Chapter VIII (1)

Meeting-house rebuilt—Daniel Delf—Formation of the Beccles District Missionary Society—Bible meetings—Association Sermon—Meetings of ministers—Samuel Archer—Illness of Mr. Sloper—Attacked with paralysis—Letter to the Treasurer of the Suffolk Missionary Society—Second attack—Rev. John Flower—Mr. Sloper resigns—His character—Ordination of Mr. Flower—Death of Mr. Sloper—Tablet to his memory—William Crisp—Enlargement of the chapel—Conclusion.

THE dilapidated state of the meeting-house, as well as its inadequacy to the accommodation of increasing numbers, gave rise, in the year 1809, to the design of erecting a more substantial and commodious place of worship. This was accomplished in 1812, at an expense, including the purchase of a small piece of ground, of £2140 18_s._ 4_d._ Besides a regular periodical subscription, repeated efforts were made, by those who felt an interest in the work, to liquidate this debt. It was not, however, till 1829, that there appeared a balance in hand. To a society who, as a body, could not boast of opulence, this was naturally a subject of much pleasure. The pecuniary and personal aid of their benevolent minister, had been rendered with cheerfulness and alacrity; and he heartily sympathized with them in the final accomplishment of their design. It was a fit occasion for the exercise of the best social feelings. Mutual congratulations were blended with ardent thankfulness to God; and the account of the various donations and subscriptions were closed with the following memorandum.

“Be it remembered with gratitude to the Giver of all good, that the
debt of £2140 18_s._ 4_d._, contracted in the erection of the chapel,
in the year of our Lord 1812, after sixteen years’ persevering
exertion, was this year entirely discharged; in commemoration of
which, forty-four of the subscribers dined together at the King’s
Head Inn, and in evidence of which the minister and deacons have
hereto subscribed their names, this 16th day of February, 1829.

ISAAC SLOPER, Pastor.

WILLIAM CRISP,
JOHN CRISP,
SAMUEL TOVELL,
JOHN MAYHEW,
Deacons.”

In the margin of the entry a reference is made to a passage of Scripture, which indicates the character of the joy and the proper object of the thankfulness thus manifested. 1 Chron. xxix. 16, “O Lord, our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name, cometh of thy hand, and is all thine own.”

* * * * *

While the new chapel was building, this christian society was deprived by death of a member whose character and usefulness, as a man and as a Christian, are entitled to be recorded here—_Mr. Daniel Delf_. He was favoured in early life with the religious training of a pious mother, and the public ministry of Mr. Bocking. Settling at Beccles, he soon became a member of Mr. Heptinstall’s church; and in 1792, on account of his excellent spirit and character, he was chosen a deacon. In that office he exerted himself continually to promote the peace and prosperity of the church, and to strengthen the hands of his minister. Every member found in him an example to stimulate, a friend to advise, and an advocate before the throne of God. While his particular attention was devoted to the “household of faith,” he habitually laboured to do good unto all men, and was ever ready to alleviate suffering humanity at the expense of self-denial. Hence he was admired and respected by all who knew him. Some who despised his piety, perceived the benefits of it; and while they could ridicule the saint, revered the man. Such an individual his friends could have wished to retain for ever; but in the spring of 1812, repeated invasions of disease warned them of the loss they were soon to sustain. He went to Lowestoft, to try a change of air and scene; but returned after a few weeks. Passing slowly near the building he had been zealous to raise for God, he directed his eye towards the work, and burst into tears. He wept when he thought of the place of worship he should never enter, and of the society he was about to leave: but he soon resumed his fortitude, for he was in a few days to enter the glorious temple of God, that “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

The chamber of this dying saint exhibited a scene fraught with instruction. Surrounded by relatives and friends in unutterable anguish, _he_ was serene, possessing “the peace of God which passeth understanding.” “Remember,” said he to his sorrowing partner in life, “I shall not take _the promises_ with me.” His medical attendant coming in shortly before he expired, he said, “If you can give me any thing whereby I may glorify God more, do it.” But nature was exhausted, and he fell asleep in death.

