MATTHEW HENRY 1662-1714

I want to introduce you to a man who served as a bridge

between the Puritans and the modern world. He wrote a Bible

commentary which showed how British Puritans applied biblical

principles to experiences of the heart and everyday life. Through

that commentary, he introduced many generations to a Puritan

approach to the scripture and its application.

There was no guarantee of much religious freedom in

Matthew Henry's day. Daily life in Wales, Scotland, and England,

and even in New England in the last half of the 1600's was greatly

affected by this restricted freedom. Yet, God meant it for good. In

His providence, Matthew Henry, prevented from having a position of

power and prestige because of government policies, was forced to

be a lowly village preacher and writer. Believing it to be his duty to

make his preaching applicable to daily life, the heart, and

conscience, he used those sermons, family devotions, and home

Bible studies to write a commentary from Genesis to Acts. Being

restricted by the government resulted in a Bible commentary still

used today. His Commentary was one of the first references I used

to prepare lessons for Sunday school, Bible school and my own

children. It warmed my heart and drew me closer to God.

Matthew Henry was brought up on a Welch farm noted as “a

house of God and a gate of heaven.” His birth year, 1662, stands

out in infamy as the year the Act of Uniformity was passed. More

than two thousand preachers were kicked out of their pulpits for

failing to pledge loyalty to the teachings of the state endorsed

church. They were forbidden to seek other pastorates or attend

universities. Matthew's father, Philip, was an Oxford graduate

pastor, a dissenter, “exiled” to his wife's estate with no approved

parish because of his refusal to endorse the Thirty-Nine Articles of

the Anglican Church.1 Without his wife's inherited land, Broad Oak,

Philip's opportunities to preach might have been even more limited,

and the family might have been homeless. (Many of those two

thousand exiled families were very, very poor. The hardship of

John Bunyan's family comes to mind.) Philip built a home renown

for its devotion and holiness, and a ministry preaching in cottages

and barns and in a private chapel on his wife's land. As it turned

out, one of his greatest contributions was the oversight of his son's

education.

BEFORE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

A little history helps here. The struggles between Catholics

and Protestants during the early 1600's turned into a struggle

between Anglicans and other Protestant groups by the middle of that

century. It was all about who could gain control of the government

and then force others to comply with their religious beliefs. The

Anglican-Monarchist reaction to Cromwell's attempt to establish a

republic resulted in a religious intolerance affecting two generations.

The Act of Uniformity effectively did away with freedom of

conscience by establishing a state religion. Those dissenting from

the Anglican statement of faith were relegated to a second class

citizenship – denied entry into the best schools, refused jobs and

opportunities and significant clerical positions. Professors lost their

positions; pastors lost their churches; laymen could not send their

children to the “best” schools and had to form others.2 It was in

this kind of political and religious climate that Matthew Henry grew

up.

Do you treasure your religious liberty? The freedom to

assemble together without government restriction and to live

according to your conscience without being burdened by others is a

remarkable thing. Even the right to subscribe to a simple statement

of what you believe the Bible says, without political or social

consequences, dates back only to the 1700's in Western

democracies and is still unheard of in many countries today. Or do

you try to impose your beliefs on others and long to revert back to

the days of government enforced beliefs (as long as they are yours)?

Matthew Henry could tell you lots of stories. As you read his

Commentary, notice how he honors the "magistrate" but has no

delusions about government's power to abuse religious liberty.

LIFE AS A RESTRICTED MINORITY

As a result of these political matters, Matthew was educated

under the direction of his father and at independent dissenting

academies, eventually holding a pastorate in Chester, England, two

miles from the border of Wales, from 1687-1710. Even twenty-five

years after the expulsion of the Puritan pastors, this group of people

met in homes and a barn while the Anglican cathedral dominated the

skyline. His pastorate was among humble people of this walled town.

Even as late as 1681, Philip Henry was fined in a near-by town for

leading a prayer meeting.3 It was only with the Toleration Act of

1689 that public worship by dissenters was guaranteed. Full political

privileges were not secured by them until early in the nineteenth

century.4 Yet, this easing of restrictions broadened the impact of

Matthew's country ministry even though his work as a young pastor

remained simple and plain. He led his own family worship; he

taught the Bible in small cottages. By keeping a daily diary, he

revealed his earnestness, discipline, and gave us glimpses of his

everyday life.

AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PURITAN

Death was part of daily life in the late 1600's. During the

early years of his ministry in Cheshire County, his first wife,

Katherine, died after a little over a year of marriage leaving an

infant girl. He remarried a year and a half later. His second wife,

Mary Warburton, lost her first child at fifteen months and their

second child lived only eighteen days. Then two of his sisters died.

