Samuel Clarke or Clark (1626–1701) was an English

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

clergyman known as an assiduous annotator of the Bible.

Life

He was the eldest son of Samuel Clarke (1599–1683), and was born at

Shotwick Shotwick is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Puddington, on the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village ...

, near

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, on 12 November 1626. He was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

; and was appointed fellow of

Pembroke Hall Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, KG, KB, FRS (16025 May 1671) was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior. Early life He was the eldest son of Henry Mo ...

on 13 March 1644.. Refusing to take the

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

of fidelity to the Commonwealth, exacted in April 1649, he was deprived of his fellowship in 1651 (after 3 April). At the Restoration he held the rectory of

Grendon Underwood Grendon Underwood is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England, near the border with Oxfordshire. The village sits between Woodham and Edgcott, near the Roman road Akeman Street (now part of the A41), and around north-west o ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, from which he was ejected after the

Uniformity Act of 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Ch.2 c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayers, adm ...

. The son was more advanced than his father in his nonconformity. After a sojourn at

Upper Winchendon Upper Winchendon or Over Winchendon is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale District of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about south of Waddesdon and west of Aylesbury. A mid-air collision on 17 November 2017 between a plane and a ...

, Buckinghamshire, the seat of

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (18 April 1613 – 4 February 1696) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wife ...

, he settled at

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, in the same county. There he gathered a congregation, originally presbyterian, by then independent. He assisted in the ordinations which kept up the succession of nonconformist ministers. Clarke died at High Wycombe on 24 February 1701. Samuel Clarke (1684–1750) of the ''Scripture Promises'' was his grandson.

Works

His theology was of the Baxterian type. The work of his life was his annotated edition of the Bible, already planned by him as an undergraduate; the notes are brief. The work had the approval of John Owen, Richard Baxter,

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of D ...

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...

, and

William Cleaver William Cleaver (1742–1815) was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and bishop of three sees. Life He was the eldest son of the Rev. William Cleaver, who wa ...

. He published, besides separate sermons: * ‘The Old and New Testaments, with Annotations and Parallel Scriptures,’ &c. 1690, fol., reprinted 1760, and Glasgow, 1765; in Welsh, 1813. * ‘An Abridgement of the Historical Parts of the Old and New Testament,’ 1690. * ‘A Survey of the Bible; or an Analytical Account of the Holy Scriptures by chapter and verse,’ &c., 1693 (intended as a supplement to the ‘Annotations’). * ‘A Brief Concordance,’ &c. 1696. * ‘Of Scandal’ (a treatise on the limits of obedience to human authority). * ‘An Exercitation concerning the original of the Chapters and Verses in the Bible, wherein the divine authority of the Points in the Hebrew text is clearly proved,’ &c., 1698. * ‘Scripture-Justification,’ &c., 1698, (written ‘almost twenty years’ before; Baxter had expressed a wish for its publication, but it was sent to press by

John Humfrey John Humfrey (1621–1719) was an English clergyman, an ejected minister from 1662 and controversialist active in the Presbyterian cause. Life He graduated B.A from Pembroke College, Oxford in 1641, and M.A. in 1647. He studied in Oxford during th ...

, to whom Clarke had lent the manuscript on being asked for his opinion of Humfrey's ‘Righteousness of God,’ 1697). * ‘The Divine Authority of the Scriptures asserted,’ &c., 1699, (in reply to Richard Simon and others; Clarke extends inspiration to the verse divisions as well as to the points in the Old Testament).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Samuel English ministers refusing the engagement of 1649 Ejected English ministers of 1662 Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge 1626 births 1701 deaths