This paper was given to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Joseph Charles Philpot (1802-1869). In Philpot we see a remarkable meeting of two things; great scholarship and the sovereign grace of God. He graduated at Oxford with a first in Classics in 1824, and was a fellow of Worcester College 1827-1835. Whilst teaching in Ireland, just previous to taking up his Fellowship, God began to deal with his soul. Philpot writes, “… it was in 1827 …that eternal things were first laid upon my mind, and I was made to know myself as a poor, lost sinner, and a spirit of grace and supplication poured out upon my soul.” Over the following years he had a profound experience of the grace of God, which led eventually to him resigning his Fellowship, and seceding from the Church of England. Thereafter he threw in his lot with the afflicted and poor people of God (Zeph. 3:12). In this paper Henry Sant has endeavoured to trace out Philpot’s experience during this period.
