JERUSALEM’SGLORY

Thomas Watson

A Puritan’s view ofwhat the church should be

Edited byRoger N McDermott M.A. (Oxon)

Christian Heritage

Roger N McDermott is a graduate of the Universityof Oxford and an historian. He has written for theNew Dictionary of National Biography, as well ascontributing historical articles to The Banner ofTruth Magazine and Evangelical Times. He is alsothe editor of a range of puritan titles for ChristianFocus Publications. He lives in Kent with his wifeMelanie.

Introduction © Roger McDermott

ISBN 1 85792 569 6

Published in 2002 byChristian Focus Publications

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Editor’s Dedication

For My Wife Melanie

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INTRODUCTION

The puritans have a deserved place of honourin the history of the Christian Church as a godlyand self-effacing people. Their work andwritings come to the modern reader as arefreshing dose of spiritual honesty in a worldso beset by spiritual darkness and deceit. Infact they provide wholesome food for the soulof the hungry Christian. The Israelites in thedays of Moses were provided with Manna toeat, and they called it ‘Manna’ since they ‘wistnot what it was’ (Exodus 16:15). But Christdeclared himself in the fullness of time to be‘the bread of life’ who offers real nourishmentto the souls of those who feed on him, by faith(John 6:35).

The success of the puritans lay in theirrecognition of Jesus Christ as the onlyappointed mediator of the New Covenant, andas Head, King, Saviour and Lord of his ownChurch. They placed Him who is ‘a chiefcornerstone’ (I Peter 2:6) at the very centre oftheir worship, doctrine, preaching and way oflife. To a fallen and sin-sick world theyunashamedly proclaimed ‘Christ-crucified’ asthe only God given way of salvation.

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It can only be a false religion that does notconfront the problem of man’s sin and rebellionwith the impending Judgement of the Holy andLiving God and the way of salvation throughthe atonement of the Eternal and only-begottenSon of God, Jesus Christ. The religion of thepuritans was true religion. It was Reformed andstood on the sure and certain ground of theword of God; it was also a heart felt religionthat aimed at the glory of God. To achieve thismeant avoiding lightness and trivia in theworship of God and cultivating holiness in thedaily life of every Christian. In other words,puritan belief was implemented in practice.

The following book, Jerusalem’s Glory,written in 1661 by Thomas Watson, containsall the hallmarks of what made the puritansgreat. It represents a clarion call to the Churchto recognize her waywardness and repent,turning to the Almighty God and casting herselfon His mercy. Its author did not employ‘enticing words of man’s wisdom,’ (ICorinthians 2:4) but sought to apply biblicaltruth and sound doctrine as a means toachieving the stated aim. Here we gain someinsight into the virtue of a puritan preacher ofthe gospel, speaking plainly to the ills of society,and in particular to the Church, that according

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Introduction

to the Scriptures is ‘a city that is set on an hill’(Matthew 5:14).

But what was so wrong with society that itrequired such sharp rebuke? And in what wayhad the Church gone astray in 17th centuryEngland? Against the background of so muchgodly preaching in puritan England, did notthe Church show signs of progress and evenof greater unity? In order to answer thesequestions it is worthwhile remembering thecondition of society and the Church at the time,and in particular the context in which the workwas first published. It is also important toestablish the credentials of Watson as theauthor of the text, in offering his critique ofthe spiritual malaise that was spreading far andwide, almost crippling the health and witnessof the Church. Finally, it must be shown whatbearing the author’s work continues to have inour day.

England witnessed great changes andenormous conflict during the 17th century.Politically conflict and war marred it; disputeswere increasingly contributing to an atmos-phere of hostility and hatred. But importantissues were at stake as the conflict betweencrown and parliament was played out. Theissue of liberty featured prominently, ever since

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the fragile Tudor balance in Church and Statewas destabilized by the ascendance to thethrone of James I in 1603. His brand ofkingship and distaste for parliament seemedto pose an open threat to the liberty of thesubject. Charles I carried this to an extreme,as the issue of ‘crown rights,’ came to dominatethe minds of men.

