The Pleasantness of a Religious Life
Matthew Henry
Must holiness and happiness pull in opposite directions?
Matthew Henry answers from Proverbs 3:17: “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” He argues that God’s ways are not merely right but fitted to the true good of the soul. Life with God offers a peace that appetite and favorable circumstances cannot secure.
Henry’s case is warm but never sentimental. He considers repentance, hard duty, self-denial, affliction, spiritual heaviness, and death without promising a life free from tears. Instead, he shows how grace reorders pleasure: ordinary mercies are received from a Father’s hand, burdens are committed to providence, unruly desires lose their mastery, and sorrow is held within the larger realities of Christ’s work and God’s promises.
Drawn from sermons and prepared near the close of Henry’s life, this compact work brings practical divinity into daily worship and conduct. Henry calls readers not merely to speak well of religion, but to taste its goodness and make it visible in cheerful obedience and practical love.
This complete reading edition includes Henry’s original preface and all seven chapters. Lightly modernized spelling and punctuation make the text more approachable while preserving its historic character, and brief translations clarify foreign passages Henry left unglossed.
For thoughtful Christians seeking substantial, Scripture-rich counsel, The Pleasantness of a Religious Life asks what truly satisfies—and points toward wisdom’s peaceful ways.
About Matthew Henry
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) was an English Nonconformist minister best known for his biblical Exposition. His long ministry in Chester, followed by his pastorate in Hackney, gave his writing its characteristic union of careful explanation and practical counsel. This book grew from six sermons and first appeared in 1714.
Read about Henry’s life and ministry →
About This Edition
A new introduction places Henry and the book in their historical setting. The complete text retains the original preface and seven chapters, with light modernization and brief translation help—not an abridgment or a scanned facsimile.
Questions About the Book
Is this the complete book?
Yes. This edition includes Henry’s original preface and all seven chapters, together with a new publisher’s introduction.
Has the language been modernized?
Spelling and punctuation are lightly modernized while Henry’s historic character and the King James wording of identified Scripture quotations are preserved. Brief editorial translations help with foreign passages Henry left unglossed.
Does Henry promise a life without sorrow?
No. Henry considers repentance, self-denial, affliction, spiritual heaviness, and death. His argument is that God’s ways offer peace within trouble, not exemption from it.