With a submission for the approval of the Midnight Society, we call this story “Holy Fortitude, or Remedies Against Fear,” a sermon by Isaac Watts. This sermon is number 31 in The Works of Isaac Watts D.D. in Nine Volumes, volume 1, published by Edward Baines in Leeds, England in 1812. You can search that PDF on archive.org if you’d like to read along. Watts lived in the late 17th through mid 18th centuries in Britain. You may already know him as a hymn writer who penned classics like “Joy to the World,” “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” as well as about 750 other hymns! Though he was also a theologian and the kind of philosopher who focused on the study of logic (even writing multiple books on the subject), this “Godfather of English Hymnody” preached as pastor of Mark Lane Congregational Chapel. Today’s reading is one of his sermons, based primarily on 1 Corinthians 16:13.

Come back next time for a sermon by Lemuel Haynes.

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With an appreciated breeze, Saints Gone Before is proud to present part 9 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects. Today’s reading is the final entry in this series. Hannah More lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, living life as a writer, abolitionist, and so much more. We gave a brief biography of Ms. More and this text back in episode 60, but I also recommend Karen Swallow Prior’s biography Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More, published in 2014.

Come back next time for Isaac Watts' sermon, "Holy Fortitude, or Remedies Against Fear"!

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With a minty freshness, we are proud to present part 8 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects, one I’ve been looking forward to reading with you. It’s the essay On the Importance of Religion to the Female Character. Ms. More lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, living life as a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can listen to episode 60 for a very brief overview, or you can read Karen Swallow Prior’s biography Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More from 2014.

Come back next time for our final reading from Hannah More's essay collection!

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine, I got a love, and I know it’s all mine, oh, oh whoa, we are proud to present part 7 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects, and this one has a long title. It’s the essay Thoughts on the Cultivation of the Heart and Temper in the Education of Daughters. 

Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can listen to episode 60.

Come back next time to hear her essay On the Importance of Religion to the Female Character!

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With a little summer rest behind us, Saints Gone Before are proud to present part 6 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects, the essay On True and False Meekness. Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can listen to episode 60.

Come back next time to hear her essay Thoughts on the Cultivation of the Heart and Temper in the Education of Daughters!

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With the summer wind, come blowin’ in from across the sea, Saints Gone Before is proud to present part 5 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects, the essay on the danger of sentimental or romantic "connexions." Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can listen to episode 60.

Come back next time to hear Hannah More's essay On True and False Meekness.

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With the entreaty to never tell us the odds, Saints Gone Before get to present part 4 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects, the essay "On Envy." Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can check out episode 60. Get comfy, and try to stay content in your seat, as we read Hannah More’s essay, "On Envy."

Suggestions for our next reading? churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With questions about May showers vis a vis June flowers, Saints Gone Before is proud to present part 3 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects. Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can check out episode 60. If you’re listening to this in the car, stay alert to the road for crying out loud! But I hope you’re ready to listen to Hannah More’s essay, “Thoughts on Conversation.”

Requests for readings: churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman

With the good sense to know that cinnamon doesn’t belong in enchiladas, we’re proud to present part 2 of Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects. Ms. More was a writer, philosopher, poet, abolitionist, and evangelical moralist. For more information about Ms. More and this text, you can check out our previous episode (no. 60).

Requests for readings: churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

With a hope that carries us through the dark night of Good Friday, Saints Gone Before starts a new reading today. From our first female author for the show, the text is a compilation known as Essays on Various Subjects, all written by 18th century English writer and philanthropist Hannah More. Ms. More is known not only for her writing in general, but her influence on the influential of English culture in the late 18th and early 19th century. A good friend of William Wilberforce, she worked to end slavery in the United Kingdom. But the reading we’re about to begin deals with a variety of subjects. This collection of essays was designed for young ladies, according to More’s own subtitle on the text; and it gives this individual an added texture of evangelical moralist. We hope you enjoy today’s first episode, the introduction to Hannah More’s Essays on Various Subjects.

Requests for readings: churchhistorypodcast (at) gmail (dot) com, or @OralHistoryPod on Twitter, or "An Oral History of the Church" on Facebook.

Reader: Adam Christman

Saints Gone Before created by Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman

Produced and edited by Adam Christman