Regarding Thomas Goodwin

When I was a student at Trinity Evangelical School I was blessed to have Dr. Ray Ortlund, Jr. as a professor and in one of our Hebrew classes he handed out a sheet with the following quote. Goodwin's example is a helpful one for us as we seek to shepherd the poeple of God. Dr. Ortlund used the quote to stress the combination of learning and godliness.

Regarding Thomas Goodwin (d. 1658):
“He was a learned and a godly person, and it is difficult to say which of the two had the pre-eminence: they seemed to keep pace, and he was eminent in both. He was a great proficient in the study of divinity and in a knowledge of the holy scriptures. Like Ezra, he was a ready scribe in the law of the Lord; and, like Apollos, mighty in the scriptures. Though he was young, his attainments were very great; God gave unto him abundantly of his spirit. In prayer he had much of the spirit of devotion, and was filled with the breathings of the Holy Ghost. In preaching, he was most exemplary, both as a Christian and a minister. His preaching was admired by the godly and the learned, yet persons of the meanest capacity could understand him. He had such a winning method, that his sermons were never tedious, but the attention of his hearers seemed to be chained to his lips. He took great pains in his ministry, and was frequently engaged in preaching, in which he took great delight. The love of Christ, and the souls of the people, made frequent preaching his recreation and his pleasure.”
-Benjamin Brook, The Lives of the Puritans (London, 1813), III:301