John James Part 2

Pontrhydyrun

In the preceding February he had accepted the pressing invitation of the then newly formed church near Pontrhydyrun or Pont-rhyd-yr-ynn, in Monmouthshire. At the time the church had barely begun and had only eight members, all of them being members of the same family, the Conways, who had previously belonged to the Abergavenny church. In the latter end of March, 1817, James moved there with his family. George Conway (1756-1822) had established a tin plate works in the area in 1802 and had been able to begin a Sunday School and eventually to form a church, the building being on ground provided by George's eldest son William Conway (1776-1840). James received the warmest of Christian welcomes there from the Conway family.

Being in a border county, he was now required to conduct his ministry in English as well as in Welsh. His ministry in that place was greatly blessed and the means of a considerable reviving of the Baptist interest in that part of the world. His labours at Pontrhydyrun appear to have been even more fruitful than at Aberystwyth. Many additions were soon made to the Sunday School and to the church, and it was soon necessary to enlarge the chapel to accommodate those attending. The number of additions to the church, through baptism, in James' time was 63. Further, in other places in the neighbourhood, he baptised another 21. Thus God blessed his labours in that place.

The death of his only son, mentioned above, in September, 1826, however, greatly affected his health and that of the remaining family. “It shook his whole frame,” it is said “and brought severe attacks of illness upon both Mrs James and himself which lasted for a considerable time.” This and other circumstances beyond his control made him desire to leave his situation; and having received an invitation to the neighbouring county of Glamorganshire, he tendered his resignation to the brothers in Pontrhydyrun, having served in the pastorate there a little over ten years.

Bridgend

In May, 1827, he removed, together with his wife and two daughters, the thirty miles or so south west to Bridgend. The church he came to at that time had been formed in 1789 and had a new building two years before James came but was in a very low state, few in number and mostly elderly. They were also widely scattered, church members living in nine different parishes.

James determined to endeavour to bring about changes for the good in the church. About this time he writes,

We must first get a revival in the church, then we shall surely prosper with the ministry. I beseech the Lord to send now prosperity.

This prayer was to some extent answered, as during his first year among them he baptised 19, and the congregation greatly increased, so that it became necessary to enlarge this chapel also. That was done in 1828, at a cost of £500 (over £40,000 today).* James put a great deal of effort into paying off the debt contracted. In this connection he visited the major towns of Wales and many in England too. He was successful in his undertaking, for by 1832 he and the congregation were completely free from debt.

James also did a great deal of work in neighbouring districts. His pattern was to preach three times on a Sunday and nearly every week night. Interest in the countryside being very great, it was decided to build another chapel in nearby Pyle. That was paid for notably by the end of 1838.

His fund raising excursions gave him many opportunities to form friendships that in many cases lasted unbroken until his death. On these tours many churches, in England and in Wales, became greatly attached to him. This meant that while in Bridgend he received many pressing invitations to preach elsewhere. If he had accepted them, it would have been to his advantage financially but there was a close bond with the Bridgend people and he refused to move again.

Organisations and societies

Something should be said about James's connections with various organisations, most of them being groups among the Baptists. He proved to be a keen and loyal advocate of these institiutions. Besides being secretary to the County Association, he was for many years the official correspondent of the district for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Then when the Bible Translation Society was formed by the Baptists in 1843 he felt duty bound to transfer allegiances. The BTS, now subsumed under the Baptist Missionary Society advocated translating New Testament references to baptism with words meaning to immerse rather than leaving them untranslated and simply transliterating them as almost all English Bibles do.

James also held posts with the Bath Aged and Infirm Ministers' Society, founded in 1817, the Baptist Missionary Society, the Baptist Union, founded in 1832, the Widows Fund, etc.

The importance of educating men for the ministry was a matter close to his heart and he was especially interested in the work in Pontypool, which had begun there in 1836 when it had transferred from Abergavenny.

James himself had not had a proper formal theological education before entering the ministry, something which he very much regretted, as can be seen from this extract from his diary

I lament my want of English education, it has caused me much labour, etc, as if it were up-hill work all my days. Yet the Lord condescended to bless my humble endeavours.

In 1841 he travelled to London and to other parts of England, as an advocate of the Pontypool College. To the very end he continued to be a supporter in every way that he could. The 1841 journey involved his being away from home in some quite severe weather. It seems likely that it was daily exposure to the elements at this time that left him with a bad cold that clung to him the rest of his days. This, combined with the asthma that had plagued him from his youth, meant that he was unable to leave Bridgend from that time on.

The final year of his life was a particularly trying one. He faced it, however, with calm and good cheer and still managed, somehow, to preach quite regularly. In the last three years of his life he preached some 326 sermons, despite infirmity of body that meant it was an effort for him to walk even the short distance from his house to the pulpit.

Writings

James was the author of several works in Welsh. His first work was apparently a sermon on election, published in 1808 at the request of the quarterly meeting before which it was preached. Its original title was

Etholedigaeth wedi ei hystyried mewn pregeth, yr hon a bregethwyd mewn cyfarfod chwarterol yn Aberteifi, Chwefror 17, 1807. It was published in Carmarthen by J. Evans and was 24 pages long.

In 1811 he published a selection of Welsh hymns, including some thirty of his own. He also wrote three of the Glamorganshire association letters “on plain practical subjects, through each of which we trace a fine vein of piety”.

That same year he translated and published a 28 page article on Jewish believers in London and beyond

Hanes cymdeithas Llundain er taeniad Cristionogaeth ymhlith yr Iuddewon ynghyd a chyflwr y cyfryw yn gyffredinol drwy'r byd. Cyf gan John James-Aberystwyth.

James also wrote regularly to the Welsh periodicals of the day, from 1819 until the time when he was no longer able to lift a pen. Further, he wrote articles in English for the Baptist Magazine (founded 1809) the Reporter (founded 1832) and the Revivalist (founded 1836) and other newspapers. In 1835, for example, he wrote a memoir of the late Rev John Roberts of Cowbridge (1787-1835), which appeared in the Baptist Magazine.

