The Life And Ministry Of J. W. Bamber

Earthen Vessel 1898:

Pastor J. W. Bamber, Port Adelaide, South Australia

Dear Brother Banks,—At your request, I forward you a short account of my life, and commence with the Lord’s goodness to me prior to my call by grace.

I was born, June, 1849, in the town of Preston, in the county of Lancashire, England. I thank God that I was led to the Vauxhall Baptist Sunday-school, and there had the teaching of a God-honouring man. I received much sound Biblical knowledge, and the prayers of my dear grandmother, and her steadfastness in the truth of God, often comes across my mind, for I well remember how she used to leave the large congregations to attend the sect everywhere spoken against, the Particular Baptists. [My grandmother was baptized by the late William Gadsby.] I was often led to enquire in my mind how it was that as others of the family would attend the fashionable Churches, that dear grandmother would take me with her to a rather insignificant chapel to hear an old-fashioned preacher, whose constant subject was “Free and Sovereign Grace.”

I left England for New Zealand when about 10 years old, and during my stay in New Zealand was twice saved from a watery grave, and several around our home were killed by the Maories, yet my life was spared. After residing in New Zealand for about three years I came over to Melbourne (Victoria), and began to frequently attend the theatre. Much of my spare time was spent in novel reading, being at the time cast among a lot of ungodly young men; my life was anything but what it ought to have been. During this time I received many letters from my grandmother, telling me of constant prayers on my behalf. One evening, as I was about to go to the theatre, I received a letter from her, and I put it in my pocket; I opened it between the acts, and one or two words seemed to burn into my soul—

“I cannot give thee up.”

I thought what would she think if she saw the object of her prayers in a theatre; how little her prayers seemed to avail. But those words took hold of me; I could not shake them off. I had promised her that I would attend some chapel; the promise was kept, for if I was at the playhouse on Saturday night I was at the chapel on Lord’s-day, making many resolutions to be better, but they were soon broken, for, 

“The more I strove against sin’s power,

I sinned and stumbled but the more.”

My Call By Grace

One night I went into a Wesleyan chapel. A poor man was preaching. His words were plain but pointed, and I felt that I had better leave the meeting; and the devil seemed to say, “You had better go.” But I could not go, for my sins had got hold of me, and for some time I had been very anxious about my soul, and I was in deep agony. I can remember nothing that was said but the unspeakable agony of my soul. Well hath dear Joseph Hart expressed what I felt:—

“When to His bar He made me come,

Arraigned, convicted, cast, I stood;

Expecting from His mouth the doom

Of those who trample on His blood.”

My sins were heavy on my soul, and as a convicted sinner I expected nothing but condemnation. I seemed to be lost to all hope, and did not know anything of what was said or done. But they began to sing,

“Rock of Ages.”

I tried to sing, but could not; but as they sang the third verse I was enabled to join, for I felt it was just for me, for I felt black and helpless, and wanted to be cleansed from my sin, and did sing from my soul:—

“Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress,

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Black! I to the mountain fly,

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.”

And my poor soul was led, I believe, by the Holy Spirit, to see the complete work of Christ, and I beheld the dear Saviour bleeding for me; and the Word came with power and sweetness, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” Salvation was brought home to my soul; the loving kindness of the Saviour had drawn me to Himself. My soul was set at liberty. Oh! what a change I felt. Great joy filled my soul, for I felt that my sins, which were many, were all forgiven, and that God had lifted upon me the light of His countenance, for He had manifested His love to my soul, saying,

“I am thy salvation.”

I shall never forget that time. Well hath dear John Bunyan put it, “The pilgrim gave three leaps for joy.” I felt I could have danced for joy; old things had passed away, and all things had become new. I often look back at that sweet time. I could not help telling the peace that God had given me, but few understood it. This great joy filled my soul for some time, and I thought it would last, but it was not so, for I soon found otherwise, for I had a long and bitter season of soul darkness and for weeks I could not look up, for I felt cast out from all communion, and fellowship with God. What dark temptations I had; and the tempter came in like a flood, and often made me think that God would be gracious no more, for I felt the power of indwelling sin, an inward conflict was going on, my soul was filled with darkness and horror, and knew much of what it was to walk in darkness and have no light.

“I saw no day-star in the skies;

Wrapped in perpetual gloom,

I said, ‘When will that sun arise

That shall my soul illume?’”

At this time I was meeting with the Wesleyans, for I had received a ticket on trial, and had been received into full membership, attending the class meetings. My love for them was very great, but as I told out my soul’s sorrows they did not understand it; for they seemed to have all joy, and I was filled with darkness, and could say but little of the peace that they told of. There was one dear old sister attending the same class with me; I used to enjoy this aged sister’s experience, for she used to tell out her struggles with sin and temptation. Her experience gave me a little hope, for I used to think if one who has been so long on the way feels what I do, I may be yet among the saved. After having met this sister in the class for about 11 months, she stopped coming to our meetings, and l said to the class leader, “Where is granny? She does not attend our meetings now.” He replied, “She has left us, and joined the Baptists.” I went and found her, and said, “How could you leave the class meetings?” She replied, “I have been reading my Bible much of late, and I found that Jesus went down into the water, and came up out of the water, and I felt I must go the same way, so I have been baptized.” I left the old woman, determined to see if she was right, and I could not help seeing that it was my duty to be baptized. Therefore I was baptized in June, 1865, but still continued with the Methodists, engaged in Sabbath-school teaching and temperance work.

