Biography
Philip Doddridge was born in London on June 26, 1702. He was the youngest of twenty children, and only he and one sister survived to adulthood. His father, Daniel, was an oil merchant, and his mother, Monica, was the daughter of a minister who had fled from Bohemia for his faith. When Philip was born, the doctors thought he was dead and laid him aside. Someone noticed that he showed signs of life, and he was saved. His early days set the tone for a life that was always fragile.
His mother taught him the stories of the Bible, using the Dutch tiles around the fireplace to illustrate the lessons. She showed him how the pictures of the Old and New Testaments fit together. The faith she taught him was warm and real. By the time he was thirteen, both of his parents had died. He was left an orphan with little money. A guardian wasted what little remained. He was taken in by a Nonconformist minister who saw his promise.
He was offered the chance to study for the Church of England with support from a wealthy patron, the Duchess of Bedford. But he decided to follow his convictions and entered the Nonconformist ministry, the path his family had taken. He studied at an academy in Kibworth and then served briefly as a pastor. In 1729 he moved to Northampton, where he opened an academy to train young men for the ministry. The next year he also became pastor of the Castle Hill Meeting in the town, and he remained there until his death.
The academy was his great work. Over the twenty years that he ran it, he trained about two hundred students, many of whom became ministers and teachers. He taught them Hebrew, Greek, theology, science and pastoral work. He did not demand narrow loyalty to a particular party. He urged his students to think for themselves and to seek truth in Scripture. He treated them with kindness and kept up a close relationship with many of them after they left. Students said that he taught with a tender seriousness that shaped their lives.
He was a prolific writer. His best-known book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, appeared in 1745. It was written at the request of a friend, John Wesley's colleague, and set out the path of a soul from its first awakening to full growth in grace. It was read all over Britain and America. A young William Wilberforce read it while traveling in Europe in 1784 and was deeply moved. The book was one of the influences that led to his conversion and later to his long fight against the slave trade. Doddridge also wrote a large commentary on the New Testament, called The Family Expositor, and many sermons.
He also wrote hymns, usually to go with his sermons. Among them are "O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice" and "Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes." They were sung widely after his death. Their language is plain and warm and they express the joy of one who has found the Savior.
He was a man of great generosity. He took in orphans, helped the poor and spent more than he could afford on the needs of others. He was always short of money. He was also a man who could not say no. He took on duty after duty, preached often, taught daily, wrote late into the night and traveled to visit churches. He did not stop to care for his health. His wife, Mercy Maris, whom he had married in 1730, supported him in all of it and watched him exhaust himself.
By the age of forty-nine he had worn himself out. He developed tuberculosis and was advised to travel to a warm climate. Friends gave money to send him to Lisbon, Portugal. He went with hope but he grew weaker. He died there on October 26, 1751. He was buried in the British cemetery at Lisbon. His last words are said to have been of the joy of heaven.
He is remembered for the lives he touched, not for a great institution. His students, his books and his hymns carried on his work. He is a reminder that a servant of God must care for the body he has been given, and that the Lord can use a short life lived fully in His service.