Death and burial

On the Lord's day, January 30, 1848, he breathed his last, being in his seventy-first year. He had been a Baptist 52 years, a minister 49, an ordained one for 45. In this period he must have preached some 12,000 sermons and baptised 673 people. His daughter, Mrs Eliza Davies Marks (1808-1861), was with him in his final days and sought to preserve memories of him from that time.

On the Thursday previous to his death, his friend and neighbour, a Mr Lewis, called to see him, and found him fast ripening for heaven. He appeared to be aware that he would soon be with the Lord forever. When he had addressed Lewis with many words of counsel and consolation, he said, “Give my regards to your dear mother,” who was a member in the church, then aged 83. “And tell her,” he added, “that I shall never again see her this side of Jordan, but we shall soon meet in heaven, 'Then will we sing more sweet, more loud, And Christ shall be our song.'” And so it was. Mrs Lewis survived him only a very short time.

On the following Saturday morning, his daughter went to his room and found him awake, looking contented and happy. She asked if he had enjoyed a little sleep and ease since her last visit. He answered,

Yes, my child, and more, I have also enjoyed much rich communion with God, who was pleased to reveal himself again and again to his undutiful servant in his affliction. Glory! glory! glory! I will again say, glory be for ever unto him.

He also said that it was good for him to have been thrown into the furnace of affliction, for that in it and through it he had had a glimpse of the heavenly Canaan, and a foretaste of its happiness.

The following Sunday morning he repeated several verses of Scripture, together with several verses from different hymns. The Scriptures included this one from Revelation 7:14.

These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

After quoting this he lifted his voice in an ecstasy and said, in the words of William Cowper,

Ere since by faith I saw the stream,
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming lore has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

The afternoon of that day saw an evident change and it was clear that his time was short. He was now scarcely able to say anything audible. However, in a final effort, he raised his hand, stretched it toward his daughter, exclaiming, "All is right! All is right!" Soon after that he was dead.

The following Friday, February 4, his remains were interred in the burial ground next to the chapel. A large number were present on that occasion, including ministers from various denominations.

Those who took part in the funeral included William Jones (1790-1855), Bethany, Cardiff; David Jones (1808-1854), Tabernacle, Cardiff; the blind preacher Dr Daniel Davies (1797-1876) then at Swansea; John Evans of Brecon and Jabez Lawrence (1796-1859) of Llantwit Major.

The following Sunday Mr D Jones spoke from Philippians 1:21-23. This same sermon was repeated at the next Glamorganshire Association. In the chapel where he had long laboured a marble tablet was erected, with the following inscription

IN MEMORY OF THE REV. JOHN JAMES,

BORN AT ABERYSTW1TH, AUGUST, 1777.

BAPTIZED, MARCH, 1790.

COMMENCED PREACHING, 1799.

ORDAINED AT ABERYSTWITH, JULY, 1803.

REMOVED TO PONTRHYDYRUN, MARCH, 1817.

TO BRIDGEND, MAY, 1827.

DIED, JANUARY 30th, 1848.

Publications about the author:

Evans, John : Cofiant .... John James (1777-1848) Penybont ar Ogwr-Caerdydd : W. Owen, 1849, 84 t.

Humphreys, B: John James-SG, 1941 t. 8-9 NLW

NLW MS 692 contains sermons and memoranda in his hand.

Sources:

John Evans Cofiant y diweddar Barch. John James, gweinidog y Bedyddwyr yn Mhenybont-ar-Ogwy, ac ysgrifenydd y gymanfa y perthynai iddi dros ugain mlynedd yn cynwys hanes ei fywyd, ei lafur, ei lwyddiant, ei nodweddiadau, ei farwolaeth, &c., ynghyd â rhai o'i bregethau, Cardiff, 1849

Hanes y Bedyddwyr yn Nghymru, 1893–1907, iii, 391, 399

J. Ifano Jones A history of printing and printers in Wales to 1810, and of successive and related printers to 1923, 1925, 202-4

John James Part 1

This article first appeared in In Writing

Part One

In the history of the Particular Baptist movement in Wales there are undoubtedly many forgotten heroes who served long and served well. One such is a certain John James who served for nearly half a century in three different pastorates in Wales.

James was born and first ministered in the mid-Wales seaside town of Aberystwyth, in Cardiganshire. Born on August 29, 1777, he was the eldest of eight children. His grandfather, James David John, had been a tenant farmer in Llanychaearn, a little south of Aberystwyth. His parents, John and Elizabeth (nee Jones), were poor people and their circumstances were not helped by the father's proclivity to drink.

Neither parent was godly and this James lamented in later life, once saying,

Had I been religiously instructed when young, I should not have committed many of the sins of my youth, especially that of scoffing at the people of God, which since has caused me many mournful seasons.

He was at first, it seems, very much given to mocking God's people. On more than one occasion, when a baptism by immersion was taking place in the open air, he would gather companions and arrange to interrupt the service.

It was the death of his mother that God used to bring him to serious reflection on the state of his soul and to soften him in his prejudice against God's people and their ways. “Having heard Mr Evans the baptist minister preach at my mother's funeral,” he said “from the words, Therefore be ye also ready, etc, I never afterwards ridiculed the people of God.”

He soon came under conviction of sin and outward changes began to be observed in him. He would often seek out a secret place where he could pour out his soul to God in prayer. In due time, having often sat under faithful public ministry, he resolved to seek membership in the Baptist church in Aberystwyth, then pastored by Thomas Evans (d 1801).

Baptism

James was baptised on the Lord's day, March 27, 1796. He was 18 years old. The baptism took place in the River Teifi at Pontceri, near Newcastle Emlyn. On this matter, he wrote,

My experience at the time was happy, and if ever my soul had communion with God it was enjoyed in the river, in the burial by baptism. My Saviour was in Jordan, the heavens were opened, and the command of Christ was most explicit before me.

