by Austin McCormick | Oct 28, 2025 | Church History, Historical Theology, Practical Theology
Introduction
In 1856, Charles Spurgeon moved his congregation to the biggest indoor venue in London, namely, the Surrey Gardens Music Hall. The music hall was immense, seating nearly 10,000 people. He led his congregation to this building because they had previously outgrown the New Park Street Chapel and Exeter Hall.[1] The Surrey Garden’s Music Hall was sufficient for seating, but at this location, Spurgeon would experience disaster. On October 19th of 1856 (the Lord’s Day), a person—with likely ill intent—yelled “fire” while the church gathered. At the news of a fire, people panicked and rushed to escape the building. Seven people were trampled to death, and twenty-eight people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. This moment in Spurgeon’s life caused him great depression—for obvious reasons. After this disaster, Spurgeon canceled many speaking opportunities and missed a Sunday in his pulpit. After days of suffering, he returned to church to worship on the Lord’s Day. On November 2nd of 1856, Spurgeon ascended the pulpit to lead his congregation in prayer. He prayed the following words:
We are assembled here, O Lord, this day, with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow,—joy that we meet each other again, and sorrow for those who have suffered bereavements. Thanks to Thy Name! Thanks to Thy Name! Thy servant feared that he should never be able to meet this congregation again, but Thou hast brought him up out of the burning fiery furnace, and not even the smell of fire has passed upon him. Thou hast, moreover, given Thy servant special renewal of strength, and he desires now to confirm those great promises of free grace which the gospel affords. Thou knowest, O Lord, our feelings of sorrow! We must not open the sluices of our woe; but, O God, comfort those who are lingering in pain and suffering, and cheer those who have been bereaved! Let great blessings rest upon them,—the blessings of the covenant of grace, and of this world, too. And now, O Lord, bless Thy people! We have loved one another with a pure heart fervently;—we have rejoiced in each other’s joy,—we have wept together in our sorrow. Thou hast welded us together, and made us one in doctrine, one in practice, and one in holy love. Oh, that it may be said of each individual now present with us that he is bound up in the bundle of life! O Lord, we thank Thee even for all the slander, and calumny, and malice, with which Thou hast allowed the enemy to honour us; and we pray Thee to grant that we may never give them any real cause to blaspheme Thy holy Name! We ask this for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.[2]
The Blessing of Renewed Strength
Spurgeon recognized that the “Surrey Garden’s disaster” had strengthened his faith in Christ. In his prayer, he says: Thou hast, moreover, given Thy servant special renewal of strength. He understood that “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31a KJV). Spurgeon knew that strength in self was a strength that would eventually fail. In a sermon, he preached from Isaiah 40:31, he remarks the following: “The reason is that all strength apart from God is derived strength, and is consequently measurable; yea, apart from God it is not strength at all, and consequently must come to an end.”[3] During these days of difficulty, Spurgeon received the blessing of a renewed strength from Christ.
The Blessings of the Covenant of Grace
Spurgeon’s covenantal hermeneutic of the Bible shaped his hope and his prayer. While praying for those who were in pain, he said: Let great blessings rest upon them, —the blessings of the covenant of grace. Spurgeon understood that the covenant of grace was not abstract theological jargon. The blessings of the covenant of grace brought comfort to those who suffered. In his exposition of Hebrews 8:10, he mentions multiple blessings of the covenant of grace.[4] First, “to as many as are interested in it, there shall be given an illumination of their minds—I will put my laws into their mind. Second, I will write my laws in their hearts. Third, I will be to them a God. Lastly, they shall be to me a people. These salvific blessings were sweet truths during bitter days.
The Blessing of Christian Unity
In addition to the blessings of a renewed strength and the blessings of the covenant of grace, Spurgeon and his church were united together: Thou hast welded us together, and made us one in doctrine, one in practice, and one in holy love. The Surrey Garden disaster gave the people a greater understanding of their need for one another—their need for the scriptures—and their need to live out the truths of the scriptures. According to his prayer, Spurgeon’s church ministered to one another during the disaster: We have loved one another with a pure heart fervently; —we have rejoiced in each other’s joy, —we have wept together in our sorrow. Although this congregation experienced temporary turmoil, they were ultimately united in “holy love.”