A numerous congregation attentively heard his funeral sermon, from Psal. xii. 1, “Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.” {225}

His memory, is still cherished by all classes of his neighbours with a vividness and a regard, which speak the justice of the inscription compiled by his beloved pastor and placed upon his grave.

BENEATH THIS STONE
LIE THE MORTAL REMAINS OF
DANIEL DELF,
WHO AFTER SUSTAINING IN AN
EXEMPLARY MANNER THE CHARACTERS
OF HUSBAND, PARENT, FRIEND, AND
DEACON OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
WITH UNSHAKEN CONFIDENCE IN THE
REDEEMER, PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY
OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, TO HIS
EVERLASTING REST,
JUNE 7TH, 1812,
IN THE 55TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.

Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. Heb. vi. 12.

Mr. Sloper had the happiness in 1814, to witness the formation of the Beccles District Society in aid of Missions, which was soon extended to the whole county of Suffolk. In September of that year, a meeting of the neighbouring ministers was held at his house, in consequence of some previous conversation on the subject with two of his brethren in a friendly visit. His whole soul entered into the cause of missions; and when the county society was formed, every eye was directed towards him as the proper person to act as its secretary, an office which he filled with great wisdom and unabated zeal, till his last and long-continued affliction compelled him to relinquish all active service. The days of the missionary meetings were among the most happy of his life; and never was he absent, except when sickness compelled that absence.

About this time, also, he began to take a very active part in all the meetings of the Bible Society within twelve or fourteen miles of his residence. His great love to the holy Scriptures, and consequently to all the means of disseminating them, rendered him a willing helper. Probably no individual in the county of Suffolk attended more of the meetings of the Society. And though at those meetings he always took a leading part, yet none could accuse him of a forwardness disgraceful to him that manifests it, and injurious to the cause which he professes to serve.

Indeed, the excellent pastor of the Congregational church at Beccles, was so highly and so universally respected and beloved by his brethren in the ministry, and by the members of neighbouring churches, that there were few occasions of interest to them on which his presence and assistance were not sought. They felt that in him they could present to the most numerous and mixed assemblies, a picture of the judicious, faithful, practical christian minister, which the heavenly-minded would admire, and which the profane would find it impossible to despise. He was the counterpart of Cowper’s “pastor,”

“Simple, grave, sincere;
In doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain,
And plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste,
And natural in gesture; much impress’d
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too: affectionate in look,
And tender in address, as well became
A messenger of grace to guilty men.”

It would be difficult, and is unnecessary, to enumerate all the instances in which Mr. Sloper was engaged at ordinations, at the opening of places of worship, and in the service of societies formed for promoting the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom.

On the 23rd April, 1816, he delivered at Needham Market, before the half-yearly association of the Suffolk Independent churches, a discourse, which he published at their request, and which speedily went into a second edition. It is founded on 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.” This sermon affords a specimen of that sober evenness of style, supported by solidity of sentiment, and adorned by dignified yet affectionate earnestness, which characterized Mr. Sloper’s pulpit exercises. He points out in what respects christian churches are the glory and joy of their ministers; and urges a devout regard to the objects of their union. The following passage, with which he closes his discussion of the former of these topics, will at once illustrate his manner of preaching, and the value he attached to the intercessions of his people.

“Christian affection, my brethren, sweetens the intercourse of life;
it is the comfort of the church on earth, and the element of the
church in heaven; and in the exercise of this celestial virtue, you
will promote each other’s welfare, and fill your pastors’ hearts with
gratitude and joy; you will receive their admonitions with meekness,
listen to their instructions with a proper temper, cover their
infirmities and not expose them, and be ready by your words and
actions to strengthen their hands.