It is perhaps worth noting that Thomas Evans, who baptised him, said to others at the time that he had “on that day baptised a prophet” or “a preacher”. It is not known why Evans spoke in the way that he did but that is just what happened. James went on to enjoy a long and successful life as a minister.

James was apparently apprenticed as a shoemaker but not long after his baptism his suitability for the ministry began to become clear. Because of his apparent abilities he was encouraged to exercise his gift but he was diffident and a full three years elapsed before he preached for the first time.

Early ministry

His first sermon in the church meeting was from the words, The Lord is my Shepherd. The date was September 27, 1799. He was 22. When he began to minister he did so under many disadvantages. However, always being of a resolute mind, he steadily pursued his course and entered into a covenant with God not to relinquish the Christian ministry. He wrote

My language, under those discouragements, was similar to that of Jacob, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God.

He preached both in Aberystwyth itself and in the surrounding villages. The Aberystwyth church had branches in Penrhyncoch, Talybont, Llanrhystyd and Machynlleth. He preached on a regular basis for about four years in all these places and was then set apart for the work of the ministry full time.

In 1801, his pastor, Thomas Evans, a faithful and devoted servant of God and a great friend and support to James, died. This left the church without a minister for some time. During this period the Aberystwyth pulpit and the branches elsewhere were supplied by James and his friend Samuel Breeze (1772-1812), a school master at Penrhyncoch, originally from Dolau near Llandrindod Wells. When the sacraments were administered, a neighbouring ordained minister would be employed.

There is evidence that James spent some time studying under Evan Jones (1777-1819) in Cardigan. Jones had studied at the Bristol Academy under John Ryland (1753-1825) who spoke of him in the highest terms. Jones was an intelligent man and a good Calvinist but he battled with the lure of alcohol.

In 1802, James, still working as an evangelist, was eager to supplement his preparations for the ministry further. Taking the advice of friends, he approached the Bristol Academy, and his application was accepted. He was promised a place at the next opportunity. However, the Aberystwyth church insisted on ordaining him, together with Breeze, as co-pastor and to this he reluctantly agreed.

Minister in Aberystwyth

Their ordination took place in June or July, 1803. The preachers were Zecharias Thomas (1727-1816) from Llanycrwys near Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire and David Saunders (d 1812) of Aberduar near Llanybydder, also in Carmarthen.

James and Breeze went on to successfully labour in this sphere for a total of nine years. At the end of this time, in March 1812, Breeze moved on to Newcastle Emlyn. During the whole of the time they were together in Aberystwyth apparently the greatest harmony prevailed. In a note written by James on hearing of the sudden death of Breeze shortly after his removal, he exclaims,

But O! Samuel Breeze! O Samuel! Samuel is dead! is dead! yea, is dead! Great is my sorrow, trouble, and mourning, after him. I think whilst I live I shall never meet a person with whom I can better live than Samuel Breeze.

Marriage

On September 28, 1804, James married. His wife was Catherine Davies, a member of the church under his care. It was a happy match and a great source of comfort to him, especially when he was in his old age. In his diaries he apparently refers frequently and repeatedly to the blessing it was to have such a wife. She outlived him by some years.

They had three children, one son and two daughters, who were brought up in the Lord. Their son died in London in 1826, to the great grief of the whole family. His daughters married and lived in the Bridgend area where he himself came finally to minister.

James remained the preacher at the church in Aberystwyth for some eighteen years altogether, four years as an assistant, nine years as co-pastor with Breeze and five years as sole pastor, after Breeze's departure. During that final period his labours were extensively blessed by the Lord. The additions made to the church in those years clearly show that. From the time that he was publicly recognised as pastor until his departure from Aberystwyth, he baptised no fewer than 185 people.

Work as a publisher

While training for the ministry, James had also spent time learning bookbinding from fellow Baptist schoolmaster and lay preacher, William Turnor. No doubt in order to supplement his income, in 1808 James opened a bookshop in Aberystwyth. The following year he also established a publishing business, based at his house in Bridge Street. This was the town's first printing press. Printing was not James' area of expertise but he went into partnership with an elder from Tabernacle, the Calvinistic Methodist Church, Samuel Williams (1782-1820), who did know much more about the subject. However, through no fault of his own, the business was unsuccessful and in September 1812 he sold out to Williams and concentrated once again on books and bookbinding.

Commenting on the period that followed, he wrote

It was well for me that the Lord had provided friends for me in London, Birmingham, etc, in the years 1814-1816, to keep me from sinking.

His pastoral labours in Aberystwyth and district formed only a small part of his extensive ministry at this time. He took repeated tours through North Wales and was the means of strengthening the scattered churches in what was then a neglected part of the country. His work was long remembered. His visits to London and especially to Liverpool were also greatly blessed by the Lord. All these efforts were long remembered by those who benefited.

Despite his zeal and success, he found himself in a position where it was necessary, nevertheless, to leave his home town and this he did in 1817. It is clear, however, that he did so reluctantly and not without some difficulty. In January, 1817, he expresses his feelings thus,

I am greatly aided in preaching, and much powerful influence accompanies the ministry. My mind and that of the congregation are greatly perplexed and grieved in thinking of my leaving them.

Nevertheless, he preached a farewell sermon on Lord's day, March 17, 1817, to an overflowing audience, estimated to be about a thousand. Many tears were shed. His text at that time was, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you. Amen. Of that service he writes, “O heavy meeting, being obliged to preach a farewell sermon!”

Prayers Before Lectures

This article first appeared in In Writing

When we have Library lectures it is our usual pattern to pray before and after the lecture. It is a pattern that is common enough and has been the practice in theological colleges and seminaries down the years as far back as Mediaeval times.

Luther would always begin with prayer, it seems. Calvin's lectures appear to have begun with a set prayer.

May the Lord grant us so to study the heavenly mysteries of his wisdom that we may progress in true godliness, to his glory and our edification.