Conclusion
Although Spurgeon “was entirely prostrated for some days,” by “the great mercy of our Heavenly Father, he was, restored so as to be able to occupy the pulpit.”[5] This experience left him with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow, but he was ultimately moved to praise his Lord as he addressed the people. Indeed, he received multiple blessings by enduring this disaster.
[1] To learn more about Spurgeon’s journey from New Park Street Chapel to the Metropolitan Tabernacle, listen to our podcast episode on this subject: https://covenantpodcast.podbean.com/e/charles-spurgeon-journey-to-the-metropolitan-tabernacle/
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from His Diary, Letters, and Records, by His Wife and His Private Secretary, 1854–1860, vol. 2 (Chicago; New York; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1899), 213.
“Spurgeon did not approve of the printing of his prayers, as a rule; but the circumstances under which the church and congregation met on that Lord’s-day morning,—November 2, 1856,—were so unusual, that an exception may be made in order to insert the record of the Pastor’s first public utterance after the accident.”
[3] C. H. Spurgeon, “Renewing Strength,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 29 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1883), 698.
[4] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Covenant” in Spurgeon’s Sermon Vol. 5, (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2017), 174-179.
[5] C. H. Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from His Diary, Letters, and Records, by His Wife and His Private Secretary, 1854–1860, vol. 2 (Chicago; New York; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1899), 213.
Austin McCormick is a Pastor of Covenant Baptist Church (Clarksville, TN). He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Spurgeon College, a M.A. in Pastoral Studies and a M.Div from Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. By God’s free and sovereign grace, Austin was saved early in his adulthood. He is married to Rachel, and together they have three children: Geneva, Benjamin, and Bristol.
by Ron Miller | Oct 27, 2025 | Apologetics, Biblical Worship, Ecclesiology, New Testament, Practical Theology, Preaching
*Editor’s Note: The following series on Baptism was originally delivered sermonically by Pastor Ron Miller to Covenant Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN. As each of the four installments are released, they will eventually be linked together here.
The Meaning of Baptism, Part 2 | Ron Miller
Review: In this short study of baptism, we have seen the importance of baptism, and we have begun to study its meaning. As a religious ritual, baptism is an act in which a believer is immersed in water in the Triune name. This practice was authorized by the head of the church, Jesus Christ and is called an ordinance. Christ ordained baptism as a part of New Testament religious worship in numerous ways: by his approval of John’s baptism of repentance; by being baptized himself; by baptizing his followers through the disciples for three plus years, and by his Great Commission command to baptize disciples.
But baptism is more than just a commanded ritual. It is act impregnated with meaning by God himself. He has chosen in his covenants with men to not only speak promises to them but to give them visible signs of those promises. These are called sacraments. They are dramatic representations to the senses of his verbal message. So, sacraments are often called the visible Word. Thus, in the New Covenant, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are pictures of the gospel of promised salvation in Jesus Christ
In part 1, we looked at the first thing baptism portrayed: salvation through the waters of judgment. Baptism is a vivid depiction of a believer’s spiritual experience. As they enter and go under the water, they portray the truth that they were under judgment. But God saved them as he did Noah in the flood, Israel at the Red Sea, and Jonah in the fish. These dramatic rescues from the waters of judgment are replayed in baptism.
But what else does baptism mean? In what other way does baptism portray the promises of the New Covenant? What else is God saying to us in this sacrament? The remaining summary answer is that baptism not only shows in a general picture God saving us from judgment, but baptism also shows how he saves us. That is through identification or union with Christ.
I. Baptism Pictures Identification and Union with Jesus Christ
Baptism means we are united to Christ. There are several ways we know this. First, baptism itself means to dip or submerge or immerse. When cloth was dyed, it was baptized into colored liquid. When ships sank, they were baptized. So, to be baptized is to be incorporated or united to Christ.
