- Home
- Speakers
- Robert Hawker
- Kept By The Power Of God
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.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
Robert Hawker preaches about the divine power of God that keeps believers through faith for salvation, highlighting the humbling realization of the sinfulness within us and the gratitude for God's restraining grace that prevents sin from fully manifesting in our lives. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing that it is God's power, not our own merit, that preserves us and the need to daily depend on God's faithfulness and grace. Through verses like 1 Peter 1:5, Jeremiah 32:40, and John 10:28, he encourages believers to rest in the assurance of their salvation, trust in the union with Christ, and rely on the indwelling Spirit to keep them from falling.
Scriptures
Kept by the Power of God
March 18 Evening. 1 Pet 1:5 "who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation." (NKJV) When I call to mind that in me, "that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing;" when I stand convinced, (as I do most fully, blessed be God the Holy Ghost, for having exercised his gracious work in my soul, to this gracious effect,) that though renewed in the spirit of my mind, yet in that unrenewed part of myself, which is hastening to the grave, every member is virtually all sin; when I know that never did sin break out in acts of open wickedness, in any son or daughter of Adam, but that the seeds of the same sin are in me and my nature; I long not only to know, but always to keep in remembrance by what means, and from what cause it is, that those seeds do not ripen in my heart, as well as in others; that while corrupt nature is the same in all, it is restrained in me, while so many of my fellow creatures, and fellow-sinners, fall a prey to temptation. Blessed Spirit! the merciful scripture of the evening answers the important question. They who are kept, "are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation." Here is the solution of the whole subject. With what humbleness of soul, then, ought every child of God to fall down before the throne of grace, under the deepest sense of distinguishing love, in the consciousness that it is divine restraint, and not creature merit, which makes all the difference. Help me, Lord, to go humbly all my days in this view, and let it be my morning thought, as well as my mid-day and evening meditation, that I am kept by your power, through faith unto salvation. Almighty Father, help me to be live my life depending upon your faithfulness in the covenant of grace, established and sealed as it is in the blood of your dear Son, that "you will not" turn away from me to do me good; and that you will put your fear in my heart, that I shall not depart from you.-Jer. 32:40. Precious Lord Jesus! cause me to rest also upon an union with you, a communication of grace from you, and a participation in you, in all the blessings of your redemption. Surely I am the purchase of your blood, and you have said, "your sheep shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of your hand."-John 10:28. And Oh! you blessed Spirit of all truth, may you be to me an indwelling security from sin, to keep me from falling, and to preserve me faultless in Jesus, until the day of his coming. Make my body your temple, and cause me, by your sweet constraining love, to "glorify God in my body, and in my spirit, which are his."-1 Cor. 6:20.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
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.