VU Research Portal Matthew Henry (1662-1714) Murray, D.P. 2019 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Murray, D. P. (2019). Matthew Henry (1662-1714): The Reasonableness and Pleasantness of Christianity. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The Reasonableness and Pleasantness of Christianity ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor of Philosophy aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. Subramaniam, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit Religie en Theologie op vrijdag 1 november 2019 om 9.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door David Philip Murray geboren te Glasgow, Schotland promotor: prof.dr. W. van Vlastuin copromotor: dr. M. Reeves CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1 Status of Matthew Henry Scholarship 2 Statement of the question 9 Methodology 10 Apologetic criteria 11 CHAPTER 1: HENRY’S APOLOGETIC CONTEXT 19 Introduction 19 Section One: The cultural context 19 The political and ecclesiastical context 19 The philosophical context 21 The economic context 24 The religious context 26 The cultural questions 27 Section Two: The Christian response 28 The Latitudinarian response 28 The Non-Conformist response 34 Henry’s response 38 Conclusion 60 CHAPTER 2: HENRY’S APOLOGETIC OF REASONABLENESS 65 Introduction 65 Revealed religion and right reason 65 God’s reasonings 80 Man’s reason is his crown and glory 89 The reason of the glorious discoveries of the Redeemer’s love 92 A rational scheme revealed from heaven 95 The work of ministers is to reason with people 106 The reason of the state of rewards and punishments in the world to come 110 Conclusion 111 CHAPTER 3: HENRY’S APOLOGETIC OF PLEASANTNESS 121 Introduction 121 Summary of Pleasantness 121 Apologetic purpose 122 God’s mind to the children of men 123 There is a God 127 A man is born into the world 136 Precious Christ 140 All their salvation and all their desire 144 The fatness of God’s house on earth 159 The end of our way 163 Conclusion 168 CHAPTER 4: HENRY’S APOLOGETIC PROBLEMS 181 Introduction ` 181 The challenge of suffering 181 The challenge of self-interest 197 Conclusion 207 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND PROSPECT 211 Contribution of research 211 A re-presentation of Henry as an apologist 211 An assessment of Henry’s apologetics 213 Puritan identity 220 The history of emotions 223 Prospect 225 BIBLIOGRAPHY 231 Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to Dr. Willem Van Vlastuin for his patient, gracious, and wise guidance, encouragement, and correction from the moment I submitted my proposal for this dissertation to its completion. I had much to learn, much more than I realized, and am thankful that God’s good providence gave me a supervisor who embodied everything that I wish to emulate in my own instruction of students. I am also indebted to Dr. Michael Reeves who, in his capacity as second reader, offered a number of vital suggestions for improvement in the midst of his numerous duties as a Seminary president. I want to thank Dr. Adriaan Neele for his initial prompt to commence this work, for his constant inspiration along the way, and for his priceless advice at various points. I am indebted to Dr. Joel Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Dr. Michael Barrett, Dean of Faculty, and also the Board of Trustees, who not only gave me permission to pursue these studies, but also granted me a sabbatical in the Spring 2018 semester to advance the project. I must also mention Dr. Greg Salazar whose advice at a critical point led to an important breakthrough in my methodology when I was drowning in data, and Dr. Jonathon Beeke who was an immense encouragement to me throughout. Thank you also to my dear wife, Shona, and my children, for their constant love and support throughout. Above all, I acknowledge God as my strength and song, who has given me many confirmations of the reasonableness and pleasantness of Christianity through many years. Abstract This dissertation answers the question, ‘Why and how did Matthew Henry develop and use the reasonableness of the Christian faith, especially the reason of its pleasantness, to defend and commend the Christian faith in the context of his culture?’ The study finds that a central aspect of Henry’s ministry and teaching may be understood as an apologetic response to the events, people, movements, and trends of his historical context and that this partly motivated the writing of his Exposition. It examines Henry’s apologetic use of the reasonableness and pleasantness of religion, demonstrates that the pleasantness of religion was one of Henry’s favorite and most frequent themes, and that it permeated his theology. The primary results of the research are, first, a historical contextualization of Henry and his oeuvre; second, a re- appraisal of Henry as more than a Bible commentator, as someone who was also a Christian apologist; third, an analysis of Henry’s apologetic using historically appropriate criteria; and, fourth, a contribution to understanding late-Puritan identity and religious experience. INTRODUCTION The Presbyterian minister Matthew Henry (1662-1714)—a representative of the Reformed high orthodoxy period,1 has been described as “a remarkable pastor and writer, whose written ministry has far exceeded the impact of his spoken ministry during his lifetime.”2 He has earned the reputation of being a practical Bible commentator due to the long and worldwide popularity of his six-volume exposition of the Bible,3 eliciting comments similar to Stephen Stein who observed, “Henry’s Exposition frequently underscored the pastoral or devotional side to the biblical text.”4 While that is true, this study will consider whether Henry was more than a commentator, whether he was also an apologist for the Christian religion, and if his Exposition can be viewed as a part of his apologetic work.5 This previously unnoticed side of Henry will be explored by examining how he responded to the religious and irreligious trends of his day by making the case for Christianity based upon its reasonableness, and especially the reason of its pleasantness—an aspect of Reformed theology of the high orthodoxy period that is often overlooked in scholarship.6 Henry addressed these subjects specifically in a lengthy series of sermons on ‘The reasonableness of being truly religious’ in his Chester congregation between May 1696 and Style Guide: Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 9th ed: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018). Quotations from primary sources will retain original spelling and format in the titles of publications but, when possible, will modernize both in the quoted excerpts. 1. This study follows the suggested periodization of Reformed orthodoxy: the early orthodoxy of ca. 1565— ca. 1625, the high orthodoxy of ca. 1625— ca. 1725, and late orthodoxy of ca. 1725— ca. 1790. See Richard Muller, Post Reformation Reformed Dogmatics [hereafter PRRD] (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics, 2003), I: 30-32. 2. Allan M. Harman, Matthew Henry (1662-1714): His Life and Influence (Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2012), 7. 3. Henry started writing his Exposition of the Old and New Testament in 1704. The first four volumes on the Old Testament were published during his lifetime. He finished writing the text of Volume 5 (the Gospels and Acts) on 17 April, 1714, but did not live to see it published. The final volume, Volume 6 on Romans to Revelation, was put together by a number of his ministerial colleagues who edited and supplemented his notes and published it after his death. For more information on this process see J. B. Williams, Memoirs of the Life, Character, and Writings of the Rev. Matthew Henry (London: B. J. Holdsworth, 1828), 308-9. Various titles have been given to Henry’s commentary, including An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1721-1725), in which are the earliest extant editions of Volumes 5 and 6. This study will use the shorter form Exposition and the volume number to refer to these publications. This will usually be followed by the pericope of Scripture that Henry is expositing, because some of the original volumes do not have page numbers. This will also enable quotations to be found more easily in more modern editions of the Exposition. 4. Stephen Stein, Works of Jonathan Edwards (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 24.1:63. J. I. Packer’s description of the Exposition also highlights its simplicity, practicality, and popularity: “Simple and practical in style while thoroughly scholarly and well-informed for substance, the Commentary remains an all- time classic, standing head and shoulders above any other popular exposition produced either before or since.” J.