Chapter II · SEVENTH-DAY BAPTISTS IN EUROPE. (continued 2)

It is worthy of note, that, in 1746, Mr. Benjamin Purser, the youngest son of Rev. John Purser before mentioned, purchased an estate in the village of Natton, and fitted up, at his own expense, a chapel for divine worship, adjoining his dwelling-house. It is a small room, distinguished only for neatness and convenience. He also walled in a corner of his orchard for a burial-place. When he died, in 1765, he donated the house and burial-place to the church, together with ten pounds a year out of his estate to all succeeding ministers. At the present time the congregation is so small that the chapel is not opened except upon extraordinary occasions, such as a funeral or the like. It serves, however, as the depository for a small collection of rare and valuable books.

THE CRIPPLEGATE CHURCH.

A congregation of Sabbatarians, known under that denomination, was gathered in London by Francis Bampfield, during the reign of Charles the Second. Mr. Bampfield was descended from an ancient and honourable family in Devonshire, and was a brother of Thomas Bampfield, Speaker in one of Cromwell's Parliaments. Having been designed for the ministry from childhood, he received a classical education, at Wadham College, Oxford, where he remained for eight years. Subsequently he was provided with a living in Dorsetshire, and was likewise chosen Prebend of Exeter Cathedral. Thence he was transferred to the populous town of Sherburne, where he exerted a most extensive and happy influence among the members of the established church. In this connexion he continued only a short time; for beginning to doubt the authority of the church to prescribe forms of worship, he became in the end a decided nonconformist. Consequently he was not only ejected from the ministry, but confined in Dorchester jail, for preaching and conducting religious services contrary to law. During his imprisonment, which continued about eight years, his views upon the subjects of the Sabbath and baptism were materially changed, and he became a decided advocate of Seventh-day Baptist sentiments. He preached his new opinions boldly to his fellow-prisoners, and several were led to embrace them. Soon after his release from Dorchester, Mr. Bampfield went to London, where he preached the gospel for about ten years. In Bethnal Green, in the eastern parts of London, he gathered a small church, whose place of meeting was in his own hired house. This church was organized in 1676, and Mr. Bampfield continued its pastor until 1682, when he was brought before the Court of Sessions, on a variety of charges connected with his nonconformity. He was several times examined, and upon each examination required to take the oath of allegiance, which he persisted in refusing, alleging that his conscience would not allow him to take it. This resulted in his condemnation, the forfeiture of his goods, and a sentence of imprisonment during life, or what was equivalent, during the king's pleasure. The anxieties incident to this trial, combined with a naturally feeble constitution, together with his great privations, brought on a disease, of which he died in Newgate prison, on the 15th of February, 1684, aged 68 years.

The imprisonment of Mr. Bampfield was followed by the dispersion of his flock, but the times becoming more favourable, they reunited in church fellowship in 1686, and invited Mr. Edward Stennett, of Wallingford, to accept the pastoral care of their church. He partly complied, coming to London at stated periods to preach and administer the ordinances, though he still retained his connexion with the people at Wallingford. But finding that he could not consistently serve both churches, he resigned the pastoral care of the London church in 1689. Mr. Stennett is distinguished as being the ancestor of the famous Stennett family, who were all Sabbatarians, and were for several generations an ornament to religion, and champions for the cause of Protestant dissent. Being on the side of Parliament in the civil wars, he was exposed, in consequence, to the neglect of his relations and many other difficulties. Although a faithful minister, he possessed no stated salary, but supported his family by the practice of physic. He bore a part in the persecutions which fell upon the Dissenters of that time. In several instances his escape seems altogether miraculous, and affords a striking evidence of Divine interposition.

He was succeeded by his second son, Joseph Stennett, who had enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education. He came to London in 1685, and was employed for a time in the instruction of youth. His first appearance in the pulpit created a great sensation. His ministry was eminently evangelical and faithful; and while preaching constantly to his own church upon the Sabbath, he almost always waited in the ministry upon other congregations on the first day. Perhaps no Dissenting minister in England, at that time, exerted a more powerful influence, or maintained a higher standing than did Mr. Stennett. He was at different times appointed by his brethren in the ministry to draw up letters and addresses of congratulation to be presented to the sovereign upon particular occasions, Mr. Stennett likewise appeared before the public as the author of other works, which acquired considerable popularity. Early in the year 1713, he began to decline, and on the 11th of July fell asleep, in the forty-ninth year of his age, and the twenty-third of his ministry.