At the end of the lecture he would then pray extemporaneously. Many of these prayers are in print and are worth looking at. They usually follow a fixed shape. Each one begins Da, Omnipotens Deus (Give Almighty God) then makes a petition arising, sometimes tenuously, out of the lecture, before concluding with an eschatological reference: "so that at last we may be gathered into your heavenly kingdom" or "until at last you gather us into that glory which was won for us by the blood of your only begotten Son." As Donald McKim observes, the emphasis on grace and eschatology in these prayers is typical of Calvin.

Although it is the norm, when Andrew Bonar and Robert Murray M'Cheyne were in Berlin in 1839 as part of their fact finding tour concerning the Jews, they took opportunity to go and hear church historian Joachim Neander lecture. One of the things that struck them about it was the lack of prayer. Not how it was in the College in Edinburgh. They wrote of Neander

In the midst of his dissertation the bell rang, and immediately he closed his papers, scarcely finishing the sentence, bowed to the students, and was the first to leave the classroom. There is no prayer either at the commencement or close, for this would be considered Pietism.

Neander, a Jew by birth, was a good Lutheran but no Pietist. Hence no prayer. Neander is unusual. There have been lecturers who will ask a student to pray for example but most evangelicals will follow the traditional pattern. There is a story that in one lecture room where it was the lecturer's practice to ask a student to pray, a student had fallen asleep and when his neighbour nudged him and said “he's asked you to pray”, the poor student stood and prayed - in the middle of the lecture!

Most prayers before and after lectures are unremarkable. Professor John Murray of Westminster Seminary is perhaps the exception. Edmund Clowney wrote that

All who heard John Murray’s classroom lectures will remember his prayers that began the lecture hour.

Clowney had hoped that recordings of some may have survived but no example has been found. His guess is that Murray himself would have seen to it that no recording of a prayer would have been made. Clowney adds that

when he prayed those prayers, he stood before the throne not before a class. Even when delivering lectures he may have delivered many times before, he would prepare himself afresh. From his opening words of prayer, students knew that the work before them was more than the exercise of a classroom.

‘Fear of God dominated Professor Murray’s classroom,' recalled Walter Chantry. ‘Each period began with prayer from the professor’s lips which brought all into the presence of an awesome God.'

Neander's attitude and that of Murray contrasts with the practice of some 19th century lecturers who were quite happy to have their classroom prayers printed with their published lectures. Examples include the Anglicans Thomas Wade Smith (On the catechism, confirmation & communion services) and Luke Booker (The Lord's Prayer). Perhaps it was an Anglican thing.

Probably the most interesting anecdote with regard to classroom prayers concerns the eccentric Scot John Duncan, one time lecturer in Hebrew at New College, Edinburgh. Apparently, on at least one occasion his prayer at the opening of his class prolonged itself for the whole hour and it was only the ringing of the bell at the end of the hour that woke him to a realisation of what he had done. That may sound incredible but it was reported by eye witnesses including James Duff McCulloch, a student of Duncan's and later Principal of the Free Church College, Edinburgh. It was not uncommon for Duncan to be inordinately long in public prayer. Interestingly, his explanation, which was not pleaded as a mitigation or an excuse, was this "I fear I have been very long today; but when one thinks he has got in, it is very difficult to get out again!".

Carey Conference 2019 (News Item)

Dr Letham

This appeared in Evangelical Times

Some people may consider early January a bad time for a conference but for scores of years a group of men (and more recently women too) have gathered at the Hayes Conference, Swanwick, Derbyshire, for 48 hours or so of conference. Most of the hundred or so men present are Reformed Baptist ministers.

The main subject this year was the difficult but vital subject of the Trinity. It was good to have Dr Robert Letham with us again to faithfully guide us over the terrain. This was supplemented by papers from Jonathan Worsley (worship), David Campbell (holiness), Robert Strivens (Synod of Dort), Henry Dixon (prayer in the Spirit) and Jonathan Bayes (zeal for God's glory). The women's track was led by Ann Benton, mining rich veins in Proverbs. An excellent question and answer session covered all manner of subjects with contributions from the floor as well as speakers. It is hard to recall such a lively and worthwhile such session.

Highlights otherwise were the paper on holiness which stood out as it focussed on the holiness of Jesus and made you want to be holy rather than beating you up for not being holy. The first paper on the Trinity and the one on Dort also stood out. It would be worthwhile to seek out the recordings when available. A big thank you to the organisers and speakers and all who were present. It was good to chat informally and pick up news of the gospel's advance in various places.

It is planned to meet again, January 7-9, 2020 when it is hoped that the main speaker will be US pastor and seminary professor Jeffery Smith.

Five Things All Parents Should know

This Article First Appeared in Reformation Today

As the pastor of a Baptist church, I do not baptise babies but we do give thanks for children and dedicate them to the Lord. This is normally done in the course of regular worship but due to the pandemic and other factors there was recently a Saturday morning dedication at church for a couple who are church members with two young daughters.

In the course of that meeting opportunity was taken to explain a few things, with the hope that it would be useful to the girls' mother and father and any other parents wanting to know what the Bible says about parenthood.

It was pointed out that although there are no dedication services in the Bible, the idea of dedication from birth is there. Samson in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New were both devoted to God from birth. Both were born to women who had previously been barren. A third such woman is Hannah, who became Samuel's mother. In 1 Samuel 1:27, 28 she says I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. Dedication perhaps has more of an Old Testament feel in some ways but all should be well as long as we remember Proverbs 20:25, It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one's vows.

The rest of the time was spent underlining five truths all parents should know, five things best highlighted by asking questions.

To whom do all children belong?

It is important to be clear on this. From time to time nation states will give the impression that all babies born within their borders belong to them and so they can make certain decisions about them, regardless of the legal parents. But no child belongs to the state nor to the church either for that matter. Strictly speaking, they do not belong to the parents either.

So whose children are they? Psalm 127:3 states Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. All children are God's children. Of course, that is not to say that who your parents are is unimportant. It is important, as will be noted.

