Samuel Bolton (1606 – 15 October 1654) was an
English clergyman and scholar, a member of the
Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...
and Master of
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...
.
Life
Samuel Bolton was the son of William Bolton, of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
.
He was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1606, and educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1643 he was chosen one of the Westminster assembly of divines. He was successively minister of
St. Martin's, Ludgate Street, of
St. Saviour's, Southwark, and of
St. Andrew's, Holborn.
He was appointed, on the death of
Thomas Bainbrigg
Thomas Bainbrigg (Bainbridge) (died 1646) was an English college head.
Life
A northerner, he was possibly from Kirkby Lonsdale. He graduated B.A. at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1597, M.A. in 1600. John Peile, ''Biographical Register of Chris ...
in 1646, master of Christ's College, Cambridge, and served as
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University in 1651. He has been identified with the Samuel Bolton who, in 1649, attended
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (baptised 15 August 1590, died 9 March 1649), was an English courtier and politician executed by Parliament of England, Parliament after being captured fighting for the Cavaliers, Royalists during the Second Engli ...
on the scaffold. He died, after a long illness, on 15 October 1654.
Edmund Calamy preached his
funeral sermon A Christian funeral sermon is a formal religious oration or address given at a funeral ceremony, or sometimes a short time after, which may combine elements of eulogy with biographical comments and expository preaching. To qualify as a sermon, it sh ...
.
[
Bolton's publication ''The Sinfulness of Sin'' was originally delivered as a sermon to the ]House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...
on a solemn day of humiliation on 25 March 1646.
Quotes
*The law sends us to the gospel that we may be justified; and the gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified....The law sends us to the gospel for our justification; the gospel sends us to the law to frame our way of life.
Works
His books include:
*''A Tossed Ship making for a Safe Harbour; or a Word in Season to a Sinking Kingdom'' (1644)
*''The True Bounds of Christian Freedom'' (1645)
*''A Vindication of the Rights of the Law and the Liberties of Grace'' (1646)
*''The Arraignment of Error'' (1646)
*''The Sinfulnesse of Sin'' (1646)
*''The Guard of the Tree of Life'' (1647)
*''The Wedding Garment''
*Posthumously, ''The Dead Saint speaking to Saints and Sinners,'' (with a portrait prefixed).[
]
Family
He has been incorrectly identified both as a son and a brother of Robert Bolton (1572–1631);[ Robert Bolton's son Samuel was a clergyman who died in 1668.]
Notes
References
*
External links
monergism.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Samuel
1606 births
1654 deaths
17th-century English Anglican priests
Westminster Divines
Masters of Christ's College, Cambridge
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge