William Gouge

NPG D22614,William Gouge,by; after John Dunstall; William FaithorneWilliam Gouge (1575–1653) was an English clergyman and author. He was a minister and preacher at St. Ann Blackfriars for 45 years, from 1608, and a member of the Westminster Assembly from 1643.

He was born in Stratford-le-Bow, Middlesex, and baptised on 6 November 1575. He was educated at Felsted, St. Paul’s School, Eton College, and King’s College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1598 and M.A. in 1601. Before moving to London, he was a Fellow and lecturer at Cambridge. He caused a near-riot by his advocacy of Ramism over the traditional methods of Aristotle. At Blackfriars, he was initially assistant to Stephen Egerton (c.1554-1622), taking over as lecturer.

He proposed an early dispensational scheme. He took an interest in Sir Henry Finch’s Calling of the Jews, and published it under his own name; this led to a spell of imprisonment in 1621, since the publication displeased James I of England.

Although he was already nearly 70 years old, he attended the Westminster Assembly regularly, and was made chairman in 1644 of the committee set up to draft the Westminster Confession. [More via Wikipedia]

The Works of William Gouge:

A Commentary on the Whole Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume 1. (408 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
Based upon thirty years of Wednesday lectures at St. Ann Blackfriars! Includes an eleven page biographical preface. This volume covers Hebrews 1-5.

A Commentary on the Whole Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume 2. (388 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
This volume covers Hebrews 6-10.

A Commentary on the Whole Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume 3. (404 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
This volume covers Hebrews 11-13. Gouge died before he could complete this volume; his eldest son Thomas completed the commentary on Hebrews 13.

On Covetousness.
[epub mobi txt web via Puritan Sermons]
Nicely formatted, with embedded Scripture references.

The Dignity of Chivalry. (54 pages)
[pdf via Digital Puritan]
A sermon on 2 Chronicles 8:9, preached to the artillery company of London on June 13, 1626.

An Exposition on the Whole Fifth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel. (356 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
Includes the following:

  1. An Exposition on the Fifth of John (John 5) – pdf, 99 pp.
  2. An Exposition Upon the Third of John (John 3:29–34) – pdf, 22 pp.
  3. An Exposition Upon the First of Mark (Mark 1:25–2:14) – pdf, 43 pp.
  4. An Exposition Upon the Third of Luke (Luke 3:19–20) – pdf, 2 pp.
  5. An Exposition Upon the Fourth of James (James 4:7) – pdf, 4 pp.
  6. An Exposition Upon the Second of Genesis (Genesis 2:9, 7:23) – pdf, 6 pp.
  7. An Exposition Upon the Twelfth of Exodus (Exodus 12:8,11,14–16) – pdf, 14 pp.
  8. An Exposition Upon the Thirtieth Psalm (Psalm 30:2) – pdf, 3 pp.
  9. An Exposition of Ephesians 5:22–33 – pdf, 67 pp.
  10. An Exposition of Ephesians 6:4–15 – pdf, 47 pp.

God’s Three Arrows: Plague, Famine, Sword. (477 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads] [txt web via EEBO]
This volume contains the following:

  1. God’s Three Arrows: Plague, Famine, Sword – pdf, 398 pp.
    1. A Plaster for the Plague (Numbers 16:44-49) – pdf, 140 pp.
    2. Dearth’s Death (or, “A Removal of Famine”, 2 Samuel 21:1) – pdf, 55 pp.
    3. The Church’s Conquest Over the Sword (Exodus 17:8-16) – pdf, 202 pp.
  2. The Extent of God’s Providence (Matthew 10:29-31) – pdf, 35 pp.
  3. The Dignity of Chivalry (2 Chronicles 8:9) – pdf, 34 pp.

Mercy’s Memorial. (29 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
A sermon preached November 17, 1644, celebrating deliverance from Queen Elizabeth’s persecution. Exodus 13:3.

The Progress of Divine Providence. (40 pages)
[epub mobi txt web via EEBO]
A sermon on Ezekiel 36:11.  The epub, mobi, and txt files are significantly cleaned up and formatted.

A Recovery From Apostasy. (96 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
A sermon on Luke 15:32.

The Right Way, or, A Direction for Obtaining Good Success in a Weighty Enterprise. (44 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
A sermon on Ezra 8:21, preached before Parliament on September 12, 1648.

The Sabbath’s Sanctification. (45 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
85 questions and answers about the Sabbath.

The Saint’s Sacrifice. (145 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
A commentary on Psalm 116.

The Saint’s Support. (46 pages)
[pdf via Still Waters Books]
A sermon preached to Parliament in 1642 on Nehemiah 5:19.
Thanks to Joseph K. for helping locate this!

A Short Catechism. (11 pages)
[pdf via Digital Puritan]

The Works of William Gouge. (750 pages)
[pdf via Puritan-Downloads]
Contains the following:

  1. The Whole Armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) – pdf, 294 pp.
    A French version is available here.
  2. A Treatise of Sin Against the Holy Ghost (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29) – pdf, 32 pp.
  3. Of Domestical Duties (Ephesians 5:21-6:9) – pdf, 411 pp.
    Eight treatises for householders:

    1. The Scriptural Basis for Domestical Duties – pdf, 103 pp.
      An exposition of Ephesians 5:21-6:9.
    2. Of Husband and Wife, mutual duties betwixt man and wife – pdf, 53 pp.
    3. Of Wives’ Particular Duties – pdf, 45 pp.
    4. Of Husbands’ Particular Duties – pdf, 42 pp.
    5. Duties of Children – pdf, 37 pp.
    6. Duties of Parents – pdf, 49 pp.
    7. Duties of Servants – pdf, 31 pp.
    8. Duties of Masters – pdf, 26 pp.
  4. Patterns of Prayers for the Several Members of a Family – pdf, 10 pp.

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5 thoughts on “William Gouge

  1. This is Mohammed Mussa
    I came to Christ from Islam . I am looking for the book by Williams, the complete armor of God in Audible. Do you think I can get this? I will pay for it
    May the Lord Jesus Christ bless your work

    • Hi Mohammed

      I don’t know if there is an audible version of this book by William Gouge.

      However, there are audible versions of a similar, better known book: “The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall.

      Free recordings of this book can be found on youtube, e.g.

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t3T_cUfSQWI

      Richard

  2. I’m looking for a copy of William Gouge’s “A Guide to Go to God” on the Lord’s Prayer. It was recommended by Stephen Nichols on his episode of “Five Minutes in Church History” in which he spotlighted five members of the Westminster Assembly.

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