Re:view- Matthew Henry- His Life and Influence

I wonder what Matthew Henry would have made of our digital age. of all the writers associated with the Puritan era his is probably the most accessible. I have his commentary on the Bible as an app on my phone and the same resource in the margins of my Bible software on my laptop. His Mum might have been fairly comfortable with some of our social media because reading quotations from her letters was like trying to decipher Twitter updates.

[amazon-product image="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1845507835&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=harvestglasgo-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" type="image"]1845507835[/amazon-product]Matthew Henry- His Life and Influence is remarkable in a number of ways not least because it felt at times like I was reading two biographies in one. It is telling that the influence of Henry's father, Philip, is such that his life is indelibly marked upon that of the subject of the book. This feels and reads like a proper biography and lacks a degree of the saccharine touch of others where the author views the subject as more of a hero than a notable and beneficial interest. The author has done an excellent job giving a sense of the history, allowing us a window into Matthew Henry's influences and personalities while also moving along the narrative in the early part of the book. Latterly it drifts a little but, given that Matthew Henry's most significant legacy is a complete commentary on the Bible, I am presuming that it is difficult to make that much more sparky. It does suffer from a level of repetition throughout, but I found those sections easy to skim without losing the sense.

I was left challenged and encouraged by a few things:

1. The very real legacy of a diligent father- Philip Henry did an outstanding job of discipling his son through a clear commitment to family worship and devotions such as has doubled his own personal spiritual legacy (which was profound in this nations spiritual history in it's own right).

2. The perseverance with integrity, without compromise and at personal cost of the Henry's in a culture of changing religious constraints. The impact of a government legislating against the church was significant then as it may be once again in the coming days. In these pages is an example to follow.

3. The power of an enduring commitment to pastor people well from the Word of God. It is compelling to read of a pastor who modelled Biblical convictions which bore fruit in Biblical care. That should be encouraging for all people in the church that fauthfulness in one another's lives with God's Word will produce fruit in one another's lives through God's Word.

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