, Henry was able to write Latin and read part of the Greek new testament. He was tutored in grammar by William Turner in 1668 who was temporarily staying at Broad Oak. His father provided much of Henry's early education at home. Henry practiced writing by copying his father's sermons and as a child he exhibited a natural public speaking ability. In 1680, at eighteen, his father sent him to a school in Islington, London to be tutored by the Nonconformist minister Thomas Doolittle. Henry later transferred to Gray's Inn, in the heart of the capital, to study law. While at Gray's Inn, he also studied French and literature. He soon gave up his legal studies for theology. Henry was invited by his friend George Illidge, to give his first sermon to a congregation at Nantwich. Having been well received he returned to speak two more times that summer. Chester In 1686, he was offered an invitation by a local Nonconformist minister to move to Chester, Cheshire and establish a congregation. He was initially hesitant to accept, not wanting to take away members from an already established minister but upon Harvey's insistence he accepted. Henry was ordained on 9 May 1687 by a group of six Nonconformist ministers. He presented a paper written in Latin as part of his ordination. He then became minister of a new Presbyterian congregation at Chester. The congregation grew under his leadership and in 1699 he oversaw the construction of a new building. While in Chester, Henry founded the Presbyterian Chapel in Trinity Street. After becoming established in Chester, he began to travel around to nearby cities speaking. He became a member of the local Chester union of ministers. Henry said of living in Chester "I cannot think of leaving Chester, until Chester leaves me." After moving to Chester, he married Kathrine Hardware on 19 July 1687, after her mother initially objected to the marriage. Kathrine Hardware's parents then moved to Chester and Henry and his wife lived with them. Shortly after the birth of their first child, Kathrine died of smallpox on 14 February 1689, at age 25. He named the infant Kathrine after the mother, but the child died 15 months later. He continued to live with the Hardwares after the death of his wife and continued his ministerial duties. He was introduced to Mary Warburton, a relative of Mrs. Hardware. On 8 July 1690, he married Mary Warburton in Chester. His second child, Elizabeth was born on 2 April 1691, and died in infancy in July 1692. A third child, born in 1693, died three weeks after birth. At age 26 in 1688, the number of speaking engagements started to impact his health. He was frequently subject to fevers. A letter from his father instructed him "....in your earnestness [when speaking], keep the reins upon it." His impassioned speaking style was well-received by his listeners and contributed to his growing popularity. On occasion, he could move his audience to tears. He became a popular speaker and received constant invitations to speak and give lectures. He traveled almost weekly to different cities to speak. He spent significant amounts of time studying and writing his sermons and lectures in advance. Henry preferred to use an expository speaking style. For each speaking engagement, he would employ different base texts to expand upon his general topic. His approach to teaching was "Choose for your pulpit subjects the plainest, and most needful truths; and endeavor to make them plainer." When writing, he would remain close to the literal interpretation of biblical passages. These writings would later form the basis on which he developed his commentary. Between the years of 1687–1712, Matthew Henry continued to live in Chester. In 1694, Esther Henry was born to Matthew Henry and his wife. Esther lived to adulthood. On 24 June 1697 his daughter Ann was born. This child also died in infancy in 1698 in a local measles outbreak. Henry was very saddened at her death. Ann was his fourth child to have died in infancy. Matthew Henry and his wife Mary had their first son in 1700 and named him Philip, who later in life took his mother's name, Warburton. Another child, Elizabeth, was born in 1701. In August 1703, he had another daughter; this one he named Sarah after his older sister. Two more children were born who survived to adulthood: Theodosia in 1708 and Mary in 1711. Journey to London In 1698, Henry traveled to London to speak for the first time since moving to Chester. On the trip to London, he made speaking stops in Nantwich, Newcastle, Lichfield and other towns on the way. Towards the end of this time period, he was frequently invited to speak in London where he eventually moved. He traveled to London again to speak in 1704 and this time Mary accompanied him. Up until this time, his health had been quite good despite the pace at which he worked. In August 1704 he fainted while he was speaking but quickly resumed speaking. The next two days he traveled to Nantwich and then to Haslington. Upon his return to Chester, he was bedridden with a fever for three weeks. Hackney He moved again in 1712 to Mare Street, Hackney after accepting an invitation to take over the ministry of the Hackney congregation. He began work there on 18 May 1712 with a congregation of less than one hundred members. He would also travel to Wapping, Rotherhithe and other surrounding areas and give evening lectures before returning to the duties of the Hackney congregation. Henry also began giving catechetical lectures in London. His Exposition of the Old and New Testaments was nearing the publication stage and was a contributing motive to the move to Hackney, close to the publisher. In 1713, his health began declining after a return visit to Chester. Death In 1713, he began suffering from frequent attacks of nephritis. He continued to maintain his frequent speaking engagements and work on his commentary. On 21 June 1714 Henry was on a speaking tour around Chester and was returning to Hackney. While en route, he was thrown off his horse but denied injury and insisted on making it to Nantwich where he was .... Discover the Matthew Henry popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Matthew Henry books.