“Ministers are greatly encouraged by the pious and constant prayers
of their people. Ah! my friends, we need your prayers: we are frail
creatures, and men of like passions with yourselves. Whatever be our
feelings, we must perform the solemn duties of our office. Our work
is arduous; our responsibility awful; and even an apostle says,
‘Brethren, pray for us;’ and _we_, you may rest assured, cannot
dispense with your supplications, or be happy without them. We are
relieved, in all our labours and afflictions, by the persuasion that
the people of our care are a godly and praying people. How
refreshing is the thought, that while we are studying the Scriptures,
and preparing for the exercises of the sabbath, our christian friends
are imploring the aid of God’s grace and Spirit, to preserve us from
error, and to render us faithful to the solemn trust assigned us!
With what pleasure do we enter the pulpit, when we can believe that
our hearers have been praying for a blessing on our souls, and on the
labours of our ministry! We are animated to proceed in our
exertions, when the hearts of our friends ascend in supplication to
God, that the word of his grace may be applied with power to their
own minds, and be the means of leading others to the Saviour and to
the kingdom of heaven. If you come to the house of God with a
devotional spirit, and bear your ministers and their great work upon
your hearts, it is more than probable that a disposition to cavil and
to censure will be destroyed, and as new-born babes, you will
“receive the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby;”
while, in a sense that rises in importance with the progress of time,
you will be the ‘joy and crown of rejoicing,’ of those who have taken
the oversight among you in the Lord . . .

“If you are true Christians, and firmly hold the sublime and holy
doctrines of the gospel of Christ; if you improve under the ministry
of the word, and bear the fruits of righteousness, to the honour of
divine grace; if the important duties of social religion be
conscientiously and steadily performed; if your desires, prayers, and
efforts are employed for the comfort, encouragement, and success of
your ministers; and if all your conduct as Christians and members of
churches, be directed to the glory of the great Head of the church;
you are indeed most honourable societies; you are a credit to your
profession, the ‘hope’ of your pastors, and will meet them as their
‘joy and crown of rejoicing’ at the resurrection of the just.” {232}

A society of a private nature for friendly intercourse among a few neighbouring ministers, was formed at Mr. Sloper’s house in 1822. The occasional interchange of counsel and sympathy thus secured, afforded him much unmingled satisfaction; and even during his last illness he joined in one of these meetings, and prayed with great fervency and affection.

In 1824 Mr. Sloper published an account of Samuel Markham Archer, a little boy who died at Beccles, May 1st, in that year. It is an interesting narrative, beautifully illustrating the power and value of religion operating upon the mind of a child. This tract reached a third edition, and was stereotyped in the following year.

In the spring of 1825, Mr. Sloper was again the subject of severe affliction, and for several Lord’s days his people were deprived of his public services. It was his great anxiety that they might continue to be fed with the bread of life. His brethren in the ministry readily lent their aid; and on the first sabbath in May he was again permitted to unite with his flock in sweet communion at the table of the Lord.

For several subsequent years he continued to labour with much acceptance, and to enjoy the unmingled respect and affection due to a truly upright, holy, and amiable deportment.

In the autumn of 1832, the awful ravages of the cholera occasioned special meetings for prayer, in almost all christian societies. At the suggestion of Mr. Sloper, such a meeting was held at the Independent chapel, Beccles, on the evening of Wednesday, September 5th. It was numerously attended. A solemnity equally free from formality and enthusiasm prevailed in the assembly and characterized the service. Several leading members of the church prayed appropriately and fervently. The psalms selected for singing, were suited to the particular occasion, and were afterwards remembered with a sad impression of their almost prophetic strain, with reference to the mysterious event which was about to be disclosed in the providence of God. The faithful and beloved pastor himself read, from the pulpit he had so long occupied,—

“Death, like an overflowing stream,
Sweeps us away; our life’s a dream,
An empty tale, a morning flower,
Cut down, and wither’d in an hour!”

He delivered an address, pointing out the peculiar propriety of prayer under the circumstances of that affecting period; and with solemn supplication and the apostolic benediction closed the service. While the congregation were withdrawing he was observed in the act of descending with extreme difficulty from the pulpit. It had pleased the Sovereign Disposer of all events to afflict him with paralysis, so severely, that the most painful apprehensions were felt as to the result.

