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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 significance of the Sabbath day and the privilege of gathering for prayer by the riverside, emphasizing the importance of cherishing and utilizing our blessings for the glory of God. He reflects on the mercy of the Sabbath and urges listeners to deeply appreciate this gift. Hawker draws parallels between the church's gathering by the riverside and historical biblical events, highlighting the faithfulness of God amidst sinful surroundings. He concludes with a prayerful desire to follow Jesus faithfully, thirsting for communion and eagerly anticipating the eternal Sabbath in heaven.
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An Unusual House of Prayer
AUGUST 25. EVENING. "And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made."- Acts 16:13 What, they had no church, no synagogue, no house of prayer, in all the city? Was it like another Athens, wholly given to idolatry? My soul, think of your privileges, and learn rightly to prize them, and use them to the glory of the great Giver. It was "on the Sabbath day." What a mercy to poor fallen man is the Sabbath? And yet what multitudes slight, despise, and never profit by it! My soul! Think again, in this view also, of your mercies; and bow down to the dust in the deepest humiliation of soul and body, that the Sabbath is precious to you. "Who makes you differ from another?" Eventually you will enter into the everlasting Sabbath of heaven. There is something very interesting in what the apostle here says of going out "by the riverside." Probably it was in the memory of the church, that in Babylon, where the people were captives, the Lord made the river Chebar famous for visions to one prophet, and Hiddekel to another. But, blessed be God! Though our land is so sinful, we are not given up to captivity; and while many of the nations around have their churches turned into stables, amidst the din and horrors of war, our candlestick is not yet removed out of its place. Precious Jesus! Wherever prayer is commonly to be made by your people, let my soul delight to be found. Let me hear your voice inviting to communion: "Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon." Yea, Lord, I would follow the Lamb wherever he goes. I would follow you to the assemblies of your people. I would wait to see the goings of my God and King in his sanctuary. I would have my whole soul athirst for you, as the hart for the cooling streams. And while I join your people in the great congregation, where prayer is habitually to be made, I pray your grace, and the influences of your blessed Spirit, to fire my soul with foretastes of that glorious assembly, which are keeping an eternal Sabbath above, where the everlasting praises of God and of the Lamb will engage and fill my raptured soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory to all eternity.
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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.