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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 compassionate nature of Jesus as the beloved physician, drawing parallels between Luke the physician and Jesus as the ultimate healer of souls. He emphasizes Jesus' role in healing the spiritually diseased, broken-hearted, blind, and oppressed, offering restoration and freedom through His grace. Hawker challenges listeners to reflect on whether they have allowed Jesus to diagnose their spiritual condition, experience His healing touch, and receive His free remedies of grace, righteousness, and love.
Our Beloved Physician
AUGUST 23. MORNING. "The beloved physician." Col. 4:14. My soul, catch a thought of what the apostle speaks here about the servants of the Master. And think of the Master! If Luke the physician was beloved, how much more so ought Jesus to be by you in this beautiful picture. The Son of God came, as the great physician of the soul, to heal all who were diseased, to bind up the broken hearted, to give sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. My soul, do you know Jesus in this tender and affectionate office? Has he examined you in your illness, and told you his diagnosis? And are you, through his mercy, restored to health? Because of your shame and fear, you would never have made known your case to him, if he had not first, of his own free accord, called upon you. Has he done so? Have you heard him ask the tender question, "Will you be made whole?" And have you rejoiced to come under his care? Do you know what it is to have his blood applied to heal the wounds of sin, his righteousness to cover them, his grace to refresh under them, and his Name as ointment poured forth, to purify you from all uncleanness? Moreover, has Jesus dispensed to you freely his remedies, without payment, without money, and without price? And does he do all this, and a thousand affectionate offices beside, which belong to the physician, calling himself by that endearing name, Jehovah Rapha, I am the Lord who heals you? No longer let it be said, then, "Is there no balm in Gilead; no physician there?" But tell to every poor sin-sick soul, Jesus is the beloved physician, who visits the poor and the needy, and heals every kind of sickness, and all types of disease among the people, he has healed me.
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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.