About the Author

Man’s Chief End: God’s Glory was originally published in 1692 by Thomas Watson in a one-volume folio entitled A Body of Divinity. A gifted Puritan minister, he was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, pastored St. Stephen’s,Walbrook in the heart of London for sixteen years, and the Crosby House from 1672 until his sudden death in 1689 or 1690. He died in his prayer closet.

About This Booklet

While the phrase “for the glory of God” is often used, it is difficult to explain. As a young seminarian, I was asked what it meant to glorify God, and I answered by saying, “You know, to glorify God,” grasping at a tautology to avoid my lack of insight and knowledge. After that embarrassing situation, I was determined to find the clearest answer to that question that was available. I found it in Thomas Watson’s writings, which answers these four, vitally important questions:

What is God’s glory?
What does it mean to glorify God?
Why must we glorify God?
How do we glorify God?

Content Downlods

Thomas Watson has given to Christ’s church a strong biblical and God-centered foundation for understanding our obligation to glorify God in everything we do. Though Scripture tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), it also gives us a command: “You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body” (I Cor. 6:20). In John 17, Jesus prays, “Father, I desire that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold my glory…” (vs. 24). While we remain on earth and “see in a mirror dimly” (I Cor. 13:12), our sole purpose is to glorify Him. Upon the return of Christ or immediately at death, we will see Him “face to face” and behold Him in all of His glory. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne” (Mt. 25:31).

This 22-page e-booklet will not only satisfy many of your intellectual questions about God’s glory but will prepare you to glorify Him for the rest of your life. It is available here for your own personal use or for group study. The Jackson Institute authorizes you to download, print, or store copies on an electronic device for personal or group studies but prohibits any duplication and distribution for commercial purposes. For print copies, please contact the Jackson Institute.