Then some of his nephews and nieces died in the same week. So

he was acquainted with grief. And it impacted his ministry. Here we

see our first glimpse of his warm-hearted Calvinistic teaching. He did

not hold a focus group on recovering from grief. Instead, he

proclaimed biblical principles like "All is for good. Let that be your

principle, and let it silence all repining thoughts."5 In speaking of

Matthew's handling of troubles, his biographer notes, "The record

has shown an endurance both saintly and magnanimous."6 He tried

to achieve a balance between urging self-examination as to why the

affliction came and the assertion that God's love is not to be

inferred from adversity any more than from prosperity. "For I

considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that

the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God.

People know neither love nor hatred by anything that is before

them. Everything occurs alike to all..." (Eccl., 9: 1-2). He quoted

his father, "Six things are a salve for every sore--Christ, a good

conscience, the promises, patience, prayer, and heaven in

foretaste."7 As I used his commentary, I learned to consider these

great principles in my heart too. His teaching made the sovereignty

of God less abstract and even though I was weak, faltering, and

often complaining, his teaching brought home to me how I should be

responding.

Once the local government representative railed at him, "and

swore by his Maker three times that if the Queen would give him

leave, he would cut his throat, and the throats of his congregation;

he meekly said, 'The Lord forgive him.'"8 But, sometimes Matthew

spoke up. When an attempt was made to destroy his reputation by

claiming he was seen drunk, he took it to civil court and was

declared innocent.9 Matthew strove after contentment in spite of

his natural anxious temperament. He taught that being truly content

under life's afflictions comes only from repentance from our own sins

while thinking about God's sovereignty, wisdom, love, and provision

in Christ. Contentment "turns the water of affliction into the wine of

consolation. It converts losses into gain."10 He sought to leave his

cares with God--to present them to Him, but not to focus on them.

He wanted his ministry to promote authentic Christian experience;

contentment being part of that reality. As a young man

acknowledging his grief, he developed his preaching style of

fostering real spiritual experiences through teaching spiritual

principles applied to daily life.

Having come into a saving knowledge of Christ before

he was eleven, the young Matthew soon led the "religious exercises"

of his sisters on Saturday afternoon required by their father. It was

preparation for the Sabbath. He was reared in the Puritan tradition

of observing the fourth commandment to keep Sunday as a day of

rest, reflection and prayer, as well as public worship. In spite of his

preaching twice on Sundays, he looked at the day as a delight for

himself personally. In commenting on his twentieth wedding

anniversary with Mary, he told of their delight in spending a

thousand Sabbaths together--some of the best days of their life with

each other.11 This is another example of how Matthew Henry served

as a bridge between the Puritans and the British non-conformists.

He brought the Puritan understanding of the Ten Commandments as

universally applicable into the 1700's. He gave advice to those living

in an Anglican environment which treasured recreation on Sunday:

Be strict in your practice, but charitable in your censures. Let the difference, which you put between the Sabbath-day

and other days be from conscience, not from custom. Have eye to Christ. Remember it is his day. Do it as unto him...

Prepare for the Sabbath before it comes. See that nothing be done on the Lord's Day which might as well have been done the day before...Let there be a manifest difference between that day and other days in your houses...Keep it holy by employing it in holy work, or else you keep the Sabbath no better than the brutes; for they rest.

12

Practical lessons like this were very helpful to me, living in a time

when rest and worship on Sundays was increasingly abandoned.

Warm-hearted Calvinism does that for you. It takes universal

principles and applies them to "today" without putting your

conscience in knots.

So Matthew's work as a young pastor was humbling; he was

privileged to study the Bible, but had no great claim to fame or hope

of position. He maintained morning and evening devotions in his

home, preached six days a week in the surrounding area in cottages,

and in a barn on Sundays until a chapel was finally allowed. By

1699, with the political climate easing, a chapel was built, and by

1707 the congregation numbered about three hundred fifty.13 His

sermons were always expository, giving the meaning of the passage

with practical application. He did not separate the passage from the

great themes of the Bible as a whole. The themes were a part of

the context. He left Chester for a large London church in 1710.

Four years later, he died at 52.14 But, he left us a diary of his daily

life and soul experiences, a commentary on the whole Bible, and a

glimpse into the Puritan view of preaching and teaching. He serves

as both a bridge and a conduit between the Puritans and the modern

world.