The death of this worthy man was a particularly disastrous event to his little flock, who remained for fourteen years without a shepherd, during which time they generally met for worship with the Mill-Yard Church. But in 1727, Mr. Edmund Townsend became their spiritual guide, in which relation he continued until his death in 1763.

Subsequent to the decease of Mr. Townsend, the church, for four years, was supplied with ministerial assistance by different Baptist ministers, until Mr. Thomas Whitewood accepted the pastoral office, in June, 1767. His race, however, was short; for after preaching three times, and administering the Lord's Supper once, he was attacked by a fatal disease, of which he died the ensuing October.

Dr. Samuel Stennett, son of Dr. Joseph Stennett, being at that period pastor of the Baptist church in Little Wild Street, London, was solicited to accept the pastoral office. It appears that he complied in part, performing all the duties without accepting the nominal relation of pastor. He administered the Lord's Supper, and preached to them regularly on the Sabbath morning; while the afternoon service was conducted by four Baptist ministers in rotation, among whom were Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Rippon.

In 1785, Robert Burnside accepted the pastoral charge of this church, in which relation he continued forty-one years. Mr. Burnside united to great natural abilities, a kind and loving heart, by which he was particularly qualified to impart instruction. He became tutor, at different periods, to the sons of several of the nobility, and discharged the duties attendant upon that difficult office in a manner honourable to himself, and advantageous to his pupils. He also prepared several works for the press; among which was a volume on the subject of the Sabbath. He died in 1826, and was succeeded by John Brittain Shenstone, whose early labours had been in connexion with First-day Baptist churches. For more than forty years he was connected with the Board of Baptist ministers in London, of which he appears to have been the principal projector and main support. He commenced the observation of the Sabbath in 1825, and upon the decease of Mr. Burnside accepted the pastoral care of the church, which he continued to serve until his death, in 1844. Since that event this church has been without a pastor, and is in a very low and enfeebled condition.

THE MILL-YARD CHURCH.

This church is located in the eastern part of London, but of its founder, or the date of its origin, our accounts are very imperfect and unsatisfactory. The present records, in possession of the church, date back to 1673; but as they refer to another book which had been previously used, it is certain that the church was organized much earlier. Indeed, we have every reason to believe that this church is a perpetuation of the fraternity gathered by John James, the martyr, which originally met in Bull-Steak Alley, Whitechapel. We shall therefore consider Mr. James as the first pastor of this church. On the 19th day of October, 1661, while in the midst of a warm and fervent discourse, an officer entered the place of worship, forcibly ejected him from the pulpit, and led him away to the police under a strong guard. Thirty members of his congregation were likewise taken before a bench of justices, then convened at a public house in the vicinity, where each one was required to take the oath of allegiance, and those who refused to comply were committed to prison. Mr. James underwent a long and tedious examination, when he was committed to Newgate, upon the testimony of several profligate witnesses, by whom he was accused of speaking treasonable words against the king. At his trial, which came on about one month afterwards, his apparent innocence, deep piety, and resignation, sensibly affected a large concourse of spectators, but could not soften the obdurate hearts of his judges, by whom he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. He was unaffected by this horrid sentence, and calmly observed, "Blessed be God, whom man condemneth, God justifieth." While he lay in prison under sentence of death, he was visited by several persons of distinction, who were deeply affected by his patience and resignation, and who cheerfully engaged to exert their utmost influence to secure his pardon. But he appears to have been too well acquainted with the power and designs of his enemies, to have entertained much hopes of their success.