No one seriously doubted that kings ruledby the authority of God, however the practicalapplication of that was a matter of sharpdivision. The constitutional unity of the nationwas fractured for a time as men divided into‘Royalists’ and ‘Parliamentarians.’ The bloody andcruel civil wars that ensued in England affectedthe whole of the British Isles. Wars are neverregarded as a desirable way of settling disputes,even less so in the case of a civil war.

Charles I had not desired war, what theStuart ruler struggled so desperately to achievewas a uniformity of the multiple kingdomswhich he ruled over. The great liberty that theBritish people knew in the period, was theirhistorical deliverance from the tyranny ofRome. The Reformation of the Church was thesingularly most important blessing enjoyedamong the people; the gospel of Jesus Christwas giving true liberty to souls. The Stuart

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Introduction

monarchs endeavoured in the pursuit of theirown power to undermine this liberty; the driftback toward Rome was both slow andinsidious.

To achieve uniformity within the Church,in 1637 Charles I imposed a Prayer Book onthe English model on the Scots. This was farremoved from Knox’s Book of Common Order.The rejection of it the following year signalled thesigning of the National Covenant. Shortly after theBishops Wars confirmed the failure of royal policy,with the Scots calling for the abolition ofEpiscopacy in Scotland. Before too long, the samedemand was made within the English Parliament.

The times called loudly for resolute men, strongin the faith and relying solely upon the Living God,to contend for the faith. That was certainly visiblein the gathering of the puritan divines at theWestminster Assembly between 1643-6. Of those,Baxter contended that the world had not knownsuch a gathering of eminent godly men, since theCouncil of Jerusalem in the first century.

Thomas Watson did not seem a particularlybrilliant man to his contemporaries. Yet heearned their respect as a godly preacher of thegospel. A serious and diligent man, he emergedfrom relative obscurity to a certain prominencewithin the Church that brought him into conflict

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with the enemies of the gospel. Perhaps as theScriptures record of David, the greatest accoladethat Watson may be given is to say that ‘he hadserved his own generation by the will of God’ (Acts13:36).

Born in Yorkshire between 1617-19,information on the early life of Watson ismarkedly scarce. When he was of age, he wentto Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1635. Therehe gained a reputation as a very industriousstudent, achieving his B.A. in 1638-9 andproceeding to M.A. in 1642. The timing ofWatson’s conversion is not known, but on hisarrival at Emmanuel College he would have had intheory an express interest in the ministry of thegospel. For it will be remembered that Emmanuelwas set up in the 16th century to provide the Churchwith educated and godly ministers. By 1635, thecollege was flourishing as a centre of godly learning,and a ‘hotbed’ of puritan activity. Many of thegreat puritans were educated at the University ofCambridge, such as, Cartwright, Perkins, Sibbes,and Charnock, to name but a few. In particular, atEmmanuel, eminent divines were raised up by Godto further the cause of Christ in the nation. Notleast of these was John Preston, appointed asMaster of Emmanuel in 1622. The value of hiswritten work was highly regarded by many fellow

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Introduction

puritan ministers, among whom Richard Sibbesand John Davenport tirelessly edited the works ofPreston after the death of the latter in 1628. Theseworks included, The New Covenant, TheGolden Sceptre, and perhaps more widely known,The Breastplate of Faith and Love.

The influence of Preston at Emmanuel cannotbe overstated. His stance as both a puritan andpresbyterian did much to lay the groundwork forthe growth of presbyterianism within the Churchof England and beyond. It was in that godlyenvironment that Thomas Watson was educated,and it is of little surprise to find him later fullycommitted to the presbyterian model of Churchgovernment.

The year of Watson’s entry to Cambridgedid not seem unusually significant. It saw thedevelopment of a postal service in England. Italso saw increasing conflict in both Church andstate, through the activity of William Laud andCharles I. Parliament had not met in Englandsince the king had prorogued it in 1628. All ofthe dissension spreading throughout thecountry revolved around a struggle for thepreservation of liberty and justice. Not least didthis express itself in the Church, which seemed tomany to be in danger of drifting back towardRomanism, and declining from the standards of

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the 16th century Reformation.As the years of study passed for Watson at

Cambridge these problems on the wider frontwere reaching a critical stage. Archbishop Laudhad destabilized the fragile political balancethroughout the British Isles by his innovativeecclesiastical practices and his espousal ofArminian heresy. Charles I seemed to sharehis Archbishop’s enthusiasm for Arminianism,but rapidly sought to distance himself from thisposition after the downfall of the former.Parliament was forced to oppose the errant andinflexible monarch, and in 1642, the first civil warerupted in England.

