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In living, LIVE!Remembering the life of Philip DoddridgeDr. Philip Doddridge's dates (1702-51) provide us with two contiguous anniversaries. It is the 250th anniversary of his death this year (October 26), and the tercentenary of his birth next year (June 26). But why should we hold a celebration at all? With regard to worship, the first reason is obvious. Indeed, the hymnbooks of many denominations suggest that Doddridge's name will not be forgotten. 'Hark the glad sound' and 'O happy day' still find a place in the worship of God's people. Yet Doddridge's hymns were just a fraction of his vast literary output - and an even smaller part of his many and widely-creative activities. They were written to apply the sermon, and given out, line by line, after it had been preached. The brightest ornamentsThis fact reminds us that Doddridge was primarily a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a calling which he considered 'the most desirable employment in the world.' To earlier generations, Doddridge's various activities as pastor, evangelist, academy tutor, author, philanthropist and patriot won him many admirers. The editors of the centenary edition of his complete Works (1802) claimed that Doddridge 'ranks with the brightest ornaments of the British nation, and of the Christian Church'. Praise was also international. After reading the Dutch translation of some of Doddridge's sermons, a pastor of the Reformed Church at Amsterdam, Wilhelmus Peiffers declared to the printer: 'Herewith I gratefully return you the work of Dr. Doddridge, concerning the New Birth, Salvation by Grace, etc. which I have read more than once with such uncommon pleasure, that I long to see all that excellent author has published. I did not know him by name; but from this incomparable masterpiece, in which the oratory of the ancients seems to be revived, he appears to be a very great man.' That said, Doddridge's unique contribution to the cause of Christ has been unduly neglected in some circles. Indeed, he deserved better from J. C. Ryle who confined himself to Anglicans in his Christian Leaders of the Last Century (1885). So, it is time to rejoice in the life and labours of this great British Christian. Pastor and tutorFrom the time of his settlement in Northampton in December 1729, to his death in October 1751, Philip Doddridge served the cause of Christ with intense energy and total dedication. As Charles Stanford wrote in 1880, he 'seemed to live so many lives at a time.' In addition to being the pastor of Castle Hill Independent Church, he was principal tutor of what was to become the most famous of all the Protestant Dissenting Academies. This dual role of pastor and tutor involved Doddridge in a wide range of interests and pursuits. As a tutor, he became an apologist, philosopher and a man of science, besides being a theologian training young men for the ministry. What Doddridge managed to accomplish in 22 busy years was directed by a single preoccupation. In the words of Dr. Geoffrey Nuttall, evangelism was 'the thread on which his multi-coloured life was strung. It was for this above all that he wrote, preached, corresponded and educated his students in the Academy.' Doddridge's happy family life was an obvious source of strength to him. He called his wife Mercy his 'Dearest Dear of all Dears'. Their devotion to one another was a beautiful blend of spirituality and romance - a model of Christian marriage at its best. Biblical balanceDoddridge lived at a time when secularism was gnawing at the roots of Christianity. Fierce theological controversy was commonplace; it was no easy thing for a young minister to be certain which opinion best reflected 'the mind of God in the Scriptures'. It was a day of extremes, and Doddridge believed with Richard Baxter before him that the Bible demanded a 'middle way'. That meant avoiding the antinomian fatalism of much High Calvinism on one hand, and the legalistic humanism of Arian-Arminianism on the other. Doddridge was, in his own words, a 'Baxterian Calvinist'. Agreeing with Baxter's theological eclecticism, Doddridge was also deeply concerned with Protestant unity. He did all he could to root out bigotry and sectarianism. A friend of all who 'loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth', he had fraternal relations with Dissenters and Churchmen alike. In his academy lectures, we see how rigorous was the intellectual training Doddridge provided for his students. In his teaching method he examined competing views fairly. He was impatient with any dogmatic theological system