The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock

Stephen Charnock wrote the massive and wonderful work The Existence and Attributes of God. For context, he was born in 1628, the son of an attorney. He studied in Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1642, and while at Cambridge, Charnock was saved. He was very quickly convicted to preach the gospel to all people. In the late 1640s, he spent some time preaching as chaplain in a private family, and undertook a ministry in Southwark, London.

Later, Charnock moved to Oxford, where he became a fellow at New College in 1650. He was a diligent student, specializing in Biblical language, reformed and scholastic theology, patristics, and philosophy. In 1660, he lost his pastoral job and lived for fifteen years in London without preaching, and apparently practiced medicine during this time. This is actually reflected in his writings; as you read The Existence and Attributes of God, you can find many references to anatomy.

In 1666, Charnock lost his entire library in the Great Fire of London. After this, however, he continued to study and write, becoming in the words of one commentator “a very considerable scholar and an imminent divine, noted for his personal piety and his extraordinary command of the original languages of Scripture” (MTP 143).

In 1675, Charnock became co-pastor with Thomas Watson, another noteworthy Puritan, at a nonconformist congregation at Crosby Hall, Bishop’s Gate St, London. He remained there until his death in 1680. It’s been said that during a time of serious illness, some of Charnock’s friends urged him to rest and take care of his health, but he responded that he felt the greatest duty that he had was to continue laboring in God’s word and in prayer, even if that meant shortening his life. Charnock’s life exemplified a deep humility, devotion, and reverence for God’s majesty, and his example is an encouragement to all believers to pursue similar devotion, emphasizing that true knowledge of God leads to greater holiness and humility.

This set is an absolutely wonderful set of books and I highly recommend that anyone (believer or not) should read them and pray that the Holy Spirit speaks through them. They are extremely helpful, concise, and thorough.

There are a couple editions of this book in the old English, but by far, the best to purchase is the updated but not abridged version by Crossway.