Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

Matthew Henry was a nonconformist minister and author. He was born in Wales but spent most of his life in England. He founded in Presbyterian Chapel in Trinity Street, Chester. He is best remembered for his 6 volume biblical commentary Exposition of the Old and New Testaments.

Matthew was born on the Broad Oak family estate which bordered Flintshire and Shropshire. He was baptized the next day by the parish rector. As a young child he was frequently ill with fevers. His father provided much of Henry’s early education and by the age of 9 he was able to write Latin and read part of the Greek New Testament. In 1668 he was tutored in grammar by William Turner.

Aged 18 he was sent to a school in Islington, London to be tutored by Thomas Doolittle. He then transfered to Grey’s Inn to study Law. He also studied French and Literature. He then gave up his law studies for theology.

His friend George Illidge invited him to give his first sermon at Nantwich. In 1686 he was invited to move to Chester. England to establish a congregation. Reluctant at first he accepted and was ordained on 9th May 1687. He continued to live in Chester until 1712.

He married twice, Katherine Hardware and Mary Warburton.

Matthew spent significant amounts of time studying and writing his sermons and lectures in advance. After he had established himself in Chester he began to travel almost weekly to speak in nearby cities. His impassioned expository speaking style was well received by his listeners and contributed to his growing popularity but his speaking engagements began to impact on his health. He was frequently ill with fevers.

In 1698 he travelled to speak in London, for the first time since moving to Chester. He stopping at various places to speak on the way down.

The congregation in Chester grew and in 1699 he oversaw the construction of a new building- the Presbyterian Chapel in Trinity Street.

In 1704 he travelled to London again. In August he fainted while he was speaking. It took 3 weeks for him to recover.

18th May 1712 he and his family moved to Mare Street, Hackney. He kept busy by giving catechetical lectures in London and his Bible commentary was approaching the publication stage.

1713 his health continued to decline - he had frequent attacks of nephritis (kidney problems) but he continued to maintain his frequent speaking engagements and work on his commentary.

21st June, on his way to Nantwich, he was thrown off his horse. He denied injury to his companions and insisted on continuing his journey. His companions noted he lacked energy and they stopped at the Queen’s Aid House. The next day,22nd June, he lost consciousness and died.

Matthew’s legacy is his Bible commentaries. Charles Spurgeon stated, *Every minister ought to read it entirely and carefully through once at least. *
( Read also John Wesley long comment)

Sources used
wikipedia