"THIS chapter containeth several precepts concerning holiness of life. They are of two sorts; some are general, and common to all Christians; others are special, and particularly suited to the condition and state of life they may be put into." Thomas Manton preaches on Ephesians 5, where Paul tells the church at Ephesus, "Be ye followers of God, as dear children." Manton explains how Christians are called to be separate from the world, holy unto God, and also imitators of his kindness and mercy towards all. "The more kind and merciful you are, the more you are like him; and ver. 48, ‘Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect;’ compared with Luke vi. 36, ‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful.’ Which showeth that mercy is one of the great divine perfections which we ought to imitate."
Thomas Manton was an English Puritan clergyman.
Born at Lydeard St Lawrence, Somerset, Manton was educated at Blundell's School and then at Hart Hall, Oxford where he graduated BA in 1639. Joseph Hall, bishop of Norwich, ordained him deacon the following year: he never took priest's orders, holding that he was properly ordained to the ministerial office. He was then appointed town lecturer of Collumpton in Devon. In the winter of 1644-1645, he was appointed to preach at St Mary's Church in the parish of Stoke Newington in Middlesex, where in 1646 he was joined by Alexander Popham as the parish's ruling elder and began to build a reputation as a forthright and popular defender of Reformed principles.
Although Manton is little known now, in his day he was held in as much esteem as men like John Owen. He was best known for his skilled expository preaching, and was a favourite of John Charles Ryle, who championed his republication in the mid-19th century. His finest work is probably his Exposition of James.
... Show more