WRITING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

In 1704, Henry started his commentary of the Bible. A folio

edition was published in 1708 and a five volume folio edition came

out in 1710. Before his death in 1714, he completed volume six

through Acts. (The epistles and Revelation were added later by

thirteen nonconformist preachers.)15 He probably first preached

these lessons before his congregation at Chester.16

New Year's Day, 1704, Matthew Henry recorded his prayer of

dedication to God's glory and acceptance of His providence. He

particularly sought grace for his work in the ministry:

If my Opportunities as a Minister should be this Year continued,

I commit my Studies, and Ministerial Labours at

home and abroad,

To the Blessing of God; having afresh consecrated

them all to his

Service and Honor, earnestly desiring Mercy of the

Lord to be faithful

and Successful…17

He knew about exile, and the power of government and church

leaders to shut him out of being heard. He had watched that happen

to his father's generation and his own. So he trusted in God's

providence to support him even if he was “shut up” by health,

censure, or a remote and unimportant position. Yet, God granted

him the ability to write for the next nine and one-half years while

fulfilling a busy pastoral ministry. He hoped his commentary would

be “methodized and practical expositions” (italics mine) giving the

gist of the passage like his sermons did. Much of the practical part

must have been learned through his consistent family worship and

small group studies in his neighbors' homes. It was “methodized”

by his doctrinal reliance on the Doctrines of Grace as expressed in

the Westminster Confession of Faith and based upon his education in

the classics and English Puritans. His doctrine did not make him

“high-minded” or cause him to preach or write above the heads of

his hearers. The result was a reliable guide to right conduct for

every person, whether academic or uneducated, whether eighteenth

or twentieth century, based on a Puritan interpretation of the

Doctrines of Grace. It became a major influence affecting evangelists

like George Whitefield and John Wesley and poets like William

Cowper and Charles Wesley. 18

A PURITAN MAN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD

Matthew Henry's diary and other personal papers were

preserved. These papers now give us a glimpse into this Puritan

approach to living just as his commentary still shows us a Puritan

approach to the Bible. Mary and Matthew had eight children of their

own; at least two died in infancy. In addition, he had one daughter

by his first marriage. Then, when his sister and her husband died,

they took in their four children to raise. That makes eleven kids! I

wonder what Mary could tell us about their home life and their work

load! He loved their Sundays together when household duties were

put aside.

I wonder what it was like to study the Old Testament in

family devotions in the morning and the New Testament at night?

Morning and Evening-- imagine getting everyone together and quiet!

Restless kids; she probably was nursing one most of the time;

servants were also included. No wonder he had to become a skilled

teacher. How much was he at home during the day to prepare?

He preached elsewhere six days a week. It leaves us looking foolish

as we excuse our failure to have family Bible studies.

Mary is praised by his biographer for her kindness and her

ability to run the household while he studied, wrote, and preached.

That says quite a lot when you remember the size of the household.

He died at fifty-two leaving Mary a widow after twenty-four years of

marriage. Fifty-two seems so young to us. Mary was left with a lot

of children to finish raising without him. Matthew would be quick to

remind her that God meant it for her good; He always kept His

promises; He would never leave her. She came from a

distinguished family near Chester. Her grandfather was Chief Justice

of Chester and her father was remembered for his help to

nonconforming ministers and their families. Her mother was from

London.19 Since they had only lived in London for four years when

he died, I assume she probably returned to her family in Cheshire

County. His diary, letters, and papers were preserved by someone,

probably Mary or his sister. They were then passed to his

biographer in 1828--one hundred fourteen years later. Mary

probably fled to these personal papers for comfort and memories.

Was she sustained by remembering what he had taught and how he

had lived? Little is known about her.20 I wonder what happened to

her? How did the children turn out?

Even though these questions remain, by preserving his diary,

Mary gave us a glimpse into their personal lives and Matthew's

private thoughts and goals. We can see some of how Matthew's

Puritan view of the Bible worked itself out in his personal and family

life. Most importantly, his commentary on most of the Bible

continues to be reprinted and is on the internet, showing us how to

teach from a Puritan perspective. What can you learn from Matthew

Henry? Perhaps it is how to meditate on one of the great doctrines

and then to experience how that truth expands your view of God and

stirs your gratefulness for His unmerited favor and forgiveness? I

never grow tired of that, nor do I find I have outgrown my need of

seeing these truths applied by Matthew Henry.

Matthew Henry was able to blend doctrinal teachings with

practical wisdom and emotional love for the Father and His Son.

His influence on William Cowper's hymns, George Whitefield's revival

preaching, as well as those of the Wesleys, anchored the revival that

came in the last half of the 1700's. Iain Murray tells us this revival

transformed English life within fifty years. Henry was very

influencial in what was taught in the years leading up to that

transformation. And since Henry's work has been reprinted for

succeeding generations, his influence continues into the present. His

humble pastoral position and his ministry to small groups of people

make his attempt to explain the Bible inspiring to others who toil

without public acclaim or important position. He accomplished a

great deal through diligence and attention to what he saw as his

duty. That inspires. But, his chief contribution is in this blending

of doctrine, devotion, and practical application useful for

“everyman."