However, as most Christians realise and acknowledge, all children belong to God. Parents simply have the wonderful privilege of bringing them up. If God has chosen you to be a parent that is something for which to be very thankful. One day sooner than you think your children will be grown up and living their own lives. No parents are perfect but, hopefully, when they do grow up your children will be very thankful for all that you have done for them.

What is Jesus' attitude towards children?

There is a wonderful passage in Matthew 19:13-15. It says

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

It is important to remember that in those days life expectancy was low and many children died young. In those days children were nobodies. So when people wanted to bring their children to Jesus for him to touch them and pray for them, understandably the disciples were not keen, What a waste of time, they felt. But Jesus takes the opposite view “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,” he says “for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Here he is thinking not of the innocence of children but of their weakness, If anyone is going to come to God, they must come fully aware of their weakness. And so although some may mock church services that are all about children and say, what a waste of time, Jesus is clear, he loves children and wants them to come to him. Children ought to know that Jesus loves them and wants them to come to him.

What are the four ways in which all children should grow?

Luke 2:52 says of Jesus that he grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. It is important to realise that Jesus did not come into this world fully grown. He was never a baby who could talk and do amazing things, despite what some legends suggest. No, when he was born he was just like any other baby – weak, helpless, unable to do anything for himself. However, he grew – physically and intellectually. He learned to speak and think and read and write. Also, Luke tells us, he grew in favour with God and man. He was increasingly popular with people. They liked to have him round. God the Father always loved him, of course, but as he grew and showed his willingness to submit to God and obey him, the Father loved him more and more.

Think of children you know. They are growing physically – you can see that. In most cases everything is done to help them in that way. Most parents do what they can to give their children an education too. It is important, however, that parents focus on children becoming wise. Simply stuffing their heads with facts can be counter-productive. I grew up a bit like that – Sir Walter Raleigh and potatoes, Sir Christopher Wren and St Paul's, Nelson and Trafalgar – my mother expected you to know such things. Yes, parents want their children to get good marks in school but what matters more is that they become wise. Knowledge puffs you up but if you are wise, so much the better. The Bible is full of wisdom.

And then you want children to get on with people and be useful in society, not to be oddballs. We need people like that. Further, parents must pray and do all that they can to lead their children in the right direction with regard to God. Pray that they will grow in favour with God. Nothing can do them better.

What must parents do and not do for their children?

The work of parents is summarised in Ephesians 6:4. Positively, it says Fathers, ... bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. It is fathers Paul addresses on this matter. Mothers and fathers are responsible but fathers must take the lead. Parents need to instruct their children. They need to tell them what the Bible says and teach them right from wrong and so on. And they need to train them. Parents soon learn that their children are not good automatically. It has to be worked at. Discipline is important.

And do not miss the negatives. Do not exasperate your children or provoke them. Do not make them angry. Or as he puts it in Colossians 3:21, written about the same time, Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. It is easy to make their lives hard. Do not do that. They are kids remember. They should enjoy growing up as far as that is possible. They will face plenty of heartache soon enough.

Are children with Christian parents special?

Yes, they are. No-one is normally born a Christian. We are all born sinners. Some people cannot accept the idea that children are sinners but sadly they are. Like us all, they are sinners twice over. They are sinners first in Adam. All children descend from Adam and so are born sinners, guilty in him. But then, as parents quickly discover, they are sinners in their own right too. They are quite capable of coming up with their own ways of sinning. Nevertheless, if they have parents who are Christians, then they have a tremendous privilege.

There are children growing up in this world whose parents have never heard the name of Jesus. They are at a severe disadvantage. Even in this country there are children growing up who are severely disadvantaged. Yes, their parents say that they are not biased and want to let their children make up their own minds about God and Jesus and so on. But it is not true. Atheist parents and others never talk to their children about God or urge them to keep an open mind on the subject. They try never to talk to their children about Jesus. They do not bring them to church, at least not one where they will learn the good news of sins forgiven.

How different if parents know the Lord. Paul says that children with Christian parents are holy. In 1 Corinthians 7:14, talking about a situation where one partner is a Christian and one is not, he says

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

So even if only one parent is a Christian, the child is still special, still holy. What is Paul saying? The word holy means set apart, different. A child with a Christian parent has many advantages denied to the child without one. For example,

• Such a child has parents who pray for them – not every child has that. Many have no-one to pray for them.
• Such a child will be introduced to what the Bible says – not every child has that.
• Such a child will be brought into the orbit of the church family – not every child has that.

What blessings belong to such children. No doubt those who baptise babies would want to say more on this but baptised or unbaptised, all children with at least one Christian parent are holy.

No doubt more could be said on this but these five truths are a good place to start. Such truths ought to be more widely known among God's people than perhaps they are.

Samson Occom Fundraising Trip to Britain Part 4 (Final)

This article first appeared in In Writing

Samson Occom 1723-1792 Mohegan Pastor His fund raising trip to the British Isles 1765-1767 in the company of Nathaniel Whitaker that led to the founding of Dartmouth College. Part Four.

On tour in the west, July 25-October 23, 1766

At the end of July, Occom and Whitaker headed west. From this point on there is no Occom diary so it is difficult to be sure where they were when. It has been said of their itinerary, “its specifics cannot be reconstructed”. We get a general idea from letters and the carefully kept accounts that list most places visited and how much individuals and churches and individuals gave.

The trip west can be divided into two parts in that having come back to London by October 24, they headed off again in some haste on October 29, urged by Whitefield, and continued on this second trip into the new year.

The first trip included Abingdon, Berkshire on July 28 (preaching for Baptist Daniel Turner 1710-1798) and probably Bristol, Bath and the Somerset towns of Frome (including John Kingdon c 1731-1801 and the Baptists), Glastonbury, Bishops Hull near Taunton, Wellington and Bridgwater; then in Wiltshire, Bradford on Avon (Baptist Richard Haynes d 1768, Congregationalist Scotsman John Skirven d c 1771, ther Anglicans and others); in Gloucestershire, Gloucester and Chalford (Nicholas Phené) and perhaps Kidderminster, Worcestershire, where they would have preached for Presbyterian Benjamin Fawcett 1713-1780, a friend of Newton.

