Posts by Rob Barriault

John Owen is considered one of the greatest Puritan theologians of all time. He was given the title of the “prince of the English divines.” John Owen was born in 1616 in Stadham, England, the second son of Henry Owen. Henry Owen was a Puritan Anglican minister who taught his son from a young age. John Owen showed a strong desire for learning and entered nearby Oxford University at age 12 and was a proven scholar, who loved the classics,…

Laurence Chaderton 1536-1640 Laurence Chaderton is a name that may not be known among many Christians, but his impact on Puritanism and Christianity would place him as a theological giant. History tells us that Chaderton was a “superb orator,”  and could preach for hours with a captive audience. One time, while preaching a two-hour-long sermon he declared that he had tired the patience of the audience. The audience insisted that he continue preaching, and even one man in the congregation…

George Whitefield was born in Gloucester in 1714. His mother was an unsuccessful innkeeper with limited success and was distant from her son’s life. This resulted in Whitefield having a poor childhood, but that did not prevent him from having a good education. Since he was a resident of Gloucester, Whitefield attended a Grammar School to receive an education. Despite having the opportunity to have a good education, Whitefield describes his early life as far from God based on his…

Thomas Watson said, “Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.” The Doctrine of Repentance, 18. Thomas Watson (1620-1686) was born probably in Yorkshire, England. In his life, Thomas Watson, married Abigail Beadle in 1647. Thomas and Abigail had at least seven children during their marriage. Watson’s life was one that had many trials. Despite being strongly Presbyterian, during the English Civil War, Watson was sympathetic to the Monarchy. In 1651, he was imprisoned for…

“You cannot love God if you are under the continual secret suspicion that he is really your enemy! … You simply cannot love God unless you know and understand how much he loves you. … In the gospel, you can come to know that God truly loves you through Christ. When you have this assurance, you can even love your enemies, because you know that you are reconciled to God. You know that God’s love will make people’s hatred of…

Cotton Mather (1663-1729), was a third-generation American Puritan, son of Increase Mather, and grandson of John Cotton. He entered Harvard at 12 by passing the entrance exam highlighting his gifting in Latin and Greek. At the age of 18, he received his M.A. from his father, who was the president at Harvard.  Mather wrestled with his faith from a young age, at times he was so concerned about his salvation that he would appear depressed, and at other times he…

“Conversion is a work above man’s power … Never think you can convert yourself. If ever you would be savingly converted, you must despair of doing it in your own strength. It is a resurrection from the dead, a new creation, a work of absolute omnipotence … Conversion is a supernatural work.”— Joseph Alleine, An Alarm to Unconverted Sinners. Joseph Alleine (1634-1668) was born at Devizes, Wiltshire, and from a young age, he was an exceptionally gifted student who was willing…

Henry Scougal (1650-1678) was a young Scottish minister who God gifted with a beautiful intellect that resulted in him writing much during his short lifetime and influencing many future ministers. Scougal was the son of Patrick Scougal, a bishop of Aberdeen, and was educated at King’s College, Aberdeen, where he graduated with a Master of Arts at the age of 18. As a gifted academic he was soon appointed as a professor who taught Baconian (Francis Bacon) philosophy and guarded…

See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?” Issac Watts. Isaac Watts (1674 – 1748) was born in Southampton during a tumultuous time. Eleven years before his birth the bubonic plague swept through London (nearly wiped out the town of Southampton), and a year after the Great Fire of London leveled parliament which had a massive impact on Britain. But…

Samuel Rutherford (1600–61) was born in the village of Nisbet, Roxburghshire he was the eldest son of a well-to-do farmer. At an early age, his parents took notice of his intellectual gifts and believed that God would call him to the ministry, though they seldom spoke about Christ. He was a young man who knew much but lacked conviction and was living in sin. While in school, Rutherford excelled in Latin and Greek, and in 1623 he acted as Regent…

Benjamin Keach was born in 1640 in Stokes-Hammond, Bucks, England, and died July 18, 1704, in Horselydown, Southwark, England. Keach was a famous Baptist preacher in London who, among other achievements, wrote two theologically influential Baptist works, developed the first Baptist Catechism in 1677, and was involved in the formation of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 in tandem with the historically significant Baptist ministers Hanserd Knollys and William Kiffin, among others. Keach was born into an Anglican family and was christened as…

“Be not troubled to think what shall become of thee and thine after my death, for be assured that my God, and the God of the widows and the fatherless, will not forsake thee, but will wonderfully provide for those and be comforted in this, that tho’ men take thy husband from thee, they cannot take thy God from thee; and so, do not think that thou hast lost thy husband, but only parted with him for a while, and…