Ask many postmodern Christians what they think about the 17th century English Puritans, and the responses will vary from 'Who?' to 'Oh, weren't they the stuff-shirted killjoys who talked funny, dressed even funnier, and could have nothing in common with 3rd millennium believers?' That was once my impression. After a B.A. in English Literature, an M.Div., and a Ph.D. in preaching, my closest acquaintance with Puritan thought came from a college course on the writings of John Milton. Then I read The Mischief of Sin by Thomas Watson. I have been an unabashed fan of the Puritans ever since. Preachers of the 21st century (and beyond, should Jesus tarry) will benefit from knowing the English Puritans. Thomas Watson is a great place to start.

Thomas Watson was a pastor and a theologian and a preacher. J. I. Packer described the simple elegance of Puritan preaching embodied in Watson:

They systematically eschewed any rhetorical display that might divert attention from God to themselves, and they talked to their congregations in plain, straightforward, homely English. Not that their speaking was slipshod or vulgar. Dignified simplicity -- 'studied plainness', as one of their number once put it -- was their ideal. In fact, the 'studied plainness' of Puritan preaching often possesses a striking eloquence of its own -- the natural eloquence that results when words are treated not at all as the orator's playthings, but entirely as the servants of a noble meaning.1

Biographical information about Thomas Watson is scarce. The dates circa 1620-1686 are commonly given for the life of Watson. Charles Spurgeon considered these facts to be of little relevance when studying Watson's contributions to Christendom. Spurgeon observed,

His writings are his best memorial; perhaps he needed no other, and therefore providence forbade the superfluity. We shall not attempt to discover his pedigree, and, after the manner of antiquarians, derive his family from a certain famous Wat, whose son distinguished himself in the Crusades, or in some other insane enterprise; whether blue blood was in his veins or no is of small consequence, since we know that he was the seed-royal of the redeemed of the Lord. Some men are their own ancestors, and, for aught we know, Thomas Watson's genealogy reflected no fame upon him, but derived all its lustre from his achievements.2

We do know that Watson, like many of the great Puritan divines, received his formal education at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. One registry of the era listed such notable fellow alumni as Stephen Charnock, Ralph Venning, and Thomas Brooks. Watson distinguished himself as an industrious student, completing his course of study with aplomb and honor. After taking both the baccalaureate and M.A. degrees from Emmanuel, Wat-son is reported to have preached briefly at Hereford.

One biographical source indicated that Watson married during this time Abigail Beadle, whose father, John, was the rector of Barnston, Essex. While this information is apparently not well-attested, it would at least partially explain Watson's retirement to Essex in later years. He subsequently began (in 1646) a nearly sixteen-year pastoral tenure at St. Stephen's, Walbrook, in the heart of London. During this pastorate, Watson gained wide acclaim as a preacher of ample expositional skill and unquestioned personal piety. A colleague offered the following anecdote about Watson's practice of public prayer: