Thomas Goodwin hailed from Norfolk, a bastion of Puritan resistance to persecution by the English crown. From early life he was spiritually sensitive and intellectually bright. At the age of twelve, he went up to Cambridge where he quickly encountered solid Puritans in the form of his tutors. Following a profound conversion experience at age 20 he ceased his dalliance with rhetorical style and Arminianism and became an earnest and dedicated preacher of biblical truth. His resistance to William Laud's attempts to stamp out Puritanism in the Church of England led to exile in the Netherlands, from which he was recalled by Parliament in 1641 and quickly rose to prominence in the Assembly, which he addressed nearly 360 times in the space of 17 months. After leaving his work at Westminster he became president of Magdalen College in Oxford and did much good there. His final years were spent as an Independent Church preacher in London.
Tomorrow: Robert Baillie.
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