An accidental blog

"If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life, and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit." Abraham Kuyper Common Grace 1.1.

Thursday 17 July 2014

British Calvinists: Thomas Watson (c. 1620-1686)


Thomas Watson (c. 1620-1686) was a Yorkshire man, he graduated from Emmanuel College, cambridge with a BA in 1639 and MA in 1642. 

In 1649 he ministered at St Stephen's, Walbrook, London as a lecture and then rector. He married Abigail Beadle in 1647 and they had seven children.

 He held to strong Presbyterian views but was sympathetic to the king. He was imprisoned in 1651 for his part in attempting to restore the monarchy. Christopher Love on elf Watson's fellow imprisonees was executed, but Watson was released and restored to his pastorate at St Stephen's.

The 1662 Act of Uniformity saw Watson ejected from the church, but like many others he continued to preach. In 1672 after the Act of Indulgence he was licensed to preach at Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate. Stephen Charnock was one of his co-workers at Crosby Hall. Watson retired to Barnston, Essex. 




Some of his books can be obtained from The Christian Bookshop Ossett:  http://www.christianbookshopossett.co.uk/catalogue.php?&search=Thomas%20Watson&nd=2&




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