Useful for these times. Well that's a subtitle for a book by Thomas Watson. We've talked

about Thomas Watson before. He's a classic Puritan, educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, served for the longest time of his

pasturates at St. Stephen's Walbrook. He was born in 1620. He died in 1686. In between there of course was Charles the second and the

restoration and what was restored was not necessarily a good thing.

It was the restoration of Anglicanism after the decade of Puritanism ruled in England.

And with the restoration, Thomas Watson, like many of his other Puritan associates, found themselves

ejected from their pulpits, but that didn't stop him from writing and it didn't stop him

actually from preaching.

Well, one of the books that he wrote, and this was written and it didn't stop him actually from preaching.

Well, one of the books said he wrote,

and this was written during the reign of Charles II.

It was written while the restoration was in full swing.

It was published in 1668 it is entitled The Doctrine of Repentance

and the subtitle is useful for these times. Of course the reality is when his repentant's not useful, right?

But there was something about the 1660s that made Thomas Watson,

and on the title page of this book he identifies himself as a

minister of the gospel there was something about his moment that made him think

it was time and timely to write about Repent. Well I am actually holding in my hands a first edition of the book and

it's quite a little thing. At the bottom it says London where it was printed and it tells us further that it was printed by

R. W. for Thomas Parkhurst at the sign of the golden Bible on London Bridge

1668.

How charming you can picture his little print shop.

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