At precisely this time Watson emerged fromhis studies, proceeding to his M.A. in 1642.By that time he was no doubt eager to beginhis pastoral ministry, but God had other plansfor him. God used the interest in personalcorrespondence generated by the developmentof the postal service in 1635, as a means toguiding his servant. In another part of the country,in Castle Hedingham, Essex, the godly MaryTracey, Lady Vere, wife of Horatio Vere, was busyforming links with puritan ministers. Indeed thehistorical record bears witness of her friendshipswith many eminent divines, corresponding withWilliam Ames, John Dod, Obadiah Sedgewick,

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Introduction

Richard Sibbes and Thomas Watson. Lady Veredid much to help godly ministers, especially in timesof distress and persecution, she also promotedthe advancement of godly men into vacantchurches.

Between 1642-46 Watson resided in thehousehold of Lady Vere, and patiently waitedon God’s timing of his entry to the ministry.One other woman that he had to meet beforetaking up his first church, was a woman ofwhom less is known, but who undoubtedly alsoinfluenced him for good; her name was AbigailBeadle, the daughter of another puritan, JohnBeadle, minister in Barnston, Essex. In 1646,Watson married Abigail in Barnston, andshortly afterward he entered the ministry.Ordained as a clerk at St. Stephen’s, Walbrookin London in 1646, he continued preachingthere until his ejection from the Church ofEngland as a consequence of the Act ofUniformity in 1662, which witnessed the GreatEjection of around 2,000 puritan ministers ofthe gospel.

Amidst the grand surroundings of the ornateinterior of St Stephen’s, later re-designed by SirChristopher Wren, Watson proclaimed the wholecounsel of God, preaching simply and to the heartsof his hearers. In those years his written ministry

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also flourished. These included The Art of DivineContentment, The Christians Charter, TheBeatitudes, and Jerusalem’s Glory.

In the Providence of God, Watson was broughtinto severe testing of his convictions during theearly part of his ministry. He was among a groupof Presbyterian ministers who presented aremonstrance to Oliver Cromwell and the Councilof War, protesting against the execution of the kingin 1649. Later in 1651 he was involved with anumber of other men in the ‘Love plot’ to bringCharles II to England and restore the monarchy.For his pains he spent four months in the Tower ofLondon, released after petitioning for mercy. Buthe was later tested in a much more personal waywhen called on to decide on the impending Act ofUniformity.

Shortly after the Restoration of Charles IIin 1660, the initial euphoria and the high hopesof many puritans for a settlement of thedivisions of the Church gave way to more soberviews. The government was moving swiftly towardenacting intolerant legislation that would apparentlyresolve the disunity of the Church. The puritanswere regarding the situation with increasingconcern. All the signs of growing intolerancetoward sound doctrine and true religion werenoted with alarm among the godly. The Church

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Introduction

having swung one way, then another, being doggedby Arminianism under the misguided leadership ofArchbishop Laud, and afterward taking stepstowards compelling the uniform observance of theBook of Common Prayer in the Church ofEngland, seemed in the grip of anotherdeparture from the truth of the gospel. This wasall in the name of unity, or rather uniformity,as monarchy and ecclesiastical leaderscooperated in achieving a forced ‘peace’ withinthe Church.

In April 1661, the second Savoy Conferencewas called, in an effort to find such a peace forthe divided Church. Many were skeptical, andwere soon proven correct in their assessmentof the intentions of those pursuing the policiesof the Restoration Church. The SavoyConference considered the objections of thepuritans to the Prayer Book. It consisted of 12representatives on either side, each with anumber of assistants. Among the Episcopaldelegates, were Frewin, Archbishop of York,Sheldon, Bishop of London, and Cosin, Bishopof Durham. The puritan delegation includedManton, Reynolds, and Baxter. Despite the effortsof the puritans, the conference did little to heal thedivisions opening up within the Church; in fact theBishops had fixed the outcome against their

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opponents. As Bayne later reflected on theoutcome of the conference, saying, ‘the yokeof the ceremonies is not relaxed by a jot or atittle.’