In Devon, they visited Barnstaple, Bideford, Topsham (preaching for Independent Aaron Pitts d 1771), Chudleigh (preaching for Indepenendent Joel Orchard d c 1771), Culmstock, Cullompton, Exeter (preaching for Arian controversialist Micaiah Towgood 1700-1792) and Plymouth (preaching for Baptist Philip Gibbs d 1800).

Some specific Lord's Day dates we have for Bristol are these from printed sermon extracts. Each time but one the preacher is Occom.

August 10 Tucker Street Meeting (These people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my people Isaiah 43:21)

August 17 Tucker Street Meeting (And it repented the Lord, that He had made man on the earth, and aggrieved Him at His heart Genesis 6:6)

August 17 Callow Hill Meeting (Looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of the great God and our Saviour JESUS CHRIST Titus 2:13) by Whitaker

August 24 Broadmead Meeting (And these shall go away into everlasting Punishment But the Righteous into Life eternal Matthew 26:46)

September 7 Pithay Meeting (My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me John 10:27)

We know that on September 18 they were in Westbury and Tuesday, 23, Warminster, both in Wiltshire, and in Croscombe and Shepton Mallett, Somerset, 20 miles further west. By October 24 they were back in London.

On tour in the west, October 30-December 31, 1766

After spending a week in Bath preparing, they headed down to Devonshire again, where they visited Crediton (and preached for Anglicans and Presbyterians), Ashburton, Totnes, Dartmouth and Kingsbridge.

They then came back to Bath and were there and in Bristol for two weeks, probably December 1-14. Between Monday, December 15 and Lord's Day, December 21, they visited Wilton and Salisbury, Wiltshire and Blandford Forum, Dorset. It was then

Monday 22 Sherborne, Dorset (21 miles north west of Blandford)

Tuesday 23 Yeovil, Somerset (six miles west of Sherborne)

Wednesday 24 South Petherton, Somerset (10 miles further west again)

Thursday 25 Martock, Somerset (just over three miles further south west)

Lord's Day 28? Crewkerne, Somerset (seven or eight miles more south)

Monday 29 Beaminster, Somerset (seven miles south of Crewkerne) and Bridport, Somerset (another six miles south)

Tuesday 30 Dorchester, Dorset (15 miles east of Bridport) and Wareham, Dorset, another 18 miles east (preaching for Independents Simon Reader c 1716-1789 in Wareham and Joseph Lamb in Dorchester)

Wednesday 31 Poole, Dorset (nine or ten miles east of Dorchester, preaching for Olney born Independent Edward Ashburner 1734-1804 and Presbyterian John Howell 1719-1804)

On tour in the south, January 1-13, 1767

We know their itinerary, more or less, for January 1-14, 1767, when they were in Hampshire.

Thursday 1 Ringwood and Romsey (preaching for Baptists Joseph Horsey 1737-1802 and James Fanch 1704-1767 and others)

Lord's Day 4 Occom went the 10 miles across to Broughton to preach for William Steele (1689-1769) father of hymn writer, Anne Steele (1717-1778). Occom himself was the author of a number of hymns.

Monday 5 Winchester (16 miles further on again). Just Occom again

Tuesday 6 Southampton, 13 miles south of Winchester (preaching at Above Bar for Independent William Kingsbury 1744-1818)

Wednesday 7 They headed to the Isle of Wight and took meetings in Newport (for the Anglicans and General Baptist John Sturch d 1764)

Friday 9 Portsmouth and Gosport (preaching for Presbyterian Thomas Wren 1725-1787 and Congregationalist Thomas Williams 1725-1770)

No doubt they also visited Basingstoke and Whitchurch, both in Hampshire, at this time. On Tuesday, January 13, they headed back to London, arriving in the early hours of January 14.

London and on tour in the north, January 14-July 31, 1767

They then spent an extended period in London laying plans and in March set out on a trip north that would eventually bring them to Scotland.

Places visited en route to Coventry, which they reached on March 26, appear to include Hitchin, Olney, Kettering, Northampton (March 16) then Wellingborough and Welford (probably preaching for Independent Samuel King c 1715-1788) and after Coventry

Warwick (preaching for Independent James Kettle 1716-1806)

Evesham (preaching for Presbyterian Paul Cardale 1705-1755)

Bromsgrove (preaching for Baptist James Butterworth d post 1794 Phillips Jenkins)

Pershore (preaching for Baptist John Ash 1724-1779 and others)

Tewkesbury (preaching for Baptist John Haydon 1714-1782 and others)

Upton (preaching for seventh day Baptist Philip Jones 1736-1770)

Hooknorton (preaching for Baptist Benjamin Whitmore 1728-1804)

Bourton-on-the-water (preaching for Baptist Benjamin Beddome 1717-1795, as mentioned in the Bourton church book)

Cirencester (preaching for Anglican Samuel Johnson)

Worcester (on April 19 for Baptist John Poynting 1719-1791, Independent Thomas Urwick 1727-1807 and Presbyterian Francis Blackmore d 1760).

By April 27 they seem to have been back in Kettering. It was probably at this time that they also visited Leicester, Loughborough, Hinckley, Oakham and Uppingham in Rutland, Derby (preaching for Presbyterian Thomas White) and Manchester, arriving in Liverpool by May 2, which Whitaker called “a pool of error and wickedness”.

They appear to have reached Edinburgh by May 1767. Other places visited en route to Scotland no doubt include Nantwich (where they preached for Presbyterian John Houghton c 1730-1800), Lancaster, Preston and Carlisle. On June 9 they were called back to London by the board but that took some time to expedite.

They spent June 12-17 in Glasgow. They also appear to have visited St Andrews, Dundee and Dumfries. By July 8 they were back in Edinburgh. On July 19 they arrived in Ireland but did not stay there long as they had missed the church's synod and a man from Rhode Island was already there soliciting funds for another project.