Mrs. James, by the advice of her friends, was induced to present a petition twice to the king, setting forth her husband's innocence, and entreating his majesty to grant a pardon. But in both instances she was repulsed with scoffs and ridicule. At the scaffold, on the day of his execution, he addressed the people in a very sensible and affectionate manner. Having finished the address, and kneeling down, he thanked God for covenant mercies, and for conscious innocence. He then prayed for all, both his friends and his enemies, for the executioner, for the people of God, for the spectators, for his church, and his family, and lastly, for himself, that he might enjoy a sense of the divine presence and support in this his hour of trial, and entrance into glory. When he had finished, the executioner, who was much affected, said, "The Lord receive your soul;" to which Mr. James replied, "I thank you." A friend then observed to him, "This is a happy day for you;" he replied, "I thank God it is." He then thanked the sheriff for his courtesy, and bade farewell to his friends; then saying, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit," was launched into eternity. But the rage of the bigoted tyrant did not end here. His heart was taken from his body and burned, his body itself quartered, and the mutilated parts affixed to the gates of the city, and his head set up in Whitechapel, on a pole opposite to the alley in which his meeting-house stood.

At the time when the present record of this church commences, 1673, William Sellers exercised the pastoral function. The church was then in a flourishing condition; the members being quite numerous, and strict discipline maintained. Mr. Sellers was probably the author of a work on the Sabbath, in review of Dr. Owen, which appeared in 1671. His ministry is supposed to have continued until 1678. He was succeeded by Mr. Toursby, who was a man of considerable controversial talent, which he exercised in defence of the Sabbath. He prepared a work for the press upon that subject, but it is believed that it has long been out of print. His ministry ceased in 1710.

About this time two persons named Slater preached occasionally, though it does not appear that they were ever ordained.

Mr. Savage, in 1711, accepted the pastoral office. His colleague, the venerable John Maulden, had long been the pastor of a Baptist Church in Goodman's Fields, which he left on account of his having embraced Sabbatarian principles. After the decease of these worthy men, the pastoral office was vacant for some time, during which the preaching brethren officiated in the ministry in a manner prescribed at the business meetings of the church. In 1720, Dr. Joseph Stennett was invited to accept the pastoral care of this church. He was then presiding over a Baptist Church in Exeter, and after considerable delay declined the call.

Mr. Robert Cornthwaite became their pastor in 1726. He had been connected with the Established Church, but becoming convinced that the gospel did not authorize any such establishment, he withdrew from its communion and identified himself with the dissenters. Becoming interested in the Sabbath controversy he soon decided for the seventh day, and was chosen pastor of this church, in which relation he continued until his death in 1754. He was distinguished for great mental vigour, and a firm adherence to whatever he deemed true and scriptural. He published several works relating to the Sabbath, which greatly contributed to draw attention to that important subject.

Daniel Noble, his successor, was a member of a Sabbath-keeping family, and being designed for the ministry, received the advantages of a liberal education. His studies were pursued first in London, and afterward at the Glasgow University. He commenced preaching occasionally at Mill-Yard in 1752, took the pastoral charge when that office became vacant, in which connexion he remained until his death in 1783.

At this time William Slater, a member of the church, was invited to conduct the services. This he did with such general acceptance that he received ordination, and became the pastor of the church. His ministry was very successful, and continued until he died, in 1819.

For several years ensuing that event the church was without a pastor, being supplied with ministerial assistance by brethren of other denominations, until William Henry Black, the present incumbent, became its spiritual guide. Through the pious liberality of one of its members, the Mill-Yard Church enjoys the benefit of an endowment. Mr. Joseph Davis, who united in its connexion at the time that John James suffered martyrdom, purchased, in 1691, the grounds adjoining the present Mill-Yard Church, erected the place of worship, and provided for the permanency of the society. This property was conveyed to trustees, appointed by the church, in 1700. In 1706, shortly before his death, Mr. Davis bequeathed his property to his son, with an annual rent-charge in favour of the Mill-Yard Church, together with seven other Sabbatarian churches in England. He likewise provided, conditionally, that his whole property might afterward come into the possession of the church, and be vested in trustees for its benefit. Mr. Davis, in the earlier part of his life, had suffered extremely from severe persecutions. He was a prisoner in Oxford Castle for nearly ten years, from which he was released in 1673. Subsequently he entered into business in London, where prosperity attended him, and he not only obtained a competence, but became a wealthy man. Few have made a more laudable use of riches, and I would say to the reader, go thou, and do likewise.

A short account of some of the most eminent among those who embraced Sabbatarianism previous to the organization of these churches, may be interesting to the general reader.

