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Thomas Shepard
Thomas Shepard (November 5, 1605–August 25, 1649) was an English Puritan preacher and theologian, a key figure in early American colonial Christianity, renowned for his fervent sermons and role in founding Harvard College. Born in Towcester, Northamptonshire, to William Shepard, a grocer, and an unnamed mother who died when he was 10, he grew up in a godly but troubled home—his father’s remarriage brought a cruel stepmother. At 15, he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1620, earning a B.A. in 1623 and an M.A. in 1627. A transformative conversion in 1621, spurred by Laurence Chaderton’s preaching, turned him from youthful rebellion to ministry, though Archbishop William Laud’s 1630 ban on his preaching for nonconformity forced him to flee England in 1635 with his family aboard the Defence. Shepard’s preaching career in America began when he settled in Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, becoming pastor of the First Church in 1636. His sermons, rich with introspection and warnings of divine judgment, shaped Puritan spirituality—his Sincere Convert (1640) and Sound Believer (1645) urged genuine faith over hypocrisy. A leader in the Antinomian Controversy, he opposed Anne Hutchinson’s views, reinforcing covenant theology. He helped establish Harvard in 1636, serving as an overseer to train ministers, and preached at the 1647 Cambridge Synod, defending orthodoxy. His 22-volume diary and Autobiography reveal a man wrestling with sin and grace, influencing figures like Jonathan Edwards.
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Thomas Shepard preaches about the importance of having a deep, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, comparing it to a marriage where our affections and love are solely directed towards Him. He emphasizes that true faith is one that is fueled by love, as seen in Galatians 5:6. Shepard urges the congregation to choose Christ above all else, to set their hearts and affections on Him, and to allow Him to reign in their hearts as the ultimate love. The sermon focuses on three groups: those who have never loved Jesus genuinely, those who struggle to love Him deeply, and those whose love for Him has grown cold. Shepard's main goal is to present pure and devoted souls to Christ, likening the ministry's role to that of a friend speaking on behalf of the bridegroom, as seen in John 3:29.
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Containing Motives and Arguments to Persuade Us Unto the Love of Christ, and to Be Espoused to Him.
Is there no communion to be had with the Lord Jesus, unless virgins —unless espoused to him? O, therefore, here is a match for you; choose him, get your affections, if entangled, to come off if insnared to any other thing, and set your hearts, bestow your love upon him. For it is not a dead faith (but such a faith as is animated by love) that does espouse you to him. Gal. 5:6, "Faith which works by love." And, therefore, as the love of other things (not worth looking after) has got the sovereignty and royalty of thy heart, so this is a conjugal love, when it bears rule in the heart. Let Christ have this love. And as you have loved creatures for themselves, now love the Lord Jesus for himself. And as they have easily enticed you to set your hearts upon them, now be persuaded to set your dearest affections on him. It is said of John Baptist, he was the bridegroom's friend, to speak for him. John 3:29. And truly it is the main work of the ministry to woo for Christ, and so to present chaste virgins to Christ. This shall be my work now, which may be seasonable in this decaying time. Therefore I shall chiefly bend my speech to three sorts. 1. To them that never yet loved the Lord Jesus, unless it be from the teeth outward. 2. Those that have been striving for this; yet can not, to their own feeling, come to this. 3. Those that have so; but their affections are dried up, and love is parched away, "iniquity abounds," etc. And my motives shall be these four:— 1. Consider the glory of the person whom I shall be a spokesman for this day. 2. Consider he makes love to thee. 3. Consider that all he seeks for is love. 4. Consider what he will do for thee, how he will love thee, if thou wilt love him.
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Thomas Shepard (November 5, 1605–August 25, 1649) was an English Puritan preacher and theologian, a key figure in early American colonial Christianity, renowned for his fervent sermons and role in founding Harvard College. Born in Towcester, Northamptonshire, to William Shepard, a grocer, and an unnamed mother who died when he was 10, he grew up in a godly but troubled home—his father’s remarriage brought a cruel stepmother. At 15, he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1620, earning a B.A. in 1623 and an M.A. in 1627. A transformative conversion in 1621, spurred by Laurence Chaderton’s preaching, turned him from youthful rebellion to ministry, though Archbishop William Laud’s 1630 ban on his preaching for nonconformity forced him to flee England in 1635 with his family aboard the Defence. Shepard’s preaching career in America began when he settled in Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, becoming pastor of the First Church in 1636. His sermons, rich with introspection and warnings of divine judgment, shaped Puritan spirituality—his Sincere Convert (1640) and Sound Believer (1645) urged genuine faith over hypocrisy. A leader in the Antinomian Controversy, he opposed Anne Hutchinson’s views, reinforcing covenant theology. He helped establish Harvard in 1636, serving as an overseer to train ministers, and preached at the 1647 Cambridge Synod, defending orthodoxy. His 22-volume diary and Autobiography reveal a man wrestling with sin and grace, influencing figures like Jonathan Edwards.