Such an occurrence, under these circumstances, was singularly affecting. Mr. Sloper had entertained a presentiment that his labours would not be extended to a much longer period than those of his immediate predecessor. On the sabbath which completed the twenty-ninth year of his pastorate, his mind had been much occupied with this apprehension; and though he knew in whose hands his “times” were, it was not till he had made one unsuccessful effort that he could so far overcome his feelings as to commence his public address in the afternoon of that day. It was now perceived that his fears were about to be realized. But the juncture had arrived at which a faithful minister might well receive with humble thankfulness and patient acquiescence, the summons to his great account. He was “found” in the exercise of watchfulness, and in the very act of prayer, labouring “out of season” to render the judgments of God subservient to the best interests of his flock, with his “loins girt about, and his lamp burning.”

This event excited the deepest interest and sympathy, not only in the congregation, but throughout the town and neighbourhood. Special prayer-meetings to implore the divine mercy in the restoration of the smitten shepherd, and the influence of the Holy Spirit to direct the church in their critical affairs, were held; and temporary measures were resorted to for supplying the pulpit.

For about two months the congregation availed itself of the services of Mr. Russ, who had just then terminated an engagement at Gorleston. From the middle of November 1832, to the beginning of the subsequent July, the Rev. Thomas Morell, jun. (nephew of the eminent principal of Coward College, London,) laboured here.

In the spring of 1833, Mr. Sloper’s indisposition was so far alleviated, that he was enabled, in the seclusion of his own house, to employ his mind upon topics and objects still dear to him. He had always been accustomed, as secretary of the Suffolk Society in aid of Missions, to prepare its Report. The annual meeting drew near; and he felt his incapacity for the wonted task. But he wrote, at intervals, a letter to the treasurer, Mr. Shepherd Bay, which was read at the meeting, and printed in lieu of the sixteenth Report of the Society. Never had he furnished a report which was heard with deeper interest.

_Beccles_, _April_ 26, 1833.

“My dear Friend,

The approaching anniversary of the Suffolk Society in aid of
Missions, awakens feelings of no ordinary character in my mind.
Gladly should I, as on many former occasions, meet you in the
performance of official duties, and in the enjoyment of some of the
highest privileges of the Christian, had not the all-wise providence
of God incapacitated me for meeting my brethren and friends, except
at a throne of grace, where, notwithstanding the distance of forty
miles, we can cherish the same feelings of benevolence towards the
perishing heathen, and exercise christian love one towards another .
. . Gratefully I desire to acknowledge the kindness of my dear
brethren and friends, personally shown to me as their secretary
during past years, and especially their kind letters of condolence
and fervent prayers since my affliction, which has made me the Lord’s
prisoner for nearly eight months. I rejoice in their personal and
relative peace and prosperity; and with you, my friend, do I share in
the satisfaction that our county Society exhibits pleasing signs of
christian union and hopeful efficiency, and that the desire of our
hearts, as its sincerely devoted servants, promises to be
increasingly and ultimately accomplished.

“I trust this anniversary will be distinguished by every thing that
increases the dignity of the christian character; that promotes the
cause of social religion at home; that gives a holy impulse to the
soul in seeking the prosperity of our churches, the best interests of
our country, and the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom throughout
every part of the habitable world. May the great Head of the church
pour out his Holy Spirit on your assembly!—that the young may be
enlisted into the blessed service in which the fathers of many have
been so honourably and happily employed; that christian zeal may be
reanimated; that devotion and liberality may be abundantly increased;
and that the coming year may be rendered the most prosperous and
encouraging of all that have passed away since the formation of the
Society within the venerable walls where you will, on Tuesday, be
assembled.

. . . . . . .

