Book Description

Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) was an English Nonconformist leader and hymnwriter. With independent religious leanings, he declined offers which would have led him into the Anglican ministry, or the bar; and in 1719 chose instead to enter the liberal academy for Nonconformists or Dissenters at Kibworth in Leicestershire. Here he was taught by the Rev. John Jennings, whom Doddridge briefly succeeded in 1723. Throughout the 1730s and 1740s he continued his academic and pastoral work, and developed close relations with numerous early religious revivalists and independents, through extensive visits and correspondence. Through this approach he helped establish and maintain a circle of influential independent religious thinkers and writers, including Dr Isaac Watts. His The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745) was translated into seven languages. Reading this book led William Wilberforce, the anti-slave trade campaigner, to become a Christian. Besides a New Testament commentary and other theological works, Doddridge also wrote over 400 hymns. Most of the hymns were written as summaries of his sermons and were to help the congregation express their response to the truths they were being taught.