The undoubted aim of the puritans at theSavoy Conference was to promote true unityamong all Protestants. They drew up a list ofobjections to the Book of Common Prayer.They asked that the gift of prayer be permittedto continue without hindrance; called for theabolition of readings from the Apocrypha; theAuthorized Version of the Bible, 1611, shouldbe used exclusively; the term, ‘minister’ shouldreplace ‘priest;’ the power to excludeChristians from the sacrament of the Lord’sSupper when under the discipline of theChurch, should lie with the minister; andgreater explanation of the doctrines of theReformed Faith included in the Catechism. TheEpiscopal authorities duly declined these.

The godly had faithfully discharged their dutiesunder God, the truth of which was attested to byBaxter in his autobiography, ‘England had beenlike in a quarter of an age to have become a landof saints and a pattern of holiness to the world,and the unmatchable paradise of the earth. Neverwere such fair opportunities to sanctify a nationlost and trodden underfoot as have been in this

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Introduction

land of late. Woe be to them that are the causes ofit.’

As the Savoy Conference was still insession, the ‘Cavalier’ Parliament was calledin May 1661. Here Clarendon began theprocess leading to the passing of the Act ofUniformity the following year. At the openingof that Parliament, the Lord Chancellor referredto the puritans as ‘seditious preachers.’ Thehatred toward the godly was much in evidence,but perhaps of greater concern was the act ofpublicly burning the Solemn League andCovenant, which the King had taken on oathseveral times. The promises of the King lay intatters; his word to God and his subjects wereopenly flouted.

At precisely this time Thomas Watson, inthe spring of 1661, published the followingwork. Shortly afterwards he and many otherpuritans, were called upon to publicly react to thepassing of the Act of Uniformity, in 1662. Theychose to obey God rather than men, and the GreatEjection that ensued is adequate testimony of theirconvictions and their love of the truth.

Recognizing the spiritual ailments of his day, aswell as the possibility of separation that lay ahead,Watson was principally concerned for the spiritualwelfare of Christians, and in particular his own

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congregation. He loved those people, faithfullyministering to their needs for many years; aboveall they required leadership and direction at a timeof general confusion. In Jerusalem’s Glory theseare the pre-eminent features: a pastor’s care forhis own flock, and indeed for the wider Church.

The original subtitle to the book provides furtherevidence as to the author’s motives in writing thework, The Saints’ safety in Eyeing the Church’sSecurity. The chief concern of the author was thatof the safety of the saints; he is concerned with thewellbeing of true Christians. But safety in what?In ‘eyeing,’ or considering the security of theChurch, for that security is promised to her by theLiving and true God. This message of comfort wasespecially required during the affliction that theChurch was under at the time. To offer any durablecomfort the message itself had to address difficultand serious issues, it also had to remind the peopleof God of His dealings with his people in formertimes. It is clear from the text that Watson believedcertain things that were wrong in the Church hadto be put right, in order that God would bless HisChurch. But what was so terribly wrong in theChurch?

1. Disunity within the Church was sadly on theincrease. Disunity in the Church is always a

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Introduction

product of error. The denominations of theReformed churches were often unable to displaygenuine Christian unity among them. Independentsdisagreed with Presbyterians and Episcopalianswere divided against each other as well as otherdenominations. Watson could recollect theunseemly spectacle of the godly in Scotland andEngland taking up arms against one another duringthe civil war. The various conferences such as theHampton Court Conference of 1604 or the SavoyConferences later in the century brought noresolution to the existing ecclesiastical division. Amarked level of disunity continued even after themeeting of the Divines at the WestminsterAssembly between 1643-46, which certainlyarrived at a basis for Church unity, however muchignored.

2. Declension from the truth of the gospelwas a common feature of life in the Church inthe author’s experience. As suggested abovethis was the twin sister of disunity. It reared itsugly head by means of churchmen holdingerroneous views concerning the validity oftradition as well as the Scriptures as the basisof authority in the Church. The reformers andpuritans held that the Scriptures aloneconstituted the court of final appeal in allmatters of controversy in religion: once this was

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subverted the floodgates were opened fordeclension in the purity of the doctrine, worshipand discipline of the Church.

