Truth To Wonder: Mini Biographies of Evangelicals

Joseph came to Christ in 1645, after the death of his much older brother Edward, a clergyman, who passed away at the age of 26. Joseph was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and then Lincoln College. On November 3rd, 1651, Joseph was appointed a scholar (a prestigious role) of Corpus Christi. He went on to become a tutor and chaplain also during his days of academia.

During his time at Oxford, Joseph was blessed to learn from the expertise of the Puritan great, John Owen, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford and a man of renowned intellect and academic capabilities. This era saw an explosion of learning in areas such as oriental languages and scientific investigations, with the Royal Society bringing new discoveries to the world in varying fields of study. Joseph thoroughly immersed himself into this world of exciting academic discovery, and quickly found many friends within the Royal Society. Out this period, Joseph produced the now sadly lost work Theologia Philosophica, a work that looked to harmonise philosophical thought and revelation. 

After his years of study, Jospeh was ordained in Taunton in 1654. Here he worked as the parish minister until he was ejected from the role in 1662. This was due to the repressive religious legislation seen in the Act of Uniformity, an act put forward by King Charles II. Despite the strict religious restrictions on any Christian worship outside of Anglicanism, an act made law under the Clarendon Code, Joseph continued in his non-conformist preaching.  In this period, Joseph preached alongside the grandfather of John and Charles Wesley. For his efforts for the Gospel, Joseph was frequently put in prison. After years of heavy persecution for his simple faith and effective Gospel preaching, Joseph died of exhaustion on November 17th 1668.

Although Joseph had gone to be with the Lord in glory, his work done in Jesus’ name continued to be used by God. In 1671, 3 years after his passing, one of Joseph’s works entitled, An Alarme to Uncoverted Sinnerswas first published. It sold 20,000 copies, a large number for the time. Following the success of this work, a second work entitled A Sure Guide to Heaven was printed and sold 50,000 copies. 

The popularity of Joseph’s works saw both publications receive numerous reprints. Though Joseph’s voice for Christ Jesus had been heavily limited under the oppressive Clarendon Code and Act of Uniformity, the Lord made sure that Jospeh’s work lasted well beyond his mortal voice. His published work went on to be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands, as the pages looked to bring the reader into a personal relationship with Christ based on sound reason, giving strength and peace for the convert to Christ. All this proves that when a voice is for Christ Jesus, it cannot be silenced.