Customer Reviews

Body of Divinity

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4 star:		(2)
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~The Body of Practical Divinity~ is a great classic systematic theology of Reformed Protestantism. The author Thomas Watson was a Puritan divine and offers an erudite systematic theology for the Christian believer from a Reformed-Puritan perspective. The crux of the volume is soteriology (which is the doctrine of salvation according to Jesus Christ.) Not surprisingly, he makes it clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone. Watson is rigorously Scriptural in his exegesis, and he enunciates the textual meaning and gives substantive amplification to the Word of God. He explains the Doctrines of God, Divine Sovereignty, Salvation, Sin, and the Trinity with remarkable clarity. His thinking is sound and Scriptural. Puritan theology sets the diadem of our salvation on Christ, and Christ alone, and it is solely on the basis of his meritous work that we are saved. The body of the text is not at all archaic, as it has a fluid feel and is easy to read. The great Prince of Preachers, C.H. Spurgeon, opined of Watson's book, as being "one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans." Soli Deo Gloria!

Thomas Watson is one of the great puritan writers, and this is one of his finest books. It is Watson's exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. With skill of a theologian and a heart of a pastor, Watson unfolds for the reader the great doctrines of the Bible. This book is a resource that you will never exhaust for its insights and helps. Great tool for someone working with new believers, introducing others to doctrine. Don't miss his other classic works, The Ten Commandments and The Lord's prayer. You will not be disappointed. All these make great gifts and something your pastor will prize if he doesn't already have them. Enjoy!

Thomas Watson's A Body of Divinity is a Puritan classic, using the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a starting point for an exploration of the central themes of the Christian faith. Watson's writing style is interesting and well-organized. This book reminds me of J.C. Ryle's Holiness, in that both approach their subjects in such a thorough way. Watson goes through one item of doctrine after another, answering key questions and showing the blessings of an area of doctrine along with some potential pitfalls. For example, Watson deals with a common objection to the sin of Adam and Eve by addressing this question . . . "Was it such a great matter to pluck an apple?" To which he then gives 10 reasons why the sin of Adam and Eve was so serious. This thorough treatment continues throughout the book, making it an indispensable tool for pastors and teachers.

This review was based on the paperback edition published by the Banner of Truth Trust.

I have found this book to be .... amazing. I've been reading a little bit out of it every night before bed. I can't tell you how many times that I've sat straight up in bed to re-read a paragraph that illuminated a previously tough piece of doctrine with such clarity and simplicity that my heart rejoiced with pleasure and my mind with understanding. I highly recommend it!

"Thomas Watson's Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most."~Charles Spurgeon

You will not be dissapointed to invest a little bit of money and getting such an excellent Systematic Theology book. This book is also pratical and full of illustrations. Most assuredly not boring. Packed with good nuggets of Bible data and truths.

His pen flows; the metaphors echo as a sweet symphony. Where is Bach? where is Mozart? Where is Beethoven? Tell them that there is a new maestro in town. Not one with a musical instrument, lest they be confused, but one with a pen. He makes melodious music on things divine. Tell them, his name is Thomas Watson, the Puritan.

Five stars and counting!

The commanding Puritan Thomas Watson in "A Body of Divinity" delivers a powerful classic in his exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He takes the WSC as an outline of the essential doctrines of Christianity. In this potent volume, Watson discusses with fine precision:

* A Preliminary Discourse To Catechising
* Man's Chief End
* The Scriptures
* The Being of God
* The Knowledge of God
* The Holiness of God
* The Mercy of God
* The Trinity
* The Providence of God
* Original Sin
* The Covenant of Grace
* Christ's Humiliation In His Incarnation
* Christ the Redeemer
* Justification
* Sanctification
* Peace
* A Believer's Privilege At Death

Col 1: 23 "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled."

Watson instructs: "Intending next Lord's day to enter upon the work of catechizing, it will not be amiss to give you a preliminary discourse, to show you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the grounds of religion. 'If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled."

Watson adds: " It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. It is the apostle's prayer, I Pet 5: 10, 'The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you.' That is, that they might not be meteors in the air, but fixed stars. The apostle Jude speaks of 'wandering stars, in verse 13. They are called wandering stars, because, as Aristotle says, 'They do leap up and down, and wander into several parts of the heaven; and being but dry exhalations, not made of that pure celestial matter as the fixed stars are, they often fall to the earth.' Now, such as are not settled in religion, will, at one time or other, prove wandering stars; they will lose their former steadfastness, and wander from one opinion to another. Such as are unsettled are of the tribe of Reuben, 'unstable as water,' Gen 49: 4; like a ship without ballast, overturned with every wind of doctrine. Beza writes of one Belfectius, that his religion changed as the moon. The Arians had every year a new faith. These are not pillars in the temple of God, but reeds shaken every way. The apostle calls them 'damnable heresies.' 2 Pet 2: 1. A man may go to hell as well for heresy as adultery. To be unsettled in religion, argues want of judgment. If their heads were not giddy, men would not reel so fast from one opinion to another. It argues lightness. As feathers will be blown every way, so will feathery Christians. "
Watson presses: "It is the great end of the word preached, to bring us to a settlement in religion."

One of my favorite expositions is on WSC question 6:
Q-6. HOW MANY PERSONS ARE THERE IN THE GODHEAD?
A: Three persons, yet but one God.
I John 5: 7 "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one."