3. Innovation in the worship of God wenthand in hand with the declension from sounddoctrinal truth. The Laudian party devoted theirenergy to the beautification of the Church, forwhom the externals of worship such assurplices or altarpieces were very important.The puritan party of course, saw these externalsas the mere vestiges of Romanism, with all itsappeal to the senses and the natural man. Infact their continued presence within the Churchof England provided the main grounds of thepuritan call for the further reformation of theChurch. The Church was in danger of losing herway, drifting away from the standards of theReformation; consequently almost any novel ideafrom leading churchmen gained acceptance in theworship of God. Against this innovative spirit thepuritans stood together on the principle that Godalone has commanded in His own word how Hewill be worshipped: all else stems from thecorruption of our nature and equates with idolatry,which is forbidden by God.

4. Man-centred and outward religion becamepopular once again, despite the blessing of the 16th

century Reformation. Monarchy and prelates co-

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Introduction

operated in the promulgation of unbiblical practicesin the Church that placed its emphasis on theoutward and visible. The wearing of the surplicewas one of a host of examples. Heart religion wasbeing rapidly shunned as an embarrassment and aneedless thing. Arminianism required likeRomanism, the giddy appeal to the senses ofoutward show and pomp. In the early 1660’s theLaudian party were triumphing in the Church.

5. Covenant Breaking, was perhaps the mostdramatic feature of what was wrong in theChurch. In 1643 the ‘Solemn League andCovenant,’ was ‘approved by the GeneralAssembly of the Church of Scotland, and by bothHouses of Parliament, and the Assembly of Divinesin England.’ The breach of this National Covenantwas possibly the greatest act of treachery in thehistory of these Isles; its repudiation by Charles IIin 1661 presaged the bitter persecution of theCovenanters in Scotland.

The answer to these ills in the Church presentedby the author may be summarized as follows.Watson begins by briefly considering the conditionof the people of God during the Babyloniancaptivity as expressed by the sacred writer inPsalm 137. Here God’s people were foundsuffering under the affliction of the Babylonians,and in such a condition they could only cry out to

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God for deliverance. It was a painful and bitterexperience and is recorded in the Scriptures forthe instruction of the Church in all ages.

The afflicting hand of God was upon theChurch, and its cause lay in the sin of the people.God could not bless His Church until it had beendealt with; rooted out and repented of in thelives and practice of His own people. Of coursethis was not new in the history of the Israelites,for they could easily recall the occasion of the sinof Achan in the camp: equally in that instance Godrequired the sin to be confronted and dealt with.

Watson deals at length with the issue ofChristians being marked out as those whosepromises are carried through in their daily lives.They ought to be covenant keepers rather thancovenant breakers, note how far he carries thisin chapter 8. The Church of his day had brokenits loyalty toward the God of the Covenant inso many ways and had to be warned of theconsequences of these actions. There could beno circumventing the serious problems of theChurch, from her divisions to her declensionfrom the truth. Christ would maintain Hiscontroversy with the Church and demandrepentance. As another puritan, Richard Rogers,once confessed, ‘I serve an exact God.’

There was no easy route to unity and spiritual

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Introduction

prosperity on offer from the preacher of St.Stephen’s; no soothsaying nor false comfort forthose ‘that are at ease in Zion’ (Amos 6:1). Theroute outlined in Jerusalem’s Glory is an old, well-trodden path: well trodden that is by the saints ofGod. True unity lay in true religion exemplified bya life lived in vital union with Christ; it was a lessonlearned historically time and again by the peopleof God.

In a time of national and ecclesiasticaldeclension from God, the puritans werepainfully aware that ‘righteousness exalteth anation, but sin is a reproach to any people’(Proverbs 14:34). That message was relentlesslyproclaimed by the puritans, who reminded manof his duty before God, and the Christian dutyof the obedience of faith.