Secondly, the prepositions used with baptism teach this. In the Great Commission baptism is “in”, or more literally, “into” the name of the Triune God. It pictures the placing of a person into God. There is an identification or union between the person being baptized and the one they are naming. Baptism is a taking of the name of a leader to yourself. It is placing yourself “into” his service and allegiance. So, it is a way of obeying the 3rd commandment. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Do not take it up and claim it as your own and wear it lightly. Baptism says, I deliberately and sincerely take the Lord as my God and identify with him. I am a disciple of Christ and so my name is Christian. My identity is in him. Galatians 3:27 says that as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Thirdly, two texts in 1 Corinthians illustrate this. The first is Israel’s baptism into Moses. In 1 Corinthians 10:3, Scripture says that Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They were united to their leader; they identified as followers of Moses; they were physically saved by their union with him through the Exodus. Baptism pictures identification and union. This is why Paul was concerned with the Corinthian church. They had divisions based on who they claimed to follow, who they identified with as Christians. Some followed Paul, and some Apollos. Paul understood that people should follow those they were baptized into. So, in 1 Corinthians 1:13 he asks – were you baptized into the name of Paul? And he is glad he did not baptize many of them himself because they were apparently getting confused between who baptized them and into whose name they were baptized. Who performed the ceremony of baptism wasn’t who you should identify with, Paul says. Who you were baptized into is who you follow, who you are united to, who you identify with.
The heart of salvation as it is applied to us is God joining a person to Jesus Christ through faith. Salvation is God putting a person into union with Christ. So, the drama of baptism pictures the salvation of God as union with Jesus Christ.
But we can get more specific about what baptism means. It is more than a picture of salvation through the waters of judgment; it tells us salvation comes by union not with Moses, but with Christ. And even more specifically by our union with him in his death, burial and resurrection.
II. Baptism Pictures Identification and Union with Christ in his Death, Burial, and Resurrection
The major text demonstrating this is Romans 6:1-5. Here baptism means union with Christ. If we have been baptized then our identification with Christ is not in a bare name only, but in the saving events of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We are united with Christ in the blessings of his death and resurrection. Baptism or immersion is a plain picture of this. Christ died, was placed in a tomb, and then arose from that tomb. In baptism we are considered dead, going into judgment. We are placed into a watery tomb and then rise from it in newness of life. So, baptism portrays our union with Christ, not in his birth or at his miracles, but in his saving death, burial, and resurrection.
Colossians 2:12 reinforces this. It says, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead”. Baptism, according to these verses, pictures our union with Christ. We are buried with him. We are raised with him. Our connection with Christ by faith makes his work ours. He represented us when he lived, died, was buried, and raised. And baptism shows this.
III. Baptism Pictures Identification and Union with Christ in the Graces of Salvation
Baptism is a visible gospel sermon that displays many facets of our salvation. Our confession mentions several including the remission of sins and walking in newness of life. There are others. Here are several prominent ones in Scripture:
- Remission of sins. Water is a cleansing agent. So, baptism pictures forgiveness, the removal of our sins. Mark 1:4, John preached a baptism of repentance, the forgiveness of sins. Mt 3:6-8. Christian baptism is no different. Acts 22:16, “Be baptized and wash away your sins”. Only Christ’s blood removes sins. Not bulls and goats, not water. But it pictures and reminds us of our washing. Eph 5:26. Some of these may refer more directly to justification and others to our regeneration or internal moral renewal. It is hard to distinguish or know the specific reference. Perhaps some verses refer to both. But what is clear is that sins are removed and baptism portrays that work of Christ.
- Regeneration – Colossians 2:11,12. Baptism illustrates new life through union with Christ in his resurrection. Our old man is cut off and new life comes.
- Sanctification – Romans 6. Union with Christ in baptism shows death to sin and resurrection life to obedience. We walk in newness of life. We died with him; we live with him. We ought to count this true because it is! Baptism pictures this and should remind us as we reflect on our own and see others experience it.
Ron has been pastor of Covenant Baptist Church since July of 2017. Pastor Ron is thankful for being raised in a Christian home where God called him to salvation at an early age. He loves his wife, public worship, and pastoring this local church. He has a special interest in aiding theological education in North and South America and in teaching Baptist history. Ron is the host of the weekly podcast Particular Pilgrims.
by Jon English Lee | Oct 23, 2025 | Church History, Practical Theology
After reading Christopher Beeley’s recent book, Leading God’s People: Wisdom from the Early Church for Today, one particular section was very good, and I wanted to share it with you. Beeley discusses the focus of pastoral ministry. He highlights the others-centered nature of the pastoral vocation:
“At the end of the day and at the end of a lifetime of ministry, the only thing that matters is whether we have made the love of God and the spiritual growth of our people the top priority. What most excites a true pastor is not his or her reputation or advancement, but the growth and well-being of the church” (13).
