John Guyse facts for kids

John Guyse (born 1680, died 1761) was an English minister. He was part of a group called "Independents." These were Christians who believed their churches should be self-governing. They did not want to be controlled by a larger church organization.

About John Guyse

John Guyse was born in Hertford, England, in 1680. He studied to become a minister at a special school. This school was run by Reverend John Payne in Saffron Walden. Guyse started preaching when he was 19 years old.

He sometimes helped William Haworth, another minister in Hertford. Haworth led a group of "dissenters." These were people who disagreed with the official Church of England. John Guyse took over from Haworth on September 27, 1705.

His Time in Hertford

While in Hertford, Guyse strongly spoke out against something called Arianism. This was a belief that Jesus was not fully God. Guyse believed Jesus was completely divine.

In 1727, a new church group asked him to be their main minister. This group had separated from another church in London. They had set up their own place in New Broad Street. Doctors told Guyse that his health was suffering from too much work in Hertford. So, he decided to move to London and accept the new role.

Lectures and Later Life

Around 1728, Guyse started giving special talks called the Coward lecture. He gave these talks on Fridays at Little St. Helen's. From 1734, he also gave the Merchants' lecture on Tuesdays at Pinners' Hall.

In 1733, Guyse received an important university degree. He became a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) from Aberdeen University. He was also an active member of the King's Head Society. This group helped young men get an education to become ministers.

As he grew older, John Guyse became lame and then blind. But his blindness actually helped his sermons. He had to preach without his notes. People said his sermons became even better because of this. One person even told him they wished he had become blind twenty years earlier!

His only son, William Guyse, helped him at the New Broad Street church. William worked with his father from 1728 until he died in 1758. John Guyse himself passed away on November 22, 1761. He was buried in Bunhill Fields burial ground.

His Writings

John Guyse wrote many books and sermons. Two of his Coward lectures were published in 1729. They were titled Christ the Son of God. Another writer, Samuel Chandler, disagreed with Guyse's ideas. Chandler wrote a letter criticizing Guyse's book.

Guyse wrote a reply in 1730. It was called The Scripture Notion of preaching Christ further cleared and vindicated. Chandler wrote another letter back to Guyse. Guyse then answered him in a part of a sermon he wrote. This sermon was about the death of John Asty.

Some people complained that Guyse had accused other ministers of not preaching enough about Christ. The two writers, Guyse and Chandler, argued quite strongly. But they later became friends again.

Besides these, John Guyse wrote other important works:

• Jesus Christ God-Man, several sermons (1719)
• A Sermon on the Plague of Marseilles (1720)
• The Holy Spirit a Divine Person, several sermons (1721)
• The Standing Use of the Scripture, several sermons (1724)
• Remarks on a Catechism (a book written by James Strong)
• A Present Remembrance of God (1730)
• Nine sermons that were part of the Berry Street collection.
• Youth's Monitor, six annual sermons (1736)
• An Exposition of the New Testament in the form of a paraphrase (3 volumes, 1739–1752). This was a detailed explanation of the New Testament.
• He also wrote the introduction for Jonathan Edwards' book, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton (1737). He wrote this with Isaac Watts.
• A Collection of Seventeen Practical Sermons, to which is added an exhortation (1756). These were sermons that had been published separately before.

His Impact

The famous religious leader John Wesley said that he learned a lot from Dr. Guyse. Wesley wrote in his Notes on the New Testament that Guyse gave him many "useful observations." This shows how important Guyse's work was to others.