Samuel Clarke (annotator)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Clarke or Clark (1626–1701) was an English Nonconformist
clergyman known as an assiduous annotator of the Bible.
, and was born at Shotwick
, near Chester
, on 12 November 1626. He was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge
; and was appointed fellow of Pembroke Hall by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
on 13 March 1644. Refusing to take the engagement
of fidelity to the Commonwealth, exacted in April 1649, he was deprived of his fellowship in 1651 (after 3 April).
At the Restoration he held the rectory of Grendon Underwood
, Buckinghamshire
, from which he was ejected after the Uniformity Act of 1662. The son was more advanced than his father in his nonconformity. After a sojourn at Upper Winchenden, Buckinghamshire, the seat of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton
, he settled at High Wycombe
, in the same county. There he gathered a congregation, originally presbyterian, by then independent. He assisted in the ordinations which kept up the succession of nonconformist ministers. Clarke died at High Wycombe on 24 February 1701. Samuel Clarke (1684–1750)
of the Scripture Promises was his grandson.
. The work of his life was his annotated edition of the Bible, already planned by him as an undergraduate; the notes are brief. The work had the approval of John Owen
, Richard Baxter, Philip Doddridge
, George Whitefield
, and William Cleaver
.
He published, besides separate sermons:
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
clergyman known as an assiduous annotator of the Bible.
Life
He was the eldest son of Samuel Clarke (1599–1683)Samuel Clarke (minister)
Samuel Clarke was an English clergyman and significant Puritan biographer.-Life:He was born 10 October 1599 at Wolston, Warwickshire, the son of Hugh Clarke , who was vicar of Wolston for forty years. Clarke was educated by his father till he was thirteen; then at the free school in Coventry; and...
, and was born at Shotwick
Shotwick
Shotwick is a village and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...
, near Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, on 12 November 1626. He was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
; and was appointed fellow of Pembroke Hall by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
on 13 March 1644. Refusing to take the engagement
Engagement controversy
The Engagement Controversy was a debate in England from 1649-1652 regarding loyalty to the new regime after the execution of Charles I. During this period hundreds of pamphlets were published in England supporting 'engagement' to the new regime or denying the right of English citizens to shift...
of fidelity to the Commonwealth, exacted in April 1649, he was deprived of his fellowship in 1651 (after 3 April).
At the Restoration he held the rectory of Grendon Underwood
Grendon Underwood
Grendon Underwood is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the west of the county, close to the boundary with Oxfordshire and near the Roman road Akeman Street....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, from which he was ejected after the Uniformity Act of 1662. The son was more advanced than his father in his nonconformity. After a sojourn at Upper Winchenden, Buckinghamshire, the seat of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton
Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton
Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton was an English peer.A Parliamentarian during the English Civil War, he served in various offices including soldier, politician and diplomat. He was appointed as the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire by Parliament in July 1642...
, he settled at High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, in the same county. There he gathered a congregation, originally presbyterian, by then independent. He assisted in the ordinations which kept up the succession of nonconformist ministers. Clarke died at High Wycombe on 24 February 1701. Samuel Clarke (1684–1750)
Samuel Clarke (congregationalist)
Samuel Clarke was an English Nonconformist pastor and theological writer, known for his collection Promises of Scripture. He is not to be confused with his near contemporary Samuel Clarke , also a clergyman but an Anglican.-Life:...
of the Scripture Promises was his grandson.
Works
His theology was of the Baxterian typeRichard Baxter
Richard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...
. The work of his life was his annotated edition of the Bible, already planned by him as an undergraduate; the notes are brief. The work had the approval of John Owen
John Owen (theologian)
John Owen was an English Nonconformist church leader, theologian, and academic administrator at the University of Oxford.-Early life:...
, Richard Baxter, Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...
, George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
, and William Cleaver
William Cleaver
William Cleaver was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford and bishop of three sees.-Life:He was the eldest son of the Rev. W. Cleaver, master of a private school at Twyford in Buckinghamshire, and brother of Archbishop Euseby Cleaver. He was at Magdalen College,...
.
He published, besides separate sermons:
- ‘The Old and New Testaments, with Annotations and Parallel Scriptures,’ &c. 1690, fol., reprinted 1760, and Glasgow, 1765; in Welsh, 1813.
- ‘An Abridgement of the Historical Parts of the Old and New Testament,’ 1690.
- ‘A Survey of the Bible; or an Analytical Account of the Holy Scriptures by chapter and verse,’ &c., 1693 (intended as a supplement to the ‘Annotations’).
- ‘A Brief Concordance,’ &c. 1696.
- ‘Of Scandal’ (a treatise on the limits of obedience to human authority).
- ‘An Exercitation concerning the original of the Chapters and Verses in the Bible, wherein the divine authority of the Points in the Hebrew text is clearly proved,’ &c., 1698.
- ‘Scripture-Justification,’ &c., 1698, (written ‘almost twenty years’ before; Baxter had expressed a wish for its publication, but it was sent to press by John HumfreyJohn HumfreyJohn Humfrey was an English clergyman, an ejected minister from 1662 and controversialist active in the Presbyterian cause.-Life:...
, to whom Clarke had lent the manuscript on being asked for his opinion of Humfrey's ‘Righteousness of God,’ 1697). - ‘The Divine Authority of the Scriptures asserted,’ &c., 1699, (in reply to Richard SimonRichard SimonRichard Simon was a French Oratorian, influential advanced biblical critic, orientalist, and controversialist.-Early years:...
and others; Clarke extends inspiration to the verse divisions as well as to the points in the Old Testament).