My First Sermon

My first sermon came about as follows. I went to a prayer-meeting one Lord’s-day evening, and after the meeting a brother came to me, and said, “You must go and preach tonight at the corner of ———street.” “Oh no; I never preached in my life.” He replied, “You must go, for I know the Lord has given you a gift for the work; and here is a promise for you, ‘Open thy mouth, and I will fill it.’ “I went, and with great fear spoke for about 30 minutes from the words, ‘ He that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” From that time I was engaged night after night in holding open-air meetings. We had what was called a Gospel Band, composed of young men and women, who went singing, and holding meetings. At this time I was engaged by the Methodists as a missionary. To show my views at this time I cannot help telling how my superintendent saw that I had a tendency to Calvinism, for he said to me, “You will die a Calvinist.” I said, “Never!” “Oh, yes you will; for you now believe in the final perseverance of saints.”

And one night at one of our meetings a young man was heard to say, “I will go and tell our superintendent that our missionary is preaching Calvinism.” And one Lord’s-day after I had been preaching and was giving out the hymn, an old man came to the pulpit steps and said, before all the large congregation, “Young man, I say unto thee, ‘All that the Father hath given Me shall come unto Me.'”

I did not know what to do, but I was then led to look into the Word of God, and I held to what is called Arminianism till there was nothing left to hold to, and I was led to see and preach that salvation is all of Free and Sovereign Grace, and of course was soon told it would not do to have one preaching that with the Methodists. So I went and took counsel with pastor W. Bryant, and joined the Baptist Church under his care, on September 23rd, 1868, resolving not to preach again, and opened a shop. But the Lord would not let me be silent, for in 1869 I went at the request of the friends to preach at Preston Particular Baptist Church, and continued preaching for them on Lord’s-day, attending to my shop during the week till June, 1870, when I was requested by paster D. Allen to go to supply the Church at Launceston, Tasmania. I went, and after preaching for them for four Lord’s-days, received an invite, and I accepted this call and gave myself entirely to the work of the ministry. 

We continued with the Church at Launceston for about four years. The Lord was pleased to bless His own Word, and many were added to the Church. We held two meetings a week with ticket-of-leave men, and have reason to believe God blessed the message to their good.

My health giving way, was ordered a change, and accepted a call to the Church at Eaglehaw, Victoria, where we continued for three years and six months, and often had the pleasure of preaching to the Chinese, and it did my soul good to see how they received the Word with gladness.

Early in 1877, at the request of the Particular Baptists of South Australia, I paid a visit to Port Adelaide, and found a little flock meeting in the Odd Fellows’ Hall. On my return to Victoria, they sent me an invite to be their pastor, at the same time receiving a call from another Church, but did not wish to leave Eaglehaw. After seeking the Lord’s guidance, was led to go to the little flock at Port Adelaide, where we have been for 21 years. In 1893, our new chapel was opened free of debt, and we have enjoyed twenty-one years of unbroken love and fellowship in the Gospel between pastor and people. 

The Lord has been pleased to open doors of usefulness outside our own Church work. For years we acted as chaplain to the Reformatory Hulk, preaching and teaching the poor lads sent to the Reformatory, and have had the testimony that He who saved the dying thief, has not lost His power or willingness to save poor thieves still.

Our weekly meetings at “Hospital” are much blessed. We also hold monthly meetings in the Home for the Aged Blind and Cripple Children. In our work as President of the Band of Hope Union we are often kept very busy in trying to prevent the evils of drink.

Our public lectures on “Romanism and Ritualism” has often caused us to be surrounded by a mob of Papists seeking to stop our work, but the Lord has delivered us out of their hands.

We have paid annual visits to our kindred in Christ in Victoria and New South Wales, and several times to Tasmania; and though we have travelled 160,000 miles by sea, and 300,000 miles by rail and coach, and often have been near to shipwreck and accident, yet have been preserved through it all, and have only been out of the pulpit three Lord’s- days by sickness during the last 30 years. We have much cause for thankfulness to our faithful God for His goodness to so unworthy a servant. The last two years my health has been far from good, and maybe I shall, D.V., pay a visit to dear old England.

My path has not been free from trial, for I have often been called to pass through deep waters of affliction. My doubts and misgivings have often been many—often cast down, and had to cry out:—

“Is this, dear Lord, that thorny road, 

That leads us to the mount of God? 

Are these the toils Thy people know 

“While in the wilderness below?”

But on looking back on the way the Lord has led us, I do so with grateful acknowledgments of the Lord’s great goodness to me, for He has been my faithful God, and according to my day my strength has been.

“And still as oft as troubles come

Our Jesus sends some cheering ray;

And that strong arm shall guard us home, 

Which thus protects us by the way.”

And as I raise my Ebenezer, and look forward to the unknown path of the future, with confidence in the faithfulness of our covenant-keeping God, for

“Determined to save, He watched o’er my path, 

When Satan’s blind slave I sported with death;

And can He have taught me to trust in His name, 

And thus far have brought me to put me to shame?”

Blessed be His name—

“His love in time past forbids me to think,

He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink;

Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review

Confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through.”

Yours for Christ’s sake,

J. W. Bamber