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Robert Hawker
Robert Hawker (1753–1827) was an English preacher and Anglican priest whose powerful evangelical ministry earned him the nickname "Star of the West" in 18th- and early 19th-century Devon. Born in 1753 in Exeter, England, he was the son of Jacob Hawker, a surgeon. Initially trained in medicine under Samuel White in Plymouth and serving briefly as an assistant surgeon in the Royal Marines, Hawker shifted his path to theology. He entered Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1778, and was ordained in 1779. Appointed assistant curate at Charles Church, Plymouth, under John Bedford in 1778, he succeeded Bedford as vicar in 1784, a position he held until his death. In 1772, at age 19, he married Anna Rains, with whom he had eight children. Hawker’s preaching career was marked by his extemporaneous, high-Calvinist sermons, which drew thousands with their passion, biblical depth, and accessibility, often lasting 70 to 80 minutes and necessitating gallery expansions at Charles Church. Known for beginning services with spontaneous prayers—sometimes against clerical norms—he preached annually in London to packed congregations, reportedly impressing King George III, who handed him sermon texts moments before preaching. Beyond the pulpit, he launched one of the earliest Sunday School hymn books around 1787 and, in 1813, founded the Corpus Christi Society to aid distressed Christians across denominational lines. A prolific writer, his works like The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (1809) and Poor Man’s Commentary on the New Testament (1816) were priced affordably for the working class, reflecting his pastoral heart. During the 1809 fever outbreak in Plymouth, he and Anna tirelessly tended to sick soldiers, risking their own health.
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Robert Hawker preaches on the willingness of Rebekah to go with the servant of Abraham to Isaac, drawing parallels to our readiness to follow Jesus when called. He emphasizes the love-tokens Jesus has given us, surpassing any earthly affection, and the deliverance from sin and wrath that only Jesus can provide. Hawker urges listeners to leave behind the bondage of sin and embrace the new life offered by Jesus, declaring a resounding commitment to go, follow, live, depend, and even die with the Savior.
I Will Go
MAY 2. Morning. "And they called Rebekah and said unto her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go."-Gen. 24:58. See, my soul, with what readiness Rebekah determined to accompany the servant of Abraham to Isaac. And will you not arise and go forth at the invitation of the servants of Jesus, who sends them to call you to his arms? Has he not, by the sweet constraining influences of his Holy Spirit, as well as by the outward ministry of his blessed word, made you willing in the day of his power? Did not the servant of Abraham give proof of his master's affection in putting the bracelets upon Rebekah's hands, and the earrings, and the gold? But what was this to the love-tokens which Jesus himself has given you, when he set you as a seal upon his heart, and as a seal upon his arm? When all the waters of divine wrath were poured upon him for your sins, which like a deluge had overspread your whole nature, it could not quench his love, nor drown it. If it should be demanded then, from your own mouth this day, "Will you go with this man?" this God-man, this Glory-man, this Jesus, will you not instantly cry out, "I will go?" Yes! you altogether lovely Lord, you greatest and fairest among ten thousand, I will go with you. I would be better for me to leave my own people and my father's house. For my father's house is a house of bondage. I was born in sin, and shaped in iniquity. I am a child of wrath, even as others, and by nature dead in trespasses and sins. It is you, blessed Jesus, who have delivered me from the wrath to come. It is you who have quickened me by your Holy Spirit to a new and spiritual life. It is you who have sent your servants to call me to yourself, and have betrothed me to yourself for ever. Is there is any that yet who would ask me, "Will you go with this man?" My whole soul would answer the question as the apostle did, "to whom else shall I go?" Witness for me, you servants of my Lord; you angels, and ministers of light. I have no one in heaven, neither in earth, but him. Yes, dearest Redeemer! I will go with you, follow you, live with you, depend upon you, and die with you. Not even death itself shall part you and me. Oh let those precious words of yours, concerning your church be sweetly felt in my soul. "I will say, it is my people" and my whole soul will make her responses to the gracious sound, and say, "the Lord is my God."
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Robert Hawker (1753–1827) was an English preacher and Anglican priest whose powerful evangelical ministry earned him the nickname "Star of the West" in 18th- and early 19th-century Devon. Born in 1753 in Exeter, England, he was the son of Jacob Hawker, a surgeon. Initially trained in medicine under Samuel White in Plymouth and serving briefly as an assistant surgeon in the Royal Marines, Hawker shifted his path to theology. He entered Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1778, and was ordained in 1779. Appointed assistant curate at Charles Church, Plymouth, under John Bedford in 1778, he succeeded Bedford as vicar in 1784, a position he held until his death. In 1772, at age 19, he married Anna Rains, with whom he had eight children. Hawker’s preaching career was marked by his extemporaneous, high-Calvinist sermons, which drew thousands with their passion, biblical depth, and accessibility, often lasting 70 to 80 minutes and necessitating gallery expansions at Charles Church. Known for beginning services with spontaneous prayers—sometimes against clerical norms—he preached annually in London to packed congregations, reportedly impressing King George III, who handed him sermon texts moments before preaching. Beyond the pulpit, he launched one of the earliest Sunday School hymn books around 1787 and, in 1813, founded the Corpus Christi Society to aid distressed Christians across denominational lines. A prolific writer, his works like The Poor Man’s Morning Portion (1809) and Poor Man’s Commentary on the New Testament (1816) were priced affordably for the working class, reflecting his pastoral heart. During the 1809 fever outbreak in Plymouth, he and Anna tirelessly tended to sick soldiers, risking their own health.