EXAMPLES FROM HIS WRITINGS

In the following passage, note Matthew Henry's doctrinal

underpinnings on sin and its consequences. Each person is affected

by sin, and thus sin is an issue needing resolution and rendering

consequences, and finally, judgment. He teaches from the

perspective of the unity of the whole Bible; he does not divide the

people of God into ages or dispensations; he looks at Jacob or Judah

or Israel as the church, and applies the principle to life

anytime/anywhere. Notice his practical application: calling for

repentance of sin in high places especially because of the influence

on others and the society in general. And notice his emphasis on

Micah's balance between promises and warnings of judgments and

consequences. In Henry's work, this translates into a balance

between mercy and justice. Always teaching first one, then the

other of the great themes of the Bible was his way of approaching

the scripture and not getting off on a rabbit trail or losing the

balance intended.

Micah 1 3For behold, the LORD is coming out of His place, and will come down and walk on

the high places of the earth. 4And the mountains shall melt under Him, and the valleys

shall tear themselves, as wax before the fire, and as waters poured down a steep place. 5All this is for the transgression of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is

the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah?

Are they not Jerusalem? 6And I will make Samaria into ruins of the field, planting

places for a vineyard; and I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover

her foundations. 7And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her gifts

shall be burned with the fire, and I will destroy all its idols. For she gathered it from the

reward of a harlot, and they shall return to the reward of a harlot.

8Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing

like jackals, mourn like the daughters of an ostrich. 9For her wounds are not curable;

for it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of My people, to Jerusalem. 8Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like

jackals, mourn like the daughters of an ostrich. 9For her wounds are not curable; for it

has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of My people, to Jerusalem.

The promises and threatenings of this book are interwoven, by which it appears that

even in the wicked reign he preached comfort, and said to the righteous then that it

should be well with them; and that in the pious reign he preached conviction, and said to

the wicked then that it should be ill with them; for, however the times change, the word

of the Lord is still the same.

Micah 1:5 IV. A charge of sin upon them, as the procuring cause of these desolating

judgments (v. 5): For the transgression of Jacob is all this. If it be asked, "Why is God

so angry, and why are Jacob and Israel thus brought to ruin by his anger?" the answer is

ready: Sin has done all the mischief; sin has laid all waste; all the calamities of Jacob

and Israel are owing to their transgressions; if they had not gone away from God, he

would never have appeared thus against them. Note, External privileges and professions

will not secure a sinful people from the judgments of God. If sin be found in the house

of Israel, if Jacob be guilty of transgression and rebellion, God will not spare them; no,

he will punish them first, for their sins are of all others most provoking to him, for they

are most reproaching. But it is asked, What is the transgression of Jacob? Note, When

we feel the smart of sin it concerns us to enquire what the sin is which we smart for,

that we may particularly war against that which wars against us. And what is it? 1. It is

idolatry; it is the high places; that is the transgression, the great transgression which

reigns in Israel; that is spiritual whoredom, the violation of the marriage-covenant,

which merits a divorce. Even the high places of Judah, though not so bad as the

transgression of Jacob, were yet offensive enough to God, and a remaining blemish

upon some of the good reigns. Howbeit the high places were not taken away. 2. It is the

idolatry of Samaria and Jerusalem, the royal cities of those two kingdoms. These were

the most populous places, and where there were most people there was most

wickedness, and they made one another worse. These were the most pompous places;

there men lived most in wealth and pleasure, and they forgot God. These were the

places that had the greatest influence upon the country, by authority and example; so

that from them idolatry and profaneness went forth throughout all the land, Jer. xxiii.

15. Note, Spiritual distempers are most contagious in persons and places that are most

conspicuous. If the head city of a kingdom, or the chief family in a parish, be vicious

and profane, many will follow their pernicious ways, and write after a bad copy when

great ones set it for them. The vices of leaders and rulers are leading ruling vices, and

therefore shall be surely and sorely punished. Those have a great deal to answer for

indeed that not only sin, but make Israel to sin. Those must expect to be made examples

that have been examples of wickedness. If the transgression of Jacob is Samaria,

therefore shall Samaria become a heap. Let the ringleaders in sin hear this and fear.

He is applying this directly to church leaders who are formalists, but

know nothing of the power of true Christian experience. He is direct

and simple. He shows the difference between real religion and fake.

He uses words like "ringleaders" straight from the language of the

common man. He equates Israel with Christians today.

LIFE EXPERIENCES AND EXPERIENCES OF THE HEART OPEN UP

SCRIPTURE

In this commentary on Micah, you can see the impact of

Matthew Henry's experiences and those of his father's generation as

they lost position, property, and influence for their refusal to accept

the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican Church. It is good to know

the biography of a man as his experiences teach him the meaning of

scriptures. My pastor, Ernie Reisinger, had a saying, "The Lord is a

strange teacher. He first gives the test, then the lesson." His

meaning was that our experiences open up the scriptures for us.

Experience affects our application of scripture. It is not that life

experiences change objective truth, but truth becomes real to us,

more meaningful to our specific circumstances and our heart

condition. This is, of course, dependent on the Holy Spirit's leading

and moving us in a particular direction. That is very different from

modern-day "experiential" teachers who tell stories about their own

experiences rather than help you apply doctrinal truth. Note that is

this section from Matthew Henry, imagining what it must have felt

like to be a dissenter from the state-approved religion with all of the

social consequences that entailed.

Micah 2

1Woe to those who plot wickedness and prepare evil on their beds! When the morning is

light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2And they covet and seize

fields; and houses, and take them away. And they oppress a man and his household,

even a man and his inheritance. 3So the LORD says this: Behold, against this family I

am plotting an evil from which you shall not remove your necks; nor shall you go

proudly, but it is an evil time. 4In that day one shall take up a parable against you and

mourn a mourning of mournings, saying, We shall be completely laid waste. He has

exchanged the share of my people. How He has removed it from me! To the apostate

He has divided our fields. 5Therefore there shall not be for you one casting a line by lot

in the congregation of the LORD.

6Do not drop words as they drop! They shall not drop words about these; they shall not

draw back reproaches. 7House of Jacob, it is said, The Spirit of the LORD is limited, if

these are His doings. Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly? 8Even

yesterday, My people has risen up like an enemy; you strip off a cloak along with an

outer robe, from those who pass by trustingly, those returning from war. 9You have

thrown the wives of My people out from the house of her delight; from their children

you have taken away My majesty forever. 10

Arise and depart! For this is not your rest,

because of destroying uncleanness, even a grievous destruction. 11

If a man walks with

wind and lies falsely, saying, I will drop words to you for wine and for strong drink, he

shall even be a dropper of words for this people.

12

I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I

will put them together like the sheep of Bozrah, like the flock in the midst of their fold.

They shall be in commotion because of men. 13

The breaker has come up before them;

they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and have gone out of it. And

their king shall pass before them, and the LORD at the head of them.

Here is, I. The injustice of man contriving the evil of sin, v. 1, 2. God was coming

forth against this people to destroy them, and here he shows what was the ground of his

controversy with them; it is that which is often mentioned as a sin that hastens the ruin

of nations and families as much as any, the sin of oppression. Let us see the steps of it.

1. They eagerly desire that which is not their own--that is the root of bitterness, the root

of all evil, v. 2. They covet fields and houses, as Ahab did Naboth's vineyard. "Oh that

such a one's field and house were mine! It lies convenient for me, and I would manage

it better than he does; it is fitter for me than for him." 2. They set their wits on work to

invent ways of accomplishing their desire (v. 4); they devise iniquity with a great deal

of cursed art and policy; they plot how to do it effectually, and yet so as not to expose

themselves, or bring themselves into danger, or under reproach, by it. This is called

working evil! they are working it in their heads, in their families, and are as intent upon

it, and with as much pleasure, as if they were doing it, and are as confident of their

success (so wisely do they think they have laid the scheme) as if it were assuredly done.

Note, It is bad to do mischief upon a sudden thought, but much worse to devise it, to do

it with design and deliberation; when the craft and subtlety of the old serpent appear

with his poison and venom, it is wickedness in perfection. They devised it upon their

beds, when they should have been asleep; care to compass a mischievous design held

their eyes waking upon their beds, where they should have been remembering God, and

meditating upon him, where they should have been communing with their own hearts

and examining them, they were devising iniquity. It is of great consequence to

improve and employ the hours of our retirement and solitude in a proper manner. 3.

They employ their power in executing what they have designed and contrived; they

practise the iniquity they have devised, because it is in the power of their hand; they

find that they can compass it. Note, It is bad to do mischief upon a sudden thought, but

much worse to devise it, to do it with design and deliberation; by the help of their

wealth, and the authority and interest they have, and that none dare control them, or call

them to an account for it; and this, they think, will justify them and bear them out in it.

Note, It is the mistake of many to think that as they can do they may do; whereas no

power is given for destruction, but all for edification. 4. They are industrious and very

expeditious in accomplishing the iniquity they have devised; when they have settled the

matter in their thoughts, in their beds, they lose no time, but as soon as the morning is

light they practice it; they are up early in the prosecution of their designs, and what ill

their hand finds to do they do it with all their might, which shames our slothfulness and

dilatoriness in doing good, and should shame us out of them. In the service of God, and

our generation, let it never be said that we left that to be done to-morrow which we

could do to-day. 5. They stick at nothing to compass their designs; what they covet they

take away, if they can, and, (1.) They care not what wrong they do, though it be ever so

gross and open; they take away men's fields by violence, not only by fraud, and

underhand practices and colour of law, but by force and with a high hand. (2.) They

care not to whom they do wrong nor how far the iniquity extends which they devise:

They oppress a man and his house; they rob and ruin those that have numerous families

to maintain, and are not concerned though they send them and their wives and children

a begging. They oppress a man and his heritage; they take away from men that which

they have an unquestionable title to, having received it from their ancestors, and which

they have but in trust, to transmit it to their posterity; but those oppressors care not how

many they impoverish, so they may but enrich themselves. Note, If covetousness reigns

in the heart, commonly all compassion is banished from it; and if any man love this

world, as the love of the Father, so the love of his neighbour is not in him.

