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Thomas Manton Books: A Guide to All 4 and Where to Start

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Thomas Manton (1620–1677) was one of the great Puritan preachers of London. He was rector of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, until the Great Ejection of 1662 put him out of his pulpit, and he spent his last years preaching wherever the law allowed. Nearly everything he wrote began as preaching. TheWay Library has four of his volumes, all free to read: his commentary on the Epistle of James, and his 190 sermons on Psalm 119 in three volumes. For his life story, see who was Thomas Manton.

This guide tells you what's in each and where to begin.

Where to start

Start with A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of James. James is short, Manton is at his clearest there, and this is the cleanest of the four texts.

Then go to Psalm 119:

These are long books. Don't try to read them straight through. Read the sermon on the verse you're studying, or take one sermon a day.

Every quotation below is checked against the book it comes from. For many more, see our collection of Thomas Manton quotes.

A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of James

Manton gave these as weekday lectures at Stoke Newington, near London, and worked through every verse of the letter. He says in his preface that he chose James because it is full of practical matter and corrects a merely notional faith. He then defends the letter's place in the Bible against those who called it "a right strawy epistle," and shows that James and Paul agree: Paul shows how we are justified, and James shows what kind of faith justifies.

After the preface, each verse is explained and followed by numbered observations and applications:

His teaching on faith and works is careful and clear:

Works are not a ground of confidence, but an evidence; not the foundations of faith, but the encouragements of assurance.

A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of James, Chapter II: James 2

And he's sharp on what our words give away:

There is a quick intercourse between the heart and the tongue; and whatever aboundeth in the heart, cometh uppermost and findeth vent in the speech.

A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of James, Chapter II: James 2

It's a long book, about twenty-four hours of reading, but you can take it a verse at a time. Read the Commentary on James. For other books on the subject, see our guide to the best Christian books on faith.

One Hundred and Ninety Sermons on Psalm 119

Manton preached through the longest psalm one verse at a time, in his usual round of three sermons a week, often giving one verse two sermons. A few verses he never reached. His friend William Bates published the series after Manton's death, and wondered at how Manton found something new in every verse of a psalm that keeps returning to the same theme. Each sermon moves the same way: the sense of the verse, a doctrine, reasons, and uses for the hearer.

Volume 1: Psalm 119:1–59

Volume 1 has sixty-six sermons. It opens with short prefaces by William Bates and Vincent Alsop and a memoir of Manton: his Somerset boyhood, his ministry under Cromwell, the Savoy Conference and the ejection of 1662. Then the sermons begin with "Blessed are the undefiled in the way." Look especially at the sermon on verse 9, how a young man may cleanse his way; verse 11, hiding God's word in your heart; verse 16, delight and meditation; and verse 18, "Open thou mine eyes."

Meditation breedeth delight, and delight helpeth memory

Sermons on Psalm 119, Volume 1, Sermon XVII (verse 16)

Volume 2: Psalm 119:60–123

Volume 2 has sixty-nine sermons, numbered 67 to 135. It opens with "I made haste, and delayed not," a sermon against putting off repentance. Its heart is a run of sermons on suffering, above all the one on verse 71, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." Two sermons on verse 89 open the eternity of God and His word settled in heaven. Others take up loving God's law (verse 97), the word sweeter than honey (verse 103), and the word as a lamp and a light (verse 105).

When we are but newly under the affliction, we feel the smart, but do not presently find the benefit; but, within a while, especially in the review, it is good for me; it is matter of faith under the affliction, it is matter of sense after it.

Sermons on Psalm 119, Volume 2, Sermon LXXIX (verse 71)

If you're in a hard season, our guide to the best Christian books on suffering and comfort has more.

Volume 3: Psalm 119:124–176

Volume 3 has the last fifty-five sermons, 136 to 190. The sermon on verse 130, "The entrance of thy words giveth light," argues that the truths needed for salvation are few and plain, so no one should keep the simple from the Bible. Two sermons on verse 136 treat grief over the sins of others, and two on verse 165 describe the great peace of those who love God's law. The series ends with verse 176: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant."

The doctrine of Christ is the sum of religion; he that hath learned it well, hath learned all.

Sermons on Psalm 119, Volume 3, Sermon CXLIII (verse 130)

A note on these editions

All four volumes come from an 1842 printing and were restored from scans. The commentary on James reads well. The three Psalm 119 volumes still have many misread words, especially in the Bible verse printed at the head of each sermon and in Latin and Greek phrases. The sermons themselves are readable, but check the scan before you quote them.

Why read Manton today

Manton takes one verse and won't let you go until you've seen what it asks of your heart and your week. He's plain, patient and full of Scripture. Begin with James, then keep the Psalm 119 sermons for your quiet time, one verse at a time. All four books are on the Thomas Manton author page, and our guide to the best Puritan books suggests where to go next.

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