It is a seminal lesson from the history ofthe Church that can only be ignored atincalculable cost to Christians. Our moderngeneration knows much of sin, but less of itsawful consequences; far less still ofrighteousness. Worldliness and a sickeningappetite for pleasure, self-seeking andinnovation too infect the Church. The departureof national churches from the standards of theBible and true religion is everywhere in evidence.This spiritual malaise, exacerbated by apathy, is

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invading many of the churches that lay claim to beReformed. Men are filling our pulpits whosespinelessness prevents them from proclaiming thewhole counsel of God. The Achan’s of the modernChurch have become innumerable.

But blessed is the God of our fathers, who willbe praised from generation to generation, that Hehas raised up a standard against evil. A faithfulfew are still by the grace of God proclaiming theeternal truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Watsonas already noted, ‘served his own generation bythe will of God,’ he faithfully laboured for its spiritualand moral improvement through the gospel. Todayhis writings continue in the same vein, being aninfluence on their readers for good. In this spirit,this work of Thomas Watson, long out of print,is wholeheartedly commended to the reader.Look beyond its author and the historicalcontext, to the Eternal and unchanging God;search the Scriptures, and establish for yourselfwhether these things are so. And if on readingthe work you come to share the author’s depthof conviction, then act upon this by living agodly life and by enjoying God now. Labouralso, as Watson did, for the Reformation of theChurch; putting right the things that are wrong andoffensive to God. Do not content yourself withknowledge of the truth, and a mere outward show

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Introduction

in religion, but close in with God in Christ andshow your love for Him through obeying Hiscommands.

Almost a century earlier, the Genevanreformer John Calvin commented on the lovetoward the Church that every believer ought tohave: ‘The Lord’s people, while they mourn underpersonal trials, should be still more deeply affectedby the public calamities which befall the Church, itbeing reasonable that the zeal of God’s houseshould have the highest place in our hearts, andrise above all mere private considerations.’ Thisexpresses the sentiment of the inspired Psalmistand the people of God, during the BabylonianCaptivity that forms the subject of Psalm 137. Asthe New Testament Church was foreshadowed inthe Old Testament, there are clear lessons for theChristian Church that deserve close attention. Sinwithin the camp must be purged out. This is trueof the Church, as well as the individual believer.To seek the blessing of God upon His Church,first entails our corporate and individualreformation; then God will return in His infinitemercy, to bless His Church.

The life and work of Watson after the firstpublication of this text in 1661 and his ejectionfrom the National Church the following year, is amodel of godliness and spirituality. He faithfully

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laboured in the ministry of an independentPresbyterian Chapel in Crosby Square, London,and was later joined there by Stephen Charnockas co-pastor between 1675-80. His written worksthat became so highly valued include A Body ofDivinity (an exposition of the shorter catechism),Heaven Taken by Storm and Religion Our TrueInterest. But at the heart of Watson’s religion wasa personal and experiential knowledge of JesusChrist, denoted by his individual holiness and lovefor the truth of the gospel. Two brief exampleswill sufficiently convey this.

Calamy recorded the instance of the author’smeeting with Bishop Richardson prior to 1662,who was so impressed by the preaching andpublic prayer of Watson that he requested acopy of the prayer. Watson replied, ‘Alas! Thatis what I cannot give, for I do not use to penmy prayers; it was no studied thing, but utteredpro re natta, as God enabled, from theabundance of my heart and affections.’ Neitherin preaching nor in praying did Watson relyon a dry outward form of words. Finally,Calamy also provides evidence of his closing inwith God in prayer, noting the passing of the authorat Barnston, Essex in 1686 whilst engaging inprayer: a fitting and noble testimony to his practicalChristianity.

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Let us then clearly follow the Scriptures in thesethings. The Church cries out in her affliction forthe downfall of all false religion and the prosperityof true religion. The epitome of false religion is ofcourse found in Rome, the great mystical Babylon;but the triumph of Christ and His Church is assured.The American Presbyterian, Plumer, writing in theearly 19th century commented on this, ‘Howglorious will be the final triumph of the Churchover her great adversary, the mystical Babylon,when the loud cry of the mighty angel shall beheard, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen!” (Rev.18:2). But let every idol and the vestiges of falsereligion be first rooted out of our own hearts: forthe praise and glory of Jesus Christ. To that aimand the furtherance of true Church unity, may thewords of Thomas Watson be a source ofencouragement.

Roger McDermott