No doubt it was on the way back to England that they visited places like Morpeth (preaching for Robert Trotter 1729-1806 and the Presbyterians), Newcastle, Sunderland, Darlington, Whitby, Hull, York, Leeds (where givers included Lady Ingham 1699-1768, wife of Moravian Benjamin Ingham 1712-1772), Wakefield, Halifax (givers there including the Independent church pastored by Titus Knight 1719-1793), Sheffield, Nottingham and Lincoln,

On tour in the east, August 1-October 31, 1767

There was a third brief trip to nearby Hitchin in August but in September and October they covered places in the east of the country, places such as Halstead, Braintree and Bocking, Thaxted, Castle Hadingham, Coggeshall, Clavering and Dedham, all in Essex, then in Suffolk - Sudbury, Woodbridge, Long Melford, Bury St Edmunds, Wattisfield, Southwold (Hurrion), Nayland, Wrentham (Sweetland), Stowmarket and Ipswich (on September 28) – and in Norfolk - Great Yarmouth, Denton, Norwich (Dr Samuel Wood, d 1767, etc), Bungay and Hadley (Mr Tom's). It was probably on this trip that they visited Boston and Stamford in Lincolnshire and Cambridge.

Berkshire and Kent, November, 1767

On November 9, we know they were in Watford, Middlesex, preaching for Baptist Samuel Medley (1738-1799) newly installed there and a friend of Gifford. They also covered High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and Reading and Newbury, Berkshire. Later in the month they were in Kent, in Tunbridge Wells on the 26th and in Ashford, Appledore, Tenterden and Canterbury too.

The return home, 1768

Whitaker and Occom appear to have fallen out increasingly towards the end of the trip and returned to America on separate vessels. Whitaker appears to have left England for Boston on March 2, 1768, arriving. He arrived on June 6, a long journey of more than three months.

In September, 1768 Occom wrote to Robert Keen explaining how he had been sick for much of his journey home but had recovered. He was taken ill two or three days into the voyage and was seriously unwell for the first four weeks of an eight week journey. He must have arrived in Boston around April 29 or May 6. He began his ride home the next day. His wife had been ill but by the time of writing, she was improving.

From a financial point of view, the trip had proved successful with £12,000 being raised, including 200 guineas from King George III himself.

From other points of view, things were not so good. On his return Occom learned that Wheelock had failed to care for his wife and children while he was away. Furthermore, Wheelock moved on to New Hampshire where he used the funds raised to establish Dartmouth College (named for the English earl) for the education of the sons of American colonists, rather than Native Americans as had originally been envisaged.

In 1764, Occom had opposed the sale of tribal lands and was involved in the “Mason Controversy,” a long lasting dispute over land between colonists and Mohegeans. The Mohegans formed an alliance with the Mason family to plead a case for the governor of Connecticut to give back the lands to the Mohegans. When Occom came back to Mohegan territory, he expressed his support for the Mason family and the Mohegans which caused the missionaries to make threats to take away his preacher's license and stop financing his missionary work. The colonists also started to spread rumours about Occom, that he was an alcoholic and that he converted to Christianity just to look good. In a 1769 letter, Wheelock wrote to Occom about the rumour that he was an alcoholic. The rumour hurt Occom's reputation after the success of the fundraising trip to England. Wheelock suggested that Occom truly did not care for Christianity. He even raised the idea that his conversion was false and could not be trusted as a preacher. The stereotype of the drunken Indian was foisted on Occom and inevitably undermined his work. Wheelock benefited from the defamation of Occom as it bolstered his authority.

Benjamin Beddome on Friendship Part 2 (Final)

This aricle originally appeared in Banner of Truth Magazine

When one thinks of friendships among Baptist ministers in the eighteenth century, one instinctively thinks of Fuller, Sutcliffe and Ryland, who ‘held the ropes’ for Carey. Beddome does not seem to have had a close ministerial friendship of that sort, although in The Baptist Register John Rippon refers to the younger man who preached Beddome's funeral sermon, Benjamin Francis (1734–1799), as his ‘affectionate friend’ and, as Stephen Pickles notes in his new biography of Beddome (Rippon, Obituary Beddome, Baptist Annual Register: Including Sketches of the State of Religion Among Different Denominations etc., Vol. 2 (Dilly, Button & Thomas, 1794), 326; Stephen Pickles, Cotswold Pastor and Baptist Hymnwriter: The Life and Times of Benjamin Beddome (1718-1795) (James Bourne Society, 2023), he was clearly a very friendly person.

Beddome had several good friends in the congregation at Bourton, including his father-in-law Richard Boswell (d. 1783), gentleman William Snooke (1730–1799) and, later, Snooke's brother-in-law, Richard Hall (1728–1801). Their father-in-law, Benjamin Seward (1705–1753) of Bengeworth, was likely another good friend of Beddome’s. Beddome, sometimes accompanied by his wife, would often take tea at her father’s or Snooke’s, or at one or other of the homes of the wealthier church members.

When he was a student in Bristol, Beddome had come to know Sarah Evans (1713–1751). His friendship with Hugh Evans (1712–1781) and especially Sarah (née Browne) began then. Their friendship was referenced by her son Caleb Evans (1737–1791) in a funeral address he gave for his stepmother Ann. ( Caleb Evans, God the everlasting portion of his people. Sermon occasioned by the death of Mrs Ann Evans, wife of the Rev. Hugh Evans, MA ... Preached Broadmead, Bristol …, 1776). Beddome took Sarah's funeral and wrote an epitaph for her grave.

Henry Keene (1727–1797) was another friend. Keene was a coal merchant and a well-respected deacon in the Maze Pond church, London. A warm letter written in November 1772 from Beddome to Keene is preserved in a Calendar of Letters assembled by Isaac Mann (1785–1831) held at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.