This is exactly what Paul exhorts in Ephesian 4:12-13: Christ gives gifts for ministry “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Indeed, Peter was given the same exhortation when Christ told him to “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-19).
The early church fathers understood this others-centered and sacrificial nature of the pastoral vocation. Beeley shows us many of the primary sources to prove this point. Gregory Nazianzen wrote that the entire purpose of leadership is to promote the good of the whole body (Oration 2.3). Augustine gave a sermon on the anniversary of his ordination in which he spoke about this flock-centered focus: “This burden of mine, about which I am now speaking- what else is it, after all, but you?” (Sermon 340.1).
Furthermore, the real success of a pastor’s ministry is tangibly seen in the spiritual health of his flock. Paul uses this same argument in 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 when he speak of the Corinthians has his letter of recommendation, rather than his own credentials or abilities (14). Similarly, Ambrose made the comment that the leaders of real distinction are those who “win their victories in the contests that their disciples undergo, rather than in their own,” (Duties of Leaders, 1.205). He goes on to exhort church leaders to “Show your virtue in your spiritual children.”
This understanding of pastoral ministry is merely the application of Christ’s call to pick up our cross and die. Jesus taught that in order to become great in the kingdom we must be willing to become the least. Pastors must model this in their own vocation and be willing to serve humbly, accepting the pain and trials that come with serving sheep that can bite. But, by doing so, we will be modeling the great shepherd, who served quietly and humbly, giving up His life so that those biting sheep we serve may be saved.
Jon English serves as Academic Dean and Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Previously he served as Pastor of Discipleship for Morningview Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He has earned a Bachelor’s degree from Auburn University Montgomery, a Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Systematic and Historical Theology from SBTS. Jon English is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and an Ecclesial fellow for the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Course taught at CBTS: The Decalogue & the Sabbath in Redemptive History
by Johnny Zacchio | Oct 23, 2025 | Historical Theology, Practical Theology
I rehearse with my kids (almost) daily (especially when they seek to be sovereign over our home) that God is in charge of everything. Most agree with that statement. Christians often declare in hard situations, “God is in control!” But how far does his control extend? How pervasive is His care over His world? Is He in control of the natural and fleshly evil in my life? This is where a lot of followers of Jesus start to squirm.
Thomas Boston once wrote, “Happy is the people whose God the Lord is: for all things shall work together for their good. They may sit secure in exercising faith upon God, come what will (193).”
How did he get to such a confident conclusion?
Looking back at Boston’s life and the regular afflictions he would undergo, observe what he views as the source of his lot: “And here began more remarkably my bearing of the yoke of trial and affliction, the which laid on in my youth, has, in the wise disposal of holy providence…”
When reflecting on his mother’s death, he says, “…it pleased the Lord to remove my mother by death” (16).
When reflecting on his father’s recovery, he writes, “But it pleased the Lord that I was comforted in the recovery of my father sometime after” (16).
When he gets his first job working alongside a notary, and hones his writing skills, he writes, “The favourable design of providence therein, then unknown to me, I now see, since it could not be but of some use to help me to the style of papers” (17).
Upon graduating from a school of theology, his deepest desire was to be licensed to preach through the Presbytery of Stirling, but “Considering the course of Providence” he ended up being licensed to preach as an itinerate minister through the Presbytery of Dunse and Churnside, the place of his nativity (30).
Looking back on the first three major points of his life, from his birth to grammar school, grammar school to graduation, graduation to being licensed to preach, he summed up his life by saying, “And looking on myself as a child of providence, and considering the manner of my education, I cannot but observe the kind conduct of that providence in carrying me through sundry states of life, and parts of the country, in that short time allotted for me, in the character of a student” (31–32).
He spoke of providence personified—Comparing it to a father who raised and shaped him. This is precisely what Thomas Boston believed about his life—he was the product of the sovereign hand of God. Nothing, thought Boston, came about in His life apart from the Fatherly, meticulous providence of the author of all creation.
