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The Life And Death Of John Warburton
The lamented death of our dear friend, John Warburton, will lead our readers to feel an especial interest in the portrait and sketch which we give in this number. The father of our friend thus writes concerning the subject of this memoir, in his "Mercies of a Covenant God”:— "I shall now relate another sore trial that I passed through, which was one of the keenest I ever had in all my life, so much so that at times I felt as if my very heartstrings were breaking. It was respecting my son John, who is the youngest of ten children now living. I agreed with a person in Trowbridge, who was a tailor, to teach him the business, to whom he went for a…
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The Life And Testimony Of John Warburton
John Warburton (1776-1857) was a link between two generations, for in the early years of his ministry he was encouraged by William Huntington and afterwards became the friend of Joseph Charles Philpot, whom he baptized at Allington in 1835. Of him Mr. Philpot says: "I have heard Mr. Gadsby preach as great, perhaps greater sermons, but I never met with a minister whose prayer in the pulpit, or whose conversation out of it, was so weighty. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, have borne witness to the power and savour which rested upon his testimony; but the blessing he has been made to the Church of God will never be fully known until the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed." Rochdale and Trowbridge were…
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The Life And Testimony Of James Battersby
James Battersby (1823-1899), Vicar of St. James', Sheffield. Like many faithful exponents of the Gospel he was a Lancashire man, and the strength of character which is seen in some north countrymen was sanctified in his case by Divine grace. Many of his London sermons have been published and they are manifestly the utterances of one profoundly versed in Scripture and endowed with an experience of its power. They are direct and fearless and were attended by large congregations. In his earlier years Mr. Battersby was much engaged in open-air preaching; he was a man of splendid energy, frequently returning to Sheffield late at night after his London sermon. "Abiding resting places in the Covenant Three" is an expression occurring in one of his later…
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The Life And Death Of James Battersby
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The Life And Ministry Of George Whitefield
George Whitefield was born in the Bell Inn, Gloucester, on December 16th, 1714. His father, Thomas Whitefield, was at first a wine merchant in Bristol, but afterwards became an inn-keeper; his mother was Elizabeth Edwards, of Bristol. The surroundings of the boy were not calculated to make him religious, yet in his mother's heart there was a thoughtful love which did all that was possible to shield him from the worst temptations of his lot. As his father died in 1716, George, the last-born of his seven children, fell exclusively to the mother's care. His boyhood was a wild, merry, thoughtless, sin-stained time. He confesses to lying, evil speaking, and petty thefts from his mother's pocket; he spent much money in plays and entertainments; his…
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The Life And Testimony Of George Whitefield
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The Life And Testimony Of George Whitefield
George Whitefield (1714-1770) comes first as the preacher of his day. At Pembroke College, Oxford, he was already under serious impressions when he joined the little society of students who met to study the Scriptures, to converse, and to pray. Their favourite books were "The Imitation of Christ," and Law's "Serious Call." These only led him into mental confusion, till at length, after seven weeks of illness caused by soul-trouble and austerities, God removed the heavy load, and enabled him, as he describes, "to lay hold on His dear Son by a living faith," and gave "the spirit of adoption to seal me, as I humbly hope, to the day of redemption. At first my joys were like a spring tide, which, as it were,…
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The Life And Ministry Of George Whitefield
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The Life And Martyrdom Of Roland Taylor
The trial and martyrdom of Rowland Taylor, as narrated by John Foxe in his "Acts and Monuments," is considered by some to be the finest portion of that valuable and wonderful work. To us this opinion does not seem extravagant, for, among the many sublime instances of Christian heroism recorded by the indefatigable martyrologist, it would be difficult to find one more sublime and more interesting than the case of the learned vicar of Hadleigh. His zealous care over his flock, his courageous determination not to leave the country, but face his enemies; his manly demeanour before Chancellor Gardiner, his dignified replies to the surrilous assertions of that prelate, his calm anticipation of a cruel death, and his heroic conduct at the stake, are but…
