Joseph Alleine

Joseph Alleine was born in 1634, in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. His family was devout, and his father was a respectable man who gave him a good education. He was a studious boy, with a serious mind. He went to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1649, when he was fifteen, and he became a scholar and then a chaplain of the college. He was a diligent student who rose before dawn to read and pray. He was drawn to the Puritan school of thought and to a devout life. He was a man who took his religion seriously and denied himself.

In 1655, he left Oxford to become the assistant to George Newton, the minister of the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Taunton, Somerset. It was a large and busy parish. He was an eager and energetic young preacher. He gave himself to his work with tireless zeal. He preached several times a week and spent hours each day in pastoral visits. He went from house to house, speaking to the people about their souls. He prayed with them and gave them books. He also worked among the poor and helped to relieve their needs. He rose at four in the morning and was often at his labors until late at night.

He married Theodosia Alleine, the daughter of Richard Alleine, a Puritan minister and a cousin. She was a woman of deep piety, and she shared his work. After his death, she wrote an account of his life. The two were happy together. They had no children.

In 1662, the Act of Uniformity was passed, and ministers were required to agree to everything in the Book of Common Prayer. Alleine, like about two thousand others, refused, and he was ejected from his post on St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1662. He did not stop preaching. He continued to hold meetings in private houses and in the open air. In May 1663, he was arrested for preaching, and he was imprisoned in the jail at Ilchester. He spent a year in prison. The conditions were harsh and unhealthy, and his health was ruined. He continued to preach to his fellow prisoners and to pray with them. He wrote letters to his flock in Taunton from prison.

After his release, he took up his work again, though he was weak. He was imprisoned a second time for a short period. He was often in poor health. He did not give up. He continued to preach in secret and to visit his people in the face of risk. His friends begged him to rest, but he said that he could not stop. His body gave way. He died on November 17, 1668, at the age of thirty-four. He was buried in the Taunton church.

His best-known work is An Alarm to the Unconverted, which was published in 1671, three years after his death, and later reissued under the title A Sure Guide to Heaven. It is a plain, earnest appeal to sinners to turn to Christ. It sets out what conversion is and how one may know it. It is a simple book, written in a direct style, and it went through many editions. It sold tens of thousands of copies in his time and was read by Whitefield, Spurgeon and others. It has been called one of the most effective evangelistic books ever written.

He was a young man who burned himself out for his people. Some say that he was too hard on himself and that he neglected his health. He was criticized by some of his contemporaries for the intensity of his zeal. Yet he left a lasting legacy. His life shows that a short life, given wholly to the work, may leave a book that speaks long after the author is gone.