Watson expounds: "God is but one, yet are there three distinct persons subsisting in one Godhead. This is a sacred mystery, which the light within man could never have discovered. As the two natures in Christ, yet but one person, is a wonder; so three persons, yet but one Godhead. Here is a great deep, the Father God, the Son God, the Holy Ghost God; yet not three Gods, but one God. The three persons in the blessed Trinity are distinguished, but not divided; three substances, but one essence. This is a divine riddle where one makes three, and three make one. Our narrow thoughts can no more comprehend the Trinity in Unity, than a nut-shell will hold all the water in the sea. Let me shadow it out by a similitude. In the body of the sun, there are the substance of the sun, the beams, and the heat; the beams are begotten of the sun, the heat proceeds both from the sun and the beams; but these three, though different, are not divided; they all three make but one sun: so in the blessed Trinity, the Son is begotten of the Father, the Holy Ghost proceeds from both; yet though they are three distinct persons, they are but one God."

Watson on Justification: "Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life."
Then he adds: "What is meant by justification? It is verbum forense, a word borrowed from law-courts, wherein a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is openly absolved. God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be righteous, and looks upon him as if he had not sinned."
There Are Moral Absolutes: How to Be Absolutely Sure That Christianity Alone Supplies
or
One Way to God: Christian Philosophy and Presuppositional Apologetics Examine World Religions

The commanding Puritan Thomas Watson in "A Body of Divinity" delivers a powerful classic in his exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He takes the WSC as an outline of the essential doctrines of Christianity. In this potent volume, Watson discusses with fine precision:

* A Preliminary Discourse To Catechising
* Man's Chief End
* The Scriptures
* The Being of God
* The Knowledge of God
* The Holiness of God
* The Mercy of God
* The Trinity
* The Providence of God
* Original Sin
* The Covenant of Grace
* Christ's Humiliation In His Incarnation
* Christ the Redeemer
* Justification
* Sanctification
* Peace
* A Believer's Privilege At Death.

Col 1: 23 "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled."

Watson instructs: "Intending next Lord's day to enter upon the work of catechizing, it will not be amiss to give you a preliminary discourse, to show you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the grounds of religion. 'If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled."

Watson adds: " It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. It is the apostle's prayer, I Pet 5: 10, 'The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you.' That is, that they might not be meteors in the air, but fixed stars. The apostle Jude speaks of 'wandering stars, in verse 13. They are called wandering stars, because, as Aristotle says, 'They do leap up and down, and wander into several parts of the heaven; and being but dry exhalations, not made of that pure celestial matter as the fixed stars are, they often fall to the earth.' Now, such as are not settled in religion, will, at one time or other, prove wandering stars; they will lose their former steadfastness, and wander from one opinion to another. Such as are unsettled are of the tribe of Reuben, 'unstable as water,' Gen 49: 4; like a ship without ballast, overturned with every wind of doctrine. Beza writes of one Belfectius, that his religion changed as the moon. The Arians had every year a new faith. These are not pillars in the temple of God, but reeds shaken every way. The apostle calls them 'damnable heresies.' 2 Pet 2: 1. A man may go to hell as well for heresy as adultery. To be unsettled in religion, argues want of judgment. If their heads were not giddy, men would not reel so fast from one opinion to another. It argues lightness. As feathers will be blown every way, so will feathery Christians. "
Watson presses: "It is the great end of the word preached, to bring us to a settlement in religion."

One of my favorite expositions is on WSC question 6:
Q-6. HOW MANY PERSONS ARE THERE IN THE GODHEAD?
A: Three persons, yet but one God.
I John 5: 7 "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one."
Watson expounds: "God is but one, yet are there three distinct persons subsisting in one Godhead. This is a sacred mystery, which the light within man could never have discovered. As the two natures in Christ, yet but one person, is a wonder; so three persons, yet but one Godhead. Here is a great deep, the Father God, the Son God, the Holy Ghost God; yet not three Gods, but one God. The three persons in the blessed Trinity are distinguished, but not divided; three substances, but one essence. This is a divine riddle where one makes three, and three make one. Our narrow thoughts can no more comprehend the Trinity in Unity, than a nut-shell will hold all the water in the sea. Let me shadow it out by a similitude. In the body of the sun, there are the substance of the sun, the beams, and the heat; the beams are begotten of the sun, the heat proceeds both from the sun and the beams; but these three, though different, are not divided; they all three make but one sun: so in the blessed Trinity, the Son is begotten of the Father, the Holy Ghost proceeds from both; yet though they are three distinct persons, they are but one God."

Watson on Justification: "Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life."

Then he adds: "What is meant by justification? It is verbum forense, a word borrowed from law-courts, wherein a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is openly absolved. God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be righteous, and looks upon him as if he had not sinned."
There Are Moral Absolutes: How to Be Absolutely Sure That Christianity Alone Supplies
or on world Religions:
One Way to God: Christian Philosophy and Presuppositional Apologetics Examine World Religions

First of all I highly recommend any work by Thomas Watson. My personal favorite is "The Art of Divine Contentment", but "A Body of Divinity" is a close second. It is probably an excellent starting place for anyone wishing to study the Puritan line of Reformed theology, particularly regarding the Westminster Catechism. Of all the Puritans, I think Watson is the most readable and quotable. I do have a couple of issues with Amazon' products, however. I personally have the Kindle verson that displays Manuel Ortiz Braschi's name with the title, along with an apparent comment by Mr. Braschi in the title, "Truly a Masterpiece!!!" That may be a true remark, but please, Amazon, why is this displayed? Second observation: the Kindle edition I am commenting on presently is showing a portrait of John Calvin. What's up with that? If Amazon wishes to display a picture of Mr. Watson, I'm sure there's one available somewhere; there's no need to borrow Mr. Calvin's visage instead.

Although I love the puritans, their writing can be difficult to read for the lay-person. Watson is very easy to understand way, relatively speaking.