William Jay Books: A Guide to All Five and Where to Start
William Jay (1769–1853) was pastor of Argyle Chapel in Bath, England, for more than sixty years, and one of the most loved preachers of his day. He wrote for ordinary Christians at home: a page of devotion for each morning, prayers for the family, counsel on marriage, and Bible lessons drawn from the lives of women in Scripture. TheWay Library has five of his books, all free to read. For his life story, see who was William Jay.
This guide describes each book and tells you where to begin.
Where to start
Start with Morning Exercises for the Closet. It's his best-known book, one short reading for every morning of the year, and it gives you Jay at his warmest and most practical.
After that, choose by what you need:
- For family worship: Prayers for the Use of Families.
- If you're thinking about marriage, or married already: Thoughts on Marriage.
- For Bible study or a women's group: Lectures on Female Scripture Characters.
- For his life and the people he knew: The Autobiography of the Rev. William Jay.
Every quotation below is checked against the book it comes from. For many more, see our collection of William Jay quotes.
Devotional books
Morning Exercises for the Closet, for Every Day in the Year
"The closet" is the old word for a private room for prayer, after Jesus' words in Matthew 6:6. Jay wrote one reading for each morning. Each takes a verse of Scripture, often from the Old Testament histories, the Psalms or the Gospels, and opens it in a few short paragraphs of doctrine, comfort and plain counsel. The manna in the wilderness, the believer's struggle with sin, God's presence on the road, and the grace given in Christ before the world began are some of the subjects.
We must always distinguish between what is pleasing and what is profitable.
Morning Exercises for the Closet, January 2
One thing to know about this edition: in most of the readings the Bible verse that heads the day in the original printing is missing, so many of them begin mid-thought. The readings themselves are complete. Read Morning Exercises for the Closet.
If you like daily readings, our guide to the best classic daily devotionals lists others in the library.
Prayers for the Use of Families
Jay wrote this book for the head of a household, whom he called the "domestic minister," and especially for those who find it hard to pray aloud in their own words. It gives a prayer for every morning and evening over several weeks, each with praise, confession, thanks and requests for the home, the church and the world. Then come prayers for special days and needs: Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, the evening after a funeral, sickness, childbirth, drought and rain, and short prayers for children and graces at table. He also explains why family prayers should be short.
We know not what a day may bring forth; but we encourage ourselves in the Lord our God, and go forward.
Prayers for the Use of Families, First Morning of the New Year
This text came from a scan of an old printing and still has many misread letters and words, so read it with patience. Read Prayers for the Use of Families.
Marriage and the home
Thoughts on Marriage
The main essay argues from Scripture that believers must marry "only in the Lord." Jay sets out the law, the harm that comes from breaking it, examples from history, and the excuses people make. Then he adds an important point: godliness is necessary in a husband or wife, but it isn't enough by itself. Prudence, suitability and real affection matter too. Shorter pieces follow on the duties of husbands and wives to each other, a sermon called "The Wife's Advocate" against husbands who treat their wives badly, a charge to a minister's wife, and an essay on domestic happiness.
Much depends on the cultivation of the mind; more on the regulation of the temper.
Thoughts on Marriage, The Mutual Duties of Husbands and Wives
Read Thoughts on Marriage. It's one of the picks in our guide to the best Christian books on marriage and family.
Bible study
Lectures on Female Scripture Characters
Twenty-two lectures on women of the Bible, preached at Bath. Jay gives three lectures to the Shunammite who welcomed Elisha, four to the woman of Samaria, and others to Mary Magdalene, Hannah, Anna the prophetess, the woman of Canaan, the poor widow with her two mites, Lydia, Dorcas, the elect lady of 2 John, and Martha and Mary. The book ends with the warning "Remember Lot's wife." Each lecture tells the story from the text and then draws out lessons on faith, prayer, service, contentment and home life.
Character is not only displayed by trials, but it very much results from them.
Lectures on Female Scripture Characters, Lecture VI: Hannah, Part I
The lectures work well for a Bible study group, one woman a week. The text has some scattered scanning errors. Read Lectures on Female Scripture Characters.
His life
The Autobiography of the Rev. William Jay
Jay wrote his life as a series of letters to his children, and it was published after his death with a long supplement by the editors. He tells of his humble family at Tisbury, his conversion, his schooling under Cornelius Winter, his first sermon at sixteen, his call to Bath, his marriage and children, his books, his reading and his way of preaching. Then come warm sketches of people he knew, including John Newton, William Wilberforce, Hannah More, Rowland Hill, Robert Hall and John Wesley, and a selection of his letters.
There are persons who pray spiritually with a form; and there are persons that pray very formally without a form.
The Autobiography of the Rev. William Jay, Letter XI
It's a long book, but you can read the eighteen letters of the autobiography itself in a few evenings and dip into the sketches later. Preachers will especially enjoy his letters on how he prepared and preached. Read the Autobiography of William Jay.
A suggested order
- Morning Exercises for the Closet, one reading a day.
- Prayers for the Use of Families, if you lead prayers at home.
- Lectures on Female Scripture Characters, for study.
- Thoughts on Marriage, when the subject is in front of you.
- The Autobiography, to meet the man behind the books.
Why read Jay today
Jay is short, clear and kind. He writes about God's grace and about everyday life in the same breath, and he never forgets the person reading at the kitchen table. Begin with Morning Exercises for the Closet, and when you want to know the man, turn to his autobiography. All five books are on the William Jay author page.