Shortly after the publication of Dr. Bound's book, in which he advanced the modern notion regarding the so-called Christian Sabbath, that it is a perpetuation of the fourth commandment, but that the day specified therein had been changed by divine authority, we first hear of John Traske, who both wrote and spoke in defence of the seventh day.

He also contended that the scriptures are sufficient to direct in religious services, and that the state has no right to prescribe any ordinances contrary to the laws of God. For this he was brought before the Star-Chamber, where a long discussion was held respecting the Sabbath, in which Dr. Andrews, Bishop of Winchester, took a prominent part. Traske could not be turned from his opinion, but received a censure in the Star-Chamber. "He was sentenced on account of his being a Sabbatarian," says Paggitt's Heresiography, "to be set upon the Pillory at Westminster, and from thence to be whipped to the Fleet Prison, there to remain a prisoner for three years. His wife, Mrs. Traske, was confined in Maiden Lane and the Gate House Prisons fifteen years, where she died, for the same crime."

Another distinguished advocate for the truth was Theophilus Brabourne, a learned minister in connexion with the Established Church. He wrote a book, which was published in London in 1628, wherein he argued that the Lord's Day is not the Sabbath by divine institution, but "that the seventh day is still in force." For this, and similar works, he was arraigned before the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Court of High Commission. His examination was conducted in the presence of many persons of high distinction, and several lords of his Majesty's Privy Council. For some reason, it is not possible to ascertain distinctly what, though probably he was over-awed by the character of the assembly, he signed a recantation and went back to the bosom of the church. Nevertheless he continued to assert, that if the Sabbatic institution be indeed moral and perpetually binding, the seventh day ought to be sacredly kept.

About the same time, it appears that Philip Pandy commenced propagating the same doctrines in the northern parts of England. He was educated in the Established Church, of which he became a minister. He withdrew from its communion, however, and became the mark for many shots. He held several important disputes about his peculiar sentiments, and contributed much to promulgate them.

James Ockford, another early advocate of the Sabbath in England, appears to have taken part in the discussions in which Traske and Brabourne were engaged. He also wrote and published a book in 1642, which was seized and burned by the authorities of the Established Church.

There does not appear to have been any regularly organized churches of Sabbatarians in England, until the commencement of the seventeenth century, though subsequent to that period there were eleven of these fraternities, besides many scattered Sabbath-keepers, in different parts of the kingdom. These churches were located in the following places, viz.: Braintree, in Essex; Chersey; Norweston; Salisbury, in Wiltshire; Sherbourne, in Buckinghamshire; Natton, in Gloucestershire; Wallingford, in Berkshire; Woodbridge, in Suffolk; and three in London—the Mill-Yard, Cripplegate, and Pinner's Hall Churches. Eight of the eleven are now extinct, and hence a complete account of them cannot be obtained.

A very interesting correspondence between the Mill-Yard Church and the General Conference of the Seventh-day Baptists in the United States has been carried on for the last fifty years. In 1844, George B. Utter, as delegate from that body, visited the brethren in England, where he was hospitably entertained. The worthy pastor of the Mill-Yard Church is, I understand, collecting materials for a history of the Lives and Writings of Sabbatarians in England, and likewise preparing a list of Sabbatarian authors, together with an account of all the books which have been published that relate to the Sabbath controversy.

From an attention to the foregoing it will be perceived that Sabbatarianism has greatly declined in England; and that decline seems to have been produced by the operation of a variety of causes. There are certainly great inconveniences, particularly in large towns and cities, connected with the observance of a day of rest so utterly at variance with the popular custom as that of the seventh day has ever been. This, with that spirit of conformity by which men are ever prone to accede to established usages, together with the fact that they never instituted any associational organization, sufficiently accounts for their early declension, without supposing any unsoundness in their creed.[35]

We have every reason to believe that formerly, and down so late as the commencement of the seventeenth century, Seventh-day Baptist churches, of considerable magnitude, existed at the foot of the Grampians, and among the Welsh mountains, but their history appears to be buried in oblivion.

I have also been recently informed that there is a Seventh-day Baptist church near Burton-upon-Trent, and nine miles from Derby. That a Mr. Witt, in 1832, officiated as pastor. That they own a large brick meeting-house, in which their meetings are solemnized every Sabbath day, and are a very respectable body of people.