“Continue, my dear friend, to pray for me; and the same request I
would make to all who may meet you in the sanctuary on the delightful
occasion, that the awful dispensation with which I have been visited
may be sanctified to me and to all with whom I am connected: and
should the Father of mercies realize my hopes of ultimate recovery, I
trust the cause of the blessed Saviour will continue to lie near my
heart, and that I shall renew my humble efforts with you to advance,
as God’s honoured instruments, the best interests of the Suffolk
Society in aid of Missions. To be, for years to come, your
fellow-labourer in the service of our Association, will continue to
be one of the chief enjoyments of my pilgrimage; and to die an
undisgraced servant in the cause which the Society was formed to
promote, will contribute to comfort my departing spirit when, from
scenes of duty and means of grace, I shall pass to my final account,
and return no more for my own advantage, or that of my fellow-men
upon earth.

I am, my dear friend,
Yours with sincere affection,
and best wishes,
ISAAC SLOPER.”

About two months after the above letter was written, Mr. Sloper had a second attack of so serious a description, as to preclude all hope of his ever again returning even to the partial discharge of his pastoral duties.

An application was consequently made to the directors of Highbury College for further supplies, and on September 15th, 1833, MR. JOHN FLOWER, jun. first officiated at Beccles. He had come down as a supply for a month only; but that time had not expired before all hearts seemed to be united in his favour. A special prayer-meeting was held, the afflicted pastor of the church consulted, his approval decidedly expressed, and on October 13th Mr. Flower was invited to take the oversight of this people. The church expressed their humble hope that as they had sought divine direction, the result would be their own growth in holiness, the conversion of many sinners unto God, and the enlarged manifestation of the divine glory. Mr. Flower accepted the invitation, proposing, as he had not completed his studies in the college, the last sabbath in the following February for the commencement of his pastoral duties.

Meanwhile the public services of the congregation continued to be conducted by a variety of ministers.

Prior to Mr. Flower’s entering upon his office, Mr. Sloper sent in his written resignation in the following humble and affectionate terms:

“_Beccles_, _Feb._ 13_th_, 1834.

“My dear friends,

After labouring among you for upwards of thirty years, I am brought
to the painful necessity of resigning my connexion with you as your
minister and pastor. I resign with humility, acknowledging my
unworthiness, and craving the mercy of our Lord Jesus at his second
coming.

“If I have offended any of our friends I ask their forgiveness, and
commend them all to the divine mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
life eternal. It is a comfort to me that, while I feel imperiously
required by my imperfections to resign my pastoral relation, I can
commend to you my dear friend and brother Flower, to take the
oversight of you in the Lord: and this I do with sincere affection,
and with earnest prayer that the divine blessing may remain with you
for ever.

“Begging my affectionate regards to all classes of my friends—to the
aged, the poor, and the young—I am

Yours with the most affectionate regard,
and most earnest prayers,
ISAAC SLOPER.”

“To MR. JOHN CRISP,
and the other Deacons, &c. &c.”

The best testimony to Mr. Sloper’s ministerial character and exertions, is the _effect_ of his devoted services. It is sufficient to point to a church remarkable for its numbers—to a congregation constant and attentive, and comprising many who had not formally joined the church, but were the friends of Christ—and to prayer-meetings, and other week-day services, regularly and well attended:—a minister of the gospel needs no other commendation.

Some intimations of Mr. Sloper’s personal character have appeared in the previous pages. It was formed from an assemblage of those attractive and useful, though unobtrusive, qualities, which are not the best adapted for elaborate description, but are peculiarly conducive to the respectability of the individual and the happiness of society. His predominant quality was _benevolence_, ennobled and directed by deep and abiding piety. With him it was not a sickly sentimentalism exhausted upon objects of no moment, nor a heated enthusiasm aiming at projects of extravagance; but a principle which could expand to the great interests of humanity, or contract itself to the minute charities of domestic life. It guided his energies to the work of evangelizing heathen millions, and pervaded his ordinary intercourse with friends and neighbours. Those who occasionally saw him were struck with the urbanity of his manners; those who were favoured with his intimate friendship knew that his heart was all kindness. He rejoiced with those that rejoiced, and wept with those that wept. Much of his happiness consisted in making others happy. Once speaking of a servant visiting her friends, he observed with true generosity, “It is right she should go; she has the same feelings with ourselves.”

