Samuel Eyles Pierce

The Rev. Samuel Eyles Pierce (23 June 1746 in Upottery, Devonshire, England – 10 May 1829 in Clapham, Surrey, England) was an English preacher, theologian, and Calvinist divine. Pierce was an evangelical church minister aligned with Calvinist Baptist theology. He wrote more than fifty books and many sermons. A shy boy, he was brought up in a Christian household and was educated by his maternal grandfather, master of the grammar school in Honiton. He was apprenticed to a trade he was discontented with and soon developed a sense of doom over numerous natural disasters during this period such as the Lisbon earthquake, the Sherborne comet of 1768, local fires and a lightning strike on Moorfields Tabernacle which killed a worshipper.

Career He was inspired to become a preacher after reading Anthony Horneck's The Crucified Jesus, and soon began reading St Augustine, Philip Doddridge's The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, sermons by James Hervey and George Whitfield. He gained experience in London February 1772 and August 1775, influenced by William Romaine. and gained some experience in Lincolnshire, Somerset, Sussex, Kent, and Cornwall.

After his itinerant ministry for the countess of Huntingdon was over, he became successful as an independent preacher in Truro in August 1783, responsible for a dramatic growth of the church from 36 to 90 people within a short period. and several other locations. In his absence from preaching in London, his sermons were read out loud by his congregants as his regular listeners were said to be unable to 'endure any other preacher'.

He died at Acre Lane, Clapham, England on 10 May 1829.

Partial works (1796) On the twenty-third psalm (1804) A treatise upon growth in grace (1805) A general account of the Book of psalms, with their use and place in the worship of God (1811) An essay towards an unfolding the glory of Christ, sermons. With Sermons of doctrinal, experimental and practical subjects (1822) An exposition of the fourteenth chapter of the prophet Hosea, the whole chapter sermonized (1827) Discourses designed as preparatory to the administration of the Lord's supper, with several sermons