The Life And Death Of Daniel Matthews

The Sower 1896:

The following is some account of the late Daniel Matthews, who was pastor of the Strict Baptist Church at Rowley Regis over fifty-nine years, and also of one at Willenball for forty-seven years of that period.

Rowley Regis is in the county of Staffordshire, and is noted for its potteries, stone quarries, and nail and rivet works. The places called Old Hill, Cradley Heath, White Heath, Black Heath, Twidal, and the Knowl, are within its area; fifty years ago its population did not exceed 4,000, but in 1891 it stood at 33,000 souls. The precious and everlasting Gospel appears to have been preached in the Episcopalian Church since about the year 1760; and in 1800 the Lord sent a servant of His, George Barre, from All Saints, Wareham, in Norfolk, who took the curacy of the parish, with a salary of £40 per annum and surplice fees. The parish, at the commencement of his labours, was in a most deplorable condition—scarcely in a state of common civilization; the lower classes, with few exceptions, were extremely ignorant and wicked, and vice and immorality bore an almost unbounded sway. Instances of the most horrible depravity are found recorded in Mr. Barrs’ writings, with which we will not, however, trouble the reader. The horrid practices of bull-baiting, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, and every other species of wickedness formed the popular amusements of the people on Sabbath Days. “In a word,” says Mr. Barrs’ biographer, “the powers of darkness appeared to reign with unlimited and undisputed sway, and there was nothing to induce a stranger to cast his lot in the place.” Such was the state and condition of the place when the Rev. George Barrs became its curate, and when Daniel Matthews was born; and during the younger days of the latter, they in a great measure still prevailed. God, however, knew the place and what was needed, and the kind of instrument He determined to use, and thus the preaching of George Barrs, combined with his indomitable energy and powerful influence (through his marriage), proved the means used by the Lord to civilize and moralize the place.

Mr. Matthews tells us, in his little work called, “The Leadings of the Spirit,” published by the late John Gadsby in 1845, but which has long been out of print, that he was born on the 12th day of June, 1803. “I remember,” says he, “when very young, I and my brother, being left in the house alone, my clothes caught fire. My brother, being older than I, cried, ‘Run to thy mother.’ I started to go to her, but having an entry to go through, the flames went over my head. The Lord gave me wisdom to turn back, when I was met by a man who had a leathern apron on; he wrapped it round me, and put the fire out at once. Though my clothes were all burned to my flannel, my skin was not burned at all, for He that was with the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace preserved me then, though I knew Him not.”

After relating a most merciful deliverance from being drowned, Mr. Matthews goes on to say: “As early as my sixth year I thought I would be good, and say my prayers, that I might be sure of going to heaven when I died; but I did not know then that I was dead in sin, and that my carnal heart was at enmity against God. I thought I could overcome sin by good works; but when God opened my eyes to see, and softened my heart to feel, I soon found that if the Ethiopian could change his skin, or the leopard his spots, then I might overcome sin by works, and make my nature good. When between thirteen and sixteen years of age, I was convinced by hearing and reading, that unless I was born again, I could not enter the kingdom of heaven, but must be lost for ever. The thought of “for ever” was heavy upon me. Had it been only for a time, I could have borne it; but for ever was like a mountain upon me, and sunk deeper and deeper into my soul, so that at times it forced out cries and prayers to God and filled me with such terror, that I could not bear to think of eternity…Thus I went on; and, when I was in horror of soul on account of my sins, I promised and tried to do something to please God; but when terror was not felt, I broke my promises and neglected my duties.”

Mr. Matthews next treats of his conversion to God. He says: “One night I was singing, being in a trifling state of mind, regardless of God and of my own soul—for at times I sang to drive away thoughts of death, of eternity, and of the last day; but at other times I sang alarming hymns to bring thoughts of good things into my mind, for often I longed to be saved. On the night I speak of, I was singing very thoughtlessly that hymn of Newton’s called, ‘Alarm to Sinners’—

“‘Stop, poor sinner, stop and think, 

Before you further go;

Will you sport upon the brink 

Of everlasting woe?’

“While I was singing this hymn, the Lord spoke these words to my soul: ‘You are the sinner this hymn commands to stay.’ The fear and terror that immediately fell upon me I never can forget; but, awful to say, I summoned up all the courage I had, and was determined not to give way to fear. So off I stinted to worldly company, that I might drown my fears, as I had often done before; but vain was the attempt now…for I could as soon have disputed the existence of God as I could have prevented my fears. The words, ‘Stop, poor sinner, stop and think,’ ran through me vehemently.”

After describing his inability to stop his fears, or to become cheerful, he says: “From that time I began to seek places in which I might pray, without anyone seeing or healing me, for I was ashamed to let anyone think that I prayed. I had been a great despiser of religion, but now God’s arrows stuck fast in me, and His hand pressed me sore. I began to try and draw these arrows out by daily weeping and praying, vowing, fasting, and self denial. I was now fit company for none, nor was anyone fit company for me. I was as one that is lost—and I was lost—so that I felt, after a time, I had become so miserable that I tried again to join my former companions, but this added fresh terror to my conscience. Then I thought I would seek their company no more; yet again and again I limped after them, as a lame hound limpeth after the pack. Oh, the goodness of God to me! Instead of sending me to hell, as I so justly deserved, He restrained me by fears, and forced me to leave the company of the wicked—yea, to leave it for ever.”