II. The justice of God contriving the evil of punishment for this sin (v. 3):

Therefore thus saith the Lord, the righteous God, that judges between man and man,

and is an avenger on those that do wrong, Behold, against this family do I devise an

evil, that is, against the whole kingdom, the house of Israel, and particularly those

families in it that were cruel and oppressive. They unjustly devise evil against their

brethren, and God will justly devise evil against them. Infinite Wisdom will so contrive

the punishment of their sin that it shall be very sure, and such as cannot be avoided,

very severe, and such as they cannot bear, very signal and remarkable, and such as shall

be universally observed to answer to the sin. The more there appears of a wicked wit in

the sin the more there shall appear of a holy wisdom and fitness in the punishment; for

the Lord will be known by the judgments he executes; he will be owned by them. 1. He

finds them very secure, and confident that they shall in some way or other escape the

judgment, or, though they fall under it, shall soon throw it off and get clear of it, and

therefore he tells them, It is an evil from which they shall not remove their neck. They

were children of Belial, that would not endure the easy yoke of God's righteous

commands, but broke those bonds asunder, and cast away those cords from them; and

therefore God will lay upon them the heavy yoke of his righteous judgments, and they

shall not be able to withdraw their necks from that; those that will not be overruled

shall be overcome. 2. He finds them very proud and stately, and therefore he tells them

that they shall not go haughtily, with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking

and mincing as they go (Isa. iii. 16); for this time is evil, and the events of it are very

humbling and mortifying, and such as will bring down the stoutest spirit. 3. He finds

them very merry and jovial, and therefore tells them their note shall be changed, their

laughter shall be turned into mourning and their joy into heaviness (v. 4): In that day,

when God comes to punish you for your oppression, shall one take up a parable against

you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, with a lamentation of lamentations (so the

word is), a most lamentable lamentation, as a song of songs is a most pleasing song.

Their enemies shall insult over them, and make a jest of their griefs, for they shall take

up a parable against them. Their friends shall mourn over them, and lay to heart their

calamities, and this shall be the general cry, "We are utterly spoiled; we are all undone."

Note, Those that were most haughty and secure in their prosperity are commonly most

dejected and most ready to despair in their adversity. 4. He finds them very rich in

houses and lands, which they have gained by oppression, and therefore tells them that

they shall be stripped of all. (1.) They shall, in their despair, give it all up; they shall

say, We are utterly spoiled; he has changed the portion of my people, so that it is now

no longer theirs, but it is in the possession and occupation of their enemies: How has he

removed it from me! How suddenly, how powerfully! What is unjustly got by us will

not long continue with us; the righteous God will remove it. Turning away from us in

wrath, he has divided our fields, and given them into the hands of strangers. Woe to

those from whom God turns away. The margin reads it, "Instead of restoring, he has

divided our fields; instead of putting us again in the possession of our estates, he has

confirmed those in the possession of them that have taken them from us." Note, It is just

with God that those who have dealt fraudulently and violently with others should

themselves be dealt fraudulently and violently with. (2.) God shall ratify what they say

in their despair (v. 5); so it shall be: Thou shalt have none to cast a cord by lot in the

congregation of the Lord, none to divide inheritances, because there shall be no

inheritances to divide, no courts to try titles to lands, or determine controversies about

them, or cast lots upon them, as in Joshua's time, for all shall be in the enemies' hand.

This land, which should be taken from them, they had not only an unquestionable title

to, but a very comfortable enjoyment of, for it was in the congregation of the Lord, or

rather the congregation of the Lord was in it; it was God's land; it was a holy land, and

therefore it was the more grievous to them to be turned out of it. Note, Those are to be

considered the sorest calamities which cut us off from the congregation of the Lord, or

cut us short in the enjoyment of the privileges of it.

In this passage, Matthew Henry shows how experiences open

up the scriptures for us. The experiences are not the truth or even a

truth; they help us to understand and apply. Look at his view of the

role of the government officials in their dealings with the church

remembering how the English government's involvement in

regulating religion had restricted his education and his ministry.

Also notice his ability to balance the great biblical themes of the sure

judgment of God and His mercy in bringing good preachers of the

word to the people. Can you see how he stimulates the mind with

historical facts and doctrinal principles of providence and judgment

while warming the heart toward God by pointing out God's mercy?

This is what warm-hearted Calvinism is all about. It is about

thinking about the wonder of God's care over the details of our lives

in the context of His unmerited favor and mercy to us.