John Ryland's father, usually referred to as John Collett Ryland (1723–1792) to distinguish him from his better-known son, was born in Bourton on the Water and spent his formative years in the area. Six years younger than Beddome, the two became friends when, in 1740, Ryland was one of about forty converts in a revival that marked the early period of Beddome's ministry. Beddome baptised Ryland in October 1741, and when the latter began to show an interest in becoming a minister, a strong friendship blossomed between the two. As mentor, Beddome ‘led him forward to the work of the ministry with the fostering hand of a wife and kind parent.’ (Rippon, The Gentle Dismission of Saints from Earth to Heaven. A Sermon [2 Tim. 4:6] Occasioned by the Decease of ... J. Ryland, Sen. ... Preached First at His Funeral at Northampton and ... in London, 1792, 37, 38). As to their friendship, Beddome called Ryland Sr his ‘dearest friend’ and the two kept in contact well after Ryland left Bourton and moved to Bristol; he later became a minister in Warwick and then in Northampton. (William Newman, Rylandiana: reminiscences relating to ... J. Ryland of Northampton [With extracts from his diary, etc] 1834, 137-39).

Beddome was no doubt a good friend also to several others in the congregation who went on to become ministers themselves, notably men like John Reynolds (1730–1792), Nathanael Rawlings (1733–1809), and Richard Haines (d. 1767).

In the second part of the sermon previously referred to, Beddome speaks about the duty of friendship highlighted in the verse he preaches: He that hath friends should show himself friendly. ‘Act agreeably to the connexions formed,’ says Beddome, ‘and the confidence reposed in him.’ He goes on,

Though the forming of friendships is a matter not of necessity but of choice, yet, when they are formed, it is highly incumbent upon us that we should so regulate our temper and conduct as may best tend to their continuance and improvement.

The duty of friendship

Beddome says four things about this:

We should take care that our inward sentiments and feelings perfectly agree with our outward professions.

Undissembled integrity becomes the man and adorns the Christian. Extravagant professions of regard and large promises of help and assistance are to be avoided, as also are lavish praises and commendations; for these, however gratifying they may be to a weak man, will rather be disgusting to a wise one. We should never speak more than our hearts feel, or enter into engagements which we may possibly want both an ability and inclination to perform. This is the character that David gives of men in a very degenerate age: They speak vanity everyone to his neighbour, with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak.

We should not be shy in using our friends, or backward in receiving kindnesses from them.

He quotes Edward Young again, ‘Reserve will wound it, and distrust destroy.’ He goes on,

It is as much an act of friendship without hesitation to accept a favour, as readily to confer one; and the not doing so at proper and convenient seasons has begotten a jealousy and suspicion that we would not lay an obligation upon another because we are so loth to come under one ourselves; but a real friend should be willing to do both. He should give and receive advice, admit frequent visits and repay them, inquire into the grievances of another and tell his own, partake of the bounty of his friend, and let require. Mutual sympathy, and a readiness to communicate to each other's wants, is necessary among friends: Have pity upon me, O my friends! says Job. Friendship is a profession of love, and love should not only be professed, but acted upon.

We should prefer the interests and welfare of their souls to that of their bodies:

Thus did Christ, the friend of publicans and sinners, when he was upon earth, and thus should all his followers do; and surely those will be most indebted to us for our friendship, whose everlasting felicity is promoted by it.

He then says, firstly,

We should pray for our friends; thus did Job for his, though by their uncharitable invectives they had greatly added to the weight of his afflictions, and his prayers returned into his own bosom. Yet he obtained a blessing both for himself and them. If we can do nothing else for our friends, we can pray for them; and whatever else we have done, or can do, this should not be neglected.

And secondly,

We should faithfully reprove them when they do amiss. Not to do this is represented as an evidence of hatred: Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him: and therefore to do it is an instance of the greatest love, and a wise and good man will esteem it so. Let the righteous smite me, says David, and it shall be an excellent oil. But then we must do it in a friendly manner, secretly, and not so as to expose him; with meekness and tenderness, and not so as to irritate and provoke him; and at the most convenient season, when he is most likely to bear it, and be benefited by it.

We should carefully avoid all those things which may either break the bonds of friendship, or weaken them:

We should not, by divulging his secrets, abuse the confidence that our friend has placed in us. We should guard against envy if providence has exalted him above us; and of coldness and neglect if he is sunk into a state of inferiority to us. We should also shun the company of those who are given to calumny and detraction, for Solomon tells us that a whisperer separateth chief friends; and, lastly, if by any notorious miscarriage, or unmerited provocations, they have forfeited our friendship, we should remember that we still owe them common charity, if prudence prohibits our former familiarity with them. Religion should restrain us from turning our love into hatred.

Conclusion

The sermon closes with two reflections.

First,

What need of grace have we to enable us to act up to this, or any other character that we sustain! The duties of friendship, you see, are not few or easy; we should therefore implore the assistance of divine grace, that we may rightly perform them. Nor should we, as has been wisely said, make choice of many intimate and bosom friends; for a multiplication of friends will involve a multiplication of duties, and, consequently, of difficulties.

Second,

Let those who are so happy as to have Christ for their friend be particularly observant of this rule with respect to him. O let us cultivate a more intimate acquaintance with him, set a proper value upon his friendship, give him the uppermost place in our hearts, make him the frequent subject of our conversation, avoid every thing that is offensive to him, frequent those places where we may meet with him, and long to be for ever with him!

We should be thankful for our friends, if we have them. As Michael Haykin has observed, writing about William Carey, whom Beddome once wanted to succeed him at Bourton on the Water, ‘True friendships take time and sacrifice, and Western culture in the early twenty-first century is a busy world that as a rule is far more interested in receiving and possessing than sacrificing and giving.’ (Michael A. G. Haykin, The Missionary Fellowship of William Carey, 2018, 10). The observation is no doubt correct. The duties of friendship have never been few or easy, and we need divine grace to rightly perform them. Let us be good friends to all, then, and especially to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Friend who sticks closer than a brother.