which failed to observe the balanced content of biblical truth. Scripture was to be the only ultimate authority. He was concerned that self-evident truth should mould his students' minds. Saintly scholarDoddridge's essentially conservative outlook is best seen in his magnum opus, The Family Expositor, and his Dissertation on the Inspiration of the New Testament. In acquainting his students with philosophy and scientific questions, Doddridge wanted them to be thoughtful preachers who would be able to say why as well as what they believed. He believed Christianity was capable of rational defence. Concerned with apologetics, Doddridge's reply to Henry Dodwell's Christianity not founded on argument was his most ambitious intellectual piece of writing. In this work he demonstrated that faith and reason are friends not enemies. As his extensive course of academy lectures also makes clear, Doddridge, the saintly scholar, grappled with philosophical issues at the interface between Reformation and Enlightenment thought. Yet some scholars have ignored this. Colin Brown wrongly observed in Philosophy and the Christian Faith (1969) that 'no one in the Evangelical revival sought to work out the philosophical implications of their faith.' Friend of revivalNowhere is Doddridge's commitment to evangelism more clearly seen than in the welcome he extended to the infant Methodist movement. His friendship with George Whitefield, John Wesley and others, was typical of his spirit. When older Dissenters, including Isaac Watts, viewed the revival with cool suspicion, Doddridge was ready to perceive the hand of God at work. He rejoiced that God had raised up such men, in an ungodly age. The new Dissent turned to the old for guidance: Whitefield asked Doddridge to revise his Journal, and John Wesley consulted him for a reading list for his preachers. During the Wesley tercentenary (2003) Doddridge's role should not be forgotten. Indeed, Professor Alan Everitt has written: 'If any event can be regarded as beginning the Evangelical Movement it is probably the appointment of the Independent Philip Doddridge to Castle Hill Chapel in 1729'. Indeed, when Whitefield read Doddridge's published sermon 'Christ's Invitation to Thirsty Souls' in 1748, he wrote to the author: 'I do not wonder you are dubbed a Methodist on account of it'. Yet the sermon was first preached in 1729, six years before Whitefield's conversion and nine before Wesley's. Doddridge wrote of the occasion that 'something of a peculiar blessing seemed to attend the discourse, when delivered from the pulpit; and that to such a degree, as I do not know to have been equalled by any other sermon I ever preached'. Another of his sermons, 'The Care of the Soul', preached in 1735, was mistakenly included in a volume of White-field's sermons! Lasting contributionDoddridge's lasting contribution to the revival was his most popular book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745). Based on a plan suggested by Isaac Watts, the work was translated into several languages including Dutch, French, Danish, Welsh, Gaelic, Tamil and Syriac. It was to the reading of this book that William Wilberforce traced his own spiritual awakening. Of equal importance to Doddridge was the practical impact of the gospel. He was no armchair theologian. As co-founder of the Northampton Infirmary and promoter of a Charity School in the town, Doddridge also demonstrated the power of Christian example. His patriotic activity in connection with the invasion of 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' in 1745 reveals his sense of social responsibility. At this time of national crisis, Doddridge was the first civilian to propose defensive preparations. He also urged men of his congregation to join the Northampton militia. This initiative influenced the invaders to turn back at Derby. Burned out for ChristDoddridge's life was 'burned out' for Christ. At the age of 49, he died of consumption (TB) and was buried in Lisbon, whither he had been sent by his congregation in the hope of restoring his health. One cannot but be amazed at the consistent Christian dedication of a life all too brief. His epigram on the family motto, 'Dum vivimus vivamus' (In living, LIVE), described by Dr. Johnson as one of the finest in the English language, sums up the fragrant faithfulness of this blessed man's life: Live while you live, the epicure would say, For more detailed information, readers are invited to consult my forthcoming work, The Good Doctor: Philip Doddridge of Northampton - a tercentenary tribute. Dr. Alan C. Clifford © Evangelicals Now - October 2001 |