Are you teaching someone? A grandchild perhaps? Then you

need to practice this art of applying biblical principles to what that

child is going through. Take moving from his pre-school roots as an

example. Study the doctrine of providence yourself first; grasp its

general truth that God oversees our lives for our good and His

glory. Review Chapter Five of the Westminster Confession of Faith

with scripture proofs. Review Larger Catechism questions 18-20

and 11-12 in The Shorter Catechism. (See Westminster Confession

of Faith, Free Presbyterian Publications, Glasgow, 2001) Then look at

questions 10-13 in A Catechism for Boys and Girls, p. 35 in Truth

and Grace Memory Book (Founders Press, Cape Coral, Fl. ) This only

takes a few minutes. You just have to keep your resources handy.

Now remind your grandchild that God sees and knows how hard it is

to move, leaving friends and familiar ways of doing things.

Stimulate his mind with this view of God. Read Psalm 139:1-5

together. Then warm his heart with the truth from Romans 8 that

God has his good in mind and will watch over him even in the midst

of difficulties like going into a strange school where he knows no

one. Give an example when God did that for you. You can't really

warm his heart; only the Holy Spirit can do that, of course! (And

my experience says that you must be ready to seize the moment

when impacting kids. That's why Deuteronomy 6 says "as you go in

and out." The busyness of life demands opportune moments be

taken advantage of whether you're dealing with kids or with

someone you are seeking to mentor.) This is an example of what

you can learn from Matthew Henry. His warm-hearted Calvinism

has impacted both lay men and women and preachers since 1710!

He honed his skills in leading family devotions and neighborhood

Bible studies; you can sharpen yours that way too.

LESSONS FROM HENRY ON EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING

What were these skills he developed while teaching those small

groups in homes and barns? His biographer analyses them for us:

1. He prepared and studied.

2. He was serious, fervent, and pleading.

3. He used the doctrines of grace, but sought variety of theme and

texts.

4. He preached Christ always. That was part of his charm and

devotional ardor.

5. He pointed out sin and warned, with tears, of hell.

6. He leaned on the necessity of the Holy Spirit's work in hearts, then

he led them to the cross.

7. He spoke plainly and simply.

8. He stuck close to the chosen passage.

9. He used scriptural examples and allusions to illustrate truths.

10. He worked to promote true faith by opening the Scriptures, not

through argument. He avoided useless controversy. He wanted to

instruct, edify, save.

11. He mingled with his people as an equal and made pastoral visits.

12. Doctrines were not asserted with "oracular authority but were

proved by well-selected and convincing arguments."21

13. He was always practical promoting Godliness and encouraging the

heart.

14. "He was uniformly pointed, discriminating, and applicable." 22

15. He both warned men of hell and delighted to comfort believers by

explaining God's promises to them.

16. He used local, national, and world events as opportunities to

comfort, warn, or instruct from the Bible.23

I was more interested in experiencing a warmed heart toward

God and getting a handle on election or God's sovereignty when I

first started reading Matthew Henry. That changed for me when I

needed the skills to teach I and II Kings and II Corinthians to ladies

in their 70's and 80's. I knew their spiritual experiences far

exceeded mine; I needed to be plain and simple but not ignorant;

they were not interested in how to live life, raise children, or have a

happy marriage. Matthew Henry saved my life and made me look

smart. He was a good friend.

Read the following quote from his commentary on Ezra 5

thinking about experiential teaching as you do. Remember this was

probably first preached or taught in a home or barn or a simple

chapel. Note its characteristics of simple directness,

"Now here we are told how life was put into that good cause which seemed to lie dead."

statement of clear principles, "As the weapons of our warfare, so the instruments

of our building, are not carnal, but spiritual, and they are the ministers of the gospel that are the

master-builders."

application to Christian experience, "It is a sign that God has mercy in store for a people

when he raises up prophets among them to be their helpers in the way and work of God..."

Ezra 5:1:

The Jews Encouraged by Their Prophets. B. C. 520.

1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo,

prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of

Israel, even unto them. 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the

son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with

them were the prophets of God helping them.

Some reckon that the building of the temple was suspended for only nine years; I

am willing to believe that fifteen years were the utmost. During this time they had an

altar and a tabernacle, which no doubt they made use of. When we cannot do what we

would we must do what we can in the service of God, and be sorry we can do no better.

But the counsellors that were hired to hinder the work (ch. iv. 5) told them, and perhaps

with a pretense to inspiration, that the time had not come for the building of the temple

(Hag. i. 2), urging that it was long ere the time came for the building of Solomon's

temple; and thus the people were made easy in their own ceiled houses, while God's

house lay waste. Now here we are told how life was put into that good cause which

seemed to lie dead.

I. They had two good ministers, who, in God's name, earnestly persuaded them to

put the wheel of business in motion again. Observe,

1. Who these ministers were, namely, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who

both began to prophesy in the second year of Darius, as appears, Hag. i. 1; Zech. i. 1.

Note, (1.) The temple of God among men is to be built by prophecy, not by secular

force (that often hinders it, but seldom furthers it), but by the word of God. As the

weapons of our warfare, so the instruments of our building, are not carnal, but

spiritual, and they are the ministers of the gospel that are the master-builders. (2.) It is

the business of God's prophets to stir up God's people to that which is good, and to help

them in it, to strengthen their hands, and, by suitable considerations fetched from the

word of God, to quicken them to their duty and encourage them in it. (3.) It is a sign

that God has mercy in store for a people when he raises up prophets among them to be

their helpers in the way and work of God, their guides, overseers, and rulers.

2. To whom they were sent. They prophesied unto the Jews (for, as to them

pertained the giving of the law, so also the gift of prophecy, and therefore they are

called the children of the prophets, Acts iii. 25, because they were educated under their

tuition and instruction), even unto them, upon them, even upon them (so it is in the

original), as Ezekiel prophesied upon the dry bones, that they might live, Ezek. xxxvii.

4. They prophesied against them (so bishop Patrick), for they reproved them because

they did not build the temple. The word of God, if it be not received now as a testimony

to us, will be received another day as a testimony against us, and will judge us.

3. Who sent them. They prophesied in the name, or (as some read it) in the cause,

or for the sake, of the God of Israel; they spoke by commission from him, and argued

from his authority over them, his interest in them, and the concern of his glory among

them.

II. They had two good magistrates, who were forward and active in this work.

Zerubbabel their chief prince, and Jeshua their chief priest, v. 2. Those that are in places

of dignity and power ought with their dignity to put honour upon and with their power

to put life into every good work: thus it becomes those that preceded, and those that

preside, with an exemplary care and zeal to fulfil all righteousness and to go before in a

good work. These great men thought it no disparagement to them, but a happiness, to be

taught and prescribed to by the prophets of the Lord, and were glad of their help in

reviving this good work. Read the first chapter of the prophecy of Haggai here (for that

is the best comment on these two verses) and see what great things God does by his

word, which he magnifies above all his name, and by his Spirit working with it.

These characteristics of warm-hearted Calvinism of clear

directness, simple principles, and application to everyday/everyman

life and heart can be yours too. In 1984, Ernest Reisinger urged his

congregation to pray that pastors might be direct in their

application. He told his people to look for men who avoided the

generalized "we" in favor of specific "you" and "I." For instance,

"You don't give generously!" "I don't pray as I ought!"24 The

Puritan Reformed tradition that molded Matthew Henry and Ernest

Reisinger is still able to stimulate your mind and warm your heart

toward God while instructing you in what to believe and how to live.

This method of applying biblical principles with clear directness,

joined with a work of the Holy Spirit, can still promote real spiritual

experiences. You can experience comfort, contentment, power to

repent, growth in humility and love. Then you can pass that on to

others.

QUOTES FROM MATTHEW HENRY

• "What is the reason for the apostasy of so many who began well?

"They never had the law in their hearts; they never acted from a

principle."1

• "I hope I aim at nothing but souls; and if I gain those, through I

should lose all my worldly comforts by it, I shall reckon myself to

have made a good bargain." 2

• "When I part with so dear a child, yet I have no reason to say

otherwise, but that it is well with us and well with the child, for all is

well that God doth."3

• "You think, we are too earnest with you to leave your sins and

accept of Christ, but when you come to die, you will see the meaning

of it. We see death at your backs."4

• "Feed the ignorant with knowledge, the careless with admonition, the

wandering with direction and the mourning with comfort."5

• "Nothing is more contrary to the profession of a Christian than the

life of an epicure. Take heed to the beginnings of

intemperance...When in danger, try whether you have learned the

first lesson in Christ's school--to deny yourselves."6

• "Worldly cares are great hindrances to our profiting by the word of

God. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be

said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they choke

the good seed. What distinguished the good ground was

fruitfulness."7

What You Can Do

1. Use Matthew Henry's Commentary in your own Bible study and

devotions. The book is still in print and on the web.

2. Practice looking at scripture in this warm-hearted Calvinist way.

Look for the clear principle (a general biblical truth); apply it in some

specific way to your thoughts, feelings, or actions; rely on the Holy

Spirit to produce fruit of increased love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

3. Practice teaching others like Matthew did: in simple directness;

clear doctrinal principles; and application to their life and heart.

4. Look for Bible teachers and preachers who have honed these

skills and handle the word of God like this.

5. Give away Matthew Henry's Commentary or tell others how to

get him on the web.

.

6. Sing the songs of William Cowper and Charles Wesley, thinking

about Henry's influence upon them.

7. Read some sermons by George Whitefield, knowing he used

Matthew Henry's commentary.

8. Give away The Life of Matthew Henry by J. B. Williams, first

published in 1828, (Bridge-Logos Publishing,bridgelogos.com, 2004).