There are books you finish and soon forget. Then there are books that expose something in your own heart. For me, Thomas Watson’s The Art of Divine Contentment belongs in the second category. I listened to the audiobook, and I would recommend this work to anyone who professes to be a Christian, whether newly converted or a believer of many years.
What impressed me most was not simply that Watson could write or preach. It was that he lived in a world where the truths he taught were tested. When I think about the man behind this book, I think about the cost of following Christ.
The man behind the words
Watson was an English Puritan minister who lived through the upheavals of the seventeenth century. He was imprisoned in 1651, endured the deaths of several children, and was ejected from his ministry in 1662 for nonconformity. These are not little inconveniences. They are the kinds of trials I hope never to experience.
That matters to me. Watson was not describing Christian contentment as a rich man trying to justify an easy life. He understood hardship. He was not perfect, but his writings were shaped in the same world in which he had to trust God.
We can make beautiful things with technology today, even generate impressive pictures and words. But there is a difference between producing an appearance and possessing the reality behind it. Watson’s writing has a human weight to it because the doctrine was not merely theoretical.
Contentment does not mean laziness
Watson builds his teaching around Philippians 4:11, where Paul speaks of learning to be content in whatever state he is in. That is a hard lesson, especially for people who have grown accustomed to comfort.
I do not understand contentment to mean that a man should refuse to work or make no effort to improve his circumstances. A father should work to provide for his family. A person in poverty may seek a better situation. But he can do so without believing God owes him wealth.
Perhaps riches would be a danger to that man. Perhaps his circumstances will change; perhaps they will not. We are not given the secret reasons for every providence. We are commanded to trust God in them. That is what makes contentment so difficult and so necessary.
Watson also makes clear that contentment does not prevent a Christian from feeling his trouble or bringing it before God. It is not pretending hardship is pleasant. It is refusing to make favourable circumstances the condition of our trust in the Lord.
We have become comfortable with talking
One of my concerns about the modern Western church is how readily we can talk about Christianity while struggling to put it into practice. We can discuss doctrine, preaching, worship, and what is wrong with the culture. Yet when generosity, perseverance, courage, or charity toward a fellow believer demands something of us, what happens then?
I am concerned about how quickly ordinary inconvenience becomes an occasion for complaining. An everyday car repair bill or a minor illness is not the same thing as imprisonment, persecution, or the death of a child. We have inherited comforts through the labour and sacrifice of earlier generations, and I do not think we appreciate them as we should.
We have also neglected history. The Bible itself comes to us through people familiar with war, persecution, exile, imprisonment, and loss. Paul’s letters were not written from a world without hardship. We would do well to remember that before imagining Christian faithfulness should cost us nothing.
Christian leaders, no less than ordinary believers, should be measured not only by what they say but by whether their lives bear the fruit of what they profess. Sound words are important. So is obedience.
The cost of being used by God
Christ told His followers to count the cost (Luke 14:27–28). Paul was told how much he must suffer for Christ’s name (Acts 9:16). And our Lord taught that to whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). I believe that men whom God uses in extraordinary ways have often borne extraordinary burdens. Some have suffered far more than others, and that cost is not something to romanticise.
Thomas Watson reminds me that Christian faith is not a Sunday performance. It is faith that must endure when life becomes hard. That does not make suffering pleasant, nor does it tell us everything about why God allows it. But following Christ was never presented as a promise of an easy life.
And what about my own life?
It would be very easy for me to point at the church and complain about other Christians. But this book did not leave me feeling superior. Quite the opposite. I can accuse others of talking without acting while seeing the same failure in myself. I know how often I can speak about God’s providence and still struggle to be content with what He has given me.
Would my faith endure the storms that men like Watson endured? I would like to say yes. But when I examine my own weakness, I cannot say that confidently.
That admission is one of the reasons I value this book. Watson’s life makes me examine my own—not merely my opinions about everyone else. I do not want a Christianity that knows the words but lacks the heart.
Watson’s writing and who should read it
I thoroughly enjoyed Watson’s writing. There is a seriousness and substance to it that I appreciate in older Christian authors. He takes one verse of Scripture and applies it with care. This is not a book that requires years of theological education before it can benefit you. Its subject is practical, and it reaches every stage of the Christian life.
I had one or two small reservations while listening, but they were minor enough that I cannot now recall the details. I will not invent objections simply to make a review appear balanced. My overall impression was overwhelmingly positive.
New Christians should read it. Older Christians should read it. Those who are struggling should read it, and those enjoying a season of comfort should read it too. Perhaps especially those of us who think we already understand what contentment means.
My final verdict: 10 out of 10
What I want readers to remember is that Thomas Watson was not teaching contentment because his life was perfect. He endured things I would not want to endure. God has used faithful men through history, and that calling has often come at a tremendous cost.
When I look at Watson, I do not simply want to admire a man from the past. I want to ask whether the same truths he preached are changing me. His example points beyond himself to the God who sustained him.
I give The Art of Divine Contentment 10 out of 10. I recommend it without hesitation. It is a book to hear, read, think about, and—above all—put into practice.
Watson’s text is available through Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Historical and textual references
The biographical details above were checked against the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Watson’s exposition and treatment of Philippians 4:11 can be read in the full text. The personal reflections and rating are the reviewer’s own.
Editorial note: This review was developed from a detailed spoken-style interview with the reviewer and edited for readability. Historical claims were checked separately. It is a personal response to the book, not a claim that every interpretation expressed here is a direct quotation from Watson.