As the sun rises, birds begin their songs as they fly over roofs, gardens, and trees. Have you ever seen one of them overtaxed over what they will eat? God’s constant care for them ensures they are not deprived of daily sustenance. Boston draws our attention to this as he opens his section on God’s Providence, commenting on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29).
Boston comments,
“Sparrows are of a mean price and small value; and yet, for as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and disposes of all things concerning them, so that one of them cannot fall to the ground by shot or any other way, without his sovereign ordering and disposal” (186).
He seeks to expound this doctrine from the scriptures and masterfully weaves together four aspects of God’s providence: Its reality, its object, its actions, its properties, and its everyday fruit.
To highlight only three aspects, we’ll look at how he understood its reality, its actions, and its fruit in everyday life.
Boston goes in an interesting direction to prove that there is a providence. After quoting very general Scriptural statements about God’s kingship and sovereignty (Psalm 103:19; Acts 17:28; Ephesians 1:11), he writes that providence can be seen in a “three-fold scripture-emblem.”
That three-fold emblem is first, Mount Moriah, “which upon occasion of the miraculous preservation of Isaac, and a ram to be put in his room in order to be sacrificed, was called Jehovah Jireh, i.e.. The Lord will provide, (Gen. 22:14)”
Second, “Jacob’s ladder, on which God appears managing all things, (Gen. 28).”
Third, “Ezekiel’s wheels, where there was a wheel in the middle of a wheel, denoting the agency of the first cause, and the superintending and directing providence of God, (Ezek. 1)” (186)
As a helpful and simple way to introduce this topic, Boston draws upon both kinds of God’s revelation, namely, God’s wisely ordered creation and the numerous fulfilled prophecies that would not happen unless God’s meticulous providence was true. This leads to the actions that God takes in providence.
This coin has two sides: Sustaining and governing. Boston helps us sum up providence with those two words alone.
God sustains all things. As the author of Hebrews puts it: “…He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3). Boston notes, “This act of providence is so necessary, that nothing could subsist one moment without it” (188).
Here, most Christians find themselves resting in a comfortable place. It’s with the next action of Providence that most take issue: God doesn’t merely sustain all of creation and, therefore, all of history, but He governs it; He exercises control, seeing to it that end from the beginning becomes what it becomes (Isaiah 46:10). Here we find that distinction between God’s decree and His providence. God’s decree is the reality that everything that comes to pass in history originates in God as the primary cause of all things. He unchangeably and infallibly planned everything that came to pass or will come to pass. On the other hand, Providence is God’s execution of the decree; God’s decree is the blueprint, and providence is the building project.
Boston shows how this arises from the text of Scripture. We see not only God’s providence throughout history and over big events like the cross of Christ (Isaiah 46:10; Acts 4:27-28) but over small and seemingly insignificant chance circumstances: “Prov. 21:1 ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will, Prov. 16:33 ‘The lot is cast into the lap: but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.’ Chap. 16:9 ‘A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps’” (188).
A king’s heart, the outcome of a lot being cast (like the casting of dice), and man’s plans—At the end of the day, God is the one steering all of these things for His glorious ends.
As Boston quipped,
“God does not make man as the carpenter doth the ship, which afterwards sails without him; but he rules and guides him, sitting at the helm, to direct and order all his motions: so that whatever men do, they do nothing without him: not only in their good actions, where he gives grace, and excites it, working in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure: but also in their evil actions, wherein they are under the hand of Providence, but in a very different manner” (189; emphasis mine).
Johnny Zacchio (MA in Theological Studies, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary) is the pastor of Cornerstone Bible Church in Ridgecrest, California. He is the author of This Reasonable Response: A Sixty-day Journey Growing as a Worshiper of God and The Freed Will: Reforming our Understanding of Free Will (Forthcoming). He is currently a doctoral student at Whitefield Theological Seminary, studying the pastoral theology of Thomas Boston. He has been married to Faith since 2016 and has three children, Josiah, Maeve, and Owen.
by Johnny Zacchio | Oct 23, 2025 | Historical Theology, Practical Theology
How are we to interpret life under the sun? How do we view our lives in a fallen world and still have true joy? Our theology, whether good or bad, informs how we view the circumstances of our lives, the difficult and the joyous. A life well-lived through difficulty will depend upon the truth believed in the heart.