After describing, on the next page and a-half, the distress under the law, and his blindness to the Gospel, &c., he says: “One Lord’s Day, I was going to hear the Word of God” (in all probability he was going to Rowley Church, to hear Mr. Barrs), “and was saying in my heart, as I went, ‘O Lord, if Thou hast another sinner in this parish to call by grace, let it be me! Do call me, Lord! do call me!’ While I was thus praying in my heart, Satan directed my eyes to three young men who were going to the place of worship to which my steps were directed, and he said, ‘It is of no use for you to pray to be called, for these young men are better than you, and if any are to be called, it will be one of them.’ Oh, how my heart fainted at this, and broke out into cries, ‘Oh, that I might be saved! Lord, do call me! do call me, Lord!’ I then thought, if Christ were on earth, I would know whether He would save me or not. I thought I would follow Him, crying until He told me whether He would save me or not.” He then tells us that, after searching the Bible, and finding it speaking so clearly of election—that God had a chosen people—the devil stirred up such hatred in his heart against it, and to such a degree, that he pinned the leaves containing the Epistle to the Romans together, and thought he would not read it at all. “I felt,” says he, “that I could have destroyed election, and the God of election too, had I known how to do it. Nor did my madness stop here, for one day the rage was so intense that I thought I would go and cut the Epistle to the Romans out of the Bible; and, in my devilish madness against election, I went and laid the Bible open for this purpose. The Epistle to the Romans being joined to the Acts on the one side and to the Corinthians on the other, I could not cut that out without losing some of the Acts and Corinthians, which I thought were holy books, and I durst not cut them out, and this stayed my hand.

“While I write this, my heart trembles within me. Oh, wonder of wonders that the Lord did not cut me down in this devilish, daring, and outrageous act of wickedness! ‘O Lord, what is man?’ And what sin is there which is not in his heart? And what sin will he not do unless he be kept by Thy almighty power?

“Oh, to grace how great a debtor 

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter, 

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.’

“Reader, if thou strivest against any part of the Scriptures thou strivest against God.”

After describing some dreadful temptations of Satan that he endured, and that “a whole year passed away” (during those temptations) before he could tell God upon his knees what he feared, felt, or desired, he says: “I went regularly to hear preaching, but did not tell my case to anyone. No minister that I had heard described my situation in their sermons…The consequence,” he says, “was, I resolved to read the New Testament through, and, should nothing be applied to my soul, to cut the thread of my life. I read till I came to these words, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ I remember looking round me and saying, ‘Where art Thou, Lord? and how shall I come to Thee? What must I do to come to Thee? and where shall I go to find Thee? I long to come to Thee, Lord, but I know not how to lay hold of Thee.’ I remember saying that I should not mind walking to London, without either eating or drinking, though I died as soon as I got there, if that would be going to Christ. One morning, soon after this, I had to go to Birmingham, I feared I should not live the day out, and thought with terror that before night I should be in eternity. When I had got a few hundred yards from home, I turned myself to look back, and I reflected upon its being my farewell look at home. It was a cutting look for me, for I could see no way in which God could save so great a sinner. All at once, however, these words came with power to my soul—

“‘The weak grow strong, the strong increase, 

And every doubtful soul finds peace.’

“I know that I heard them, and that they made my heart leap for joy. I had never seen the words with my eyes, nor heard them from anyone’s mouth, but I know that the Lord spake them to me, for they brought hope with them. When I returned home, I read some of Newton’s hymns, and came to that beginning—

“‘Come, my soul, thy suit prepare; 

Jesus loves to answer prayer; 

He Himself has bid thee pray, 

Therefore will not say thee nay.’

“While I was reading this verse, the Lord the Spirit took from me the fear of being swallowed up. I then went to tell my feelings to the Lord; I kept nothing back, and speaking refreshed me (Job 32:20). Sometimes when my heart was warm and my eyes were wet, I had hope; but when my heart was cold and my eyes dry, my hope fainted. I often wept over Christ’s sufferings. If I only heard the name of Jesus, I wept over His love to sinners, though I could not say He was mine at that time, nor durst I say that He died for me; yet I hoped that He did.”

After treating of his deliverance by the Word (James 1:25), he says: ”My heart was so often filled with the love of God, that I had not much to do besides letting out this love in blessing and praising Him for having mercy upon me. I could not forbear telling God again and again that He was mine, and that I was His. The dread of death, of judgment, and of hell was all gone. I bought a new Bible, and began to read it, and it appeared to shine with God’s mercy. I beheld God’s mercy to sinners in every chapter, read where I would. I could see mercy for those who felt their need of Christ, and wondered I had not seen this before.”

Mr. Matthews, after treating of being delivered from the temptation relative to taking a public-house which had made several men rich, writes of going to hear the late Henry Fowler, of London, preach, and how sweetly he preached the dealings of God with his soul. “Soon after this,” he says, “he came to Birmingham again, and having a great desire to hear him once more, I went. He preached about long darkness of soul after the believer had known the Lord. During the sermon I cut myself off, for at that time I knew nothing of long darkness after liberty. In the evening I went to hear Mr. Fowler again, but found no relief. I was then broken-hearted, not knowing what to do with myself. I cried all the way home, ‘O Lord, if I am wrong, make me right!’ And, bless the dear Lord, He gave me a melting view of His sin-pardoning love in Christ. Now all was right again, and I felt that I loved the Lord with soul and strength.

“Reader, I loved then, as I do this day, to weep for my sins at the feet of Jesus, and over His pardoning love to me, the vilest of sinners. This work endears Christ more and more to my soul, and fires me afresh against my own sins. A knowledge of Christ and His ways, with the love of God felt in the heart, makes us long to be swallowed up in the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and to have a body like Christ’s glorious body.

“What I have written, I have written for the poor mourners in Zion, hoping that it may, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, be a means of doing them good.—D. M., 1845.”

We should like to have transcribed the whole of the above work, but trust, however, it may, with other things, yet be re-published.