Thomas Boston had a deep understanding of the doctrine of God. His understanding of God and his saving encounter with Christ caused him to bestow on his life the title, “Child of Providence.” Writing to his children in his Memoirs, he mentions, “Providence” over 20 times from the introduction to the end of the third chapter.
As he lists various hardships and disappointments, he sees all things as being from the hand of his heavenly Father, causing him to suffer well. His doctrine of God was foundational to coming to grips with the highs and lows of his life and ministry.
Thomas Boston was born in Dunse Scotland on March 17, 1676. Being one of seven children raised by honest, virtuous parents, Boston experienced much hardship at a young age. From losing his youngest sibling to keeping his non-conformist father company in a prison cell, Boston knew what it was to suffer and witness the sufferings of others.
Christians in Scotland faced much opposition in the 17th century. Boston was born during the time of Prelacy, a time when the Church of England was wedded to the state in such a way that the church vested its highest authority in the reigning monarch, like how the Roman Catholic church vests its highest authority in the Pope. Boston wrote later that he thought he would face the same sentence as his father who chose to reject the authority of a corrupt monarch, but he never did.
Boston was enrolled in school under the teaching of a “Schoolmistress” who lived with the family. She taught him and trained him in biblical teaching and often expressed that she believed he would become a preacher. By the time Boston was seven, he enjoyed reading the Bible. He would read it in bed, with his teacher, and when the other kids were out and about.
And at the age of twelve, under the ministry of Mr. Henry Erskine, the preached Word—lit on fire by the Holy Spirit—rushed into his mind and heart, causing him to see the beauty and ineffable worth of the Savior. The texts preached were John 1:29 and Matthew 3:7 of which Boston writes,
“By these, I judge, God spake to me; however, I know I was touched quickly after the first hearing, wherein I was like one amazed with some new and strange thing. My lost state by nature, and my absolute need of Christ, being thus discovered to me, I was set to pray in earnest… (13).
Boston’s Burdens
After his conversion and attending closely to the means of grace, Boston continued to experience various hardships that shook him to the core. Being in grammar school, he was made to see, in the school-yard, an open grave with an open coffin, revealing a decaying body, “the which made an impression on me, remaining to this day; whereby I perceive what a loathsome thing my body must at length become before it be reduced to dust; not to be beheld with the eye but with horror” (14).
After this encounter, right before entering college, Boston described his life in pretty melancholy terms:
“And here began more remarkably my bearing of the yoke of trial and affliction, the which laid on in my youth, has, in the wise disposal of holy providence, been from that time unto this day continued, as my ordinary lot; one scene of trial opening after another” (15).
Another “scene of trial” that opened to him was the reproach brought upon the Christ through the moral failure of an esteemed minister of his day. A giant of the faith, who seemed to walk straight with every step he took, fell face first into adultery, and when he did, the ground shook, causing waves that shook the soul of young Boston.
The next “scene of trial” to open soon after was the death of his mother who was not over fifty years of age and who’s sickness was short-lived. And while she lay in one room dead, his father lay in another room, severely ill.
Boston went to the foot of his garden, threw himself to the ground, and moaned and wailed at the thought of losing both parents in such a short time. But learning that his father had recovered from his illness brought him great comfort. After his father’s recovery, Boston himself was sick for eight days; chronic illness became a normal part of Boston’s life from this point forward.
As Boston put pen to paper, reflecting upon such a turn of events, how did he view them? Did he believe God had a greater purpose in all of the pain he endured?
In my next post, we’ll look at what Thomas Boston believed about the providence of God and how that colored the difficulties he faced. We’ll dive into his other writings to uncover how he reached these conclusions biblically and why these conclusions produced joy that transcended every circumstance.
Johnny Zacchio (MA in Theological Studies, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary) is the pastor of Cornerstone Bible Church in Ridgecrest, California. He is the author of This Reasonable Response: A Sixty-day Journey Growing as a Worshiper of God and The Freed Will: Reforming our Understanding of Free Will (Forthcoming). He is currently a doctoral student at Whitefield Theological Seminary, studying the pastoral theology of Thomas Boston. He has been married to Faith since 2016 and has three children, Josiah, Maeve, and Owen.