No one was more free from the unamiable passions. Although he never deemed it necessary to merge the citizen in the saint, or forgot how inseparably blended are the interests of civil and religious liberty, he was unstained by political animosity. The avowal of his opinions was never unaccompanied by candour and charity towards those who differed from him. By his explanatory and conciliatory addresses on various suitable occasions, there is reason to believe that he contributed in no slight degree to prepare the minds of those within the circle of his influence, for the more cordial reception of the great legislative changes of which he lived to witness the consummation.

If ever he was betrayed into a warm expression, he was remarkably candid and placable: once convinced that he was wrong, he _made haste_ with kindness and compunction in his heart, and frankness on his tongue, to repair the momentary error. Nor was he less ready to forgive. Some years ago a vexatious injury was committed in his garden. He remarked respecting it, “I wish the man a better heart.” It is in matters of such comparatively trivial importance that character exhibits its true features.

Even when affliction had partially obscured his mental powers, and his faith and patience were called into constant exercise, the holy love of the Christian still burst through the cloud, and irradiated the long evening of his pilgrimage.

It is not to be wondered at that he was greatly beloved, not only by his immediate friends, but by persons of all ages, classes, and callings, wherever he was known. “I was present,” says one of his most esteemed brethren in the ministry, “at his ordination; I was present at his interment; I enjoyed a large share of his friendship in the long interval between the two events; and I never witnessed his approach without gladness, or parted from him without regret.”

* * * * *

Mr. Flower’s ordination took place June 5th, 1834. The Rev. Wm. Ward, of Stowmarket, delivered the introductory discourse, on the scriptural character of a christian church. The usual questions to the deacons and the new minister were put by the Rev. John Dennant, of Halesworth. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Andrew Ritchie, of Wrentham; and the charge to Mr. Flower was given by his father, the Rev. John Flower, of Titchfield, Hants. On the evening of the day, the Rev. John Alexander, of Norwich, addressed to the church and congregation an affectionate and excellent discourse.

About five weeks after the above event, Mr. Flower was visited with a painful and alarming affliction, which laid him aside from his public duties until the 7th June following.

During those months, the public services of the congregation were conducted by a succession of ministers.

* * * * *

On the 23rd November, 1835, Mr. Sloper’s protracted affliction was terminated by death. Although he had been long lost to society, the event was a subject of general and sincere lamentation. The chapel was thronged with those who came to witness his interment at the foot of the pulpit from which he had dispensed the words of eternal life.

His death was improved on the following Lord’s-day afternoon, by Mr. Creak, of Yarmouth, from 2 Pet. i. 12–15. The young people of the congregation have since gratified their feelings of veneration for one who ever manifested the tenderest regard for their best interests, by placing in the meeting-house a neat marble tablet, with the following inscription:

IN MEMORY OF
THE REVD. ISAAC SLOPER,
FOR THIRTY YEARS PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
ASSEMBLING IN THIS PLACE;
IN WHOM BENEVOLENCE AND CANDOUR WERE SO CONSPICUOUSLY
BLENDED WITH FIDELITY AND UPRIGHTNESS,
AS TO SECURE TO HIM, IN AN EMINENT DEGREE, THE AFFECTION
AND CONFIDENCE OF HIS FLOCK, AND THE ESTEEM OF ALL.
HE RECEIVED, ON THE 5TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1832,
WHILE DISCHARGING THE DUTIES OF HIS SACRED OFFICE,
A SOLEMN WARNING OF HIS APPROACHING DISSOLUTION,
AND WAS DISMISSED TO HIS EVERLASTING REST
ON THE 23RD OF NOVEMBER, 1835,
IN THE 57TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.

“Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when
he cometh, shall find so doing.”

These records ought not to be closed without a brief reference to the truly honourable life and peaceful death of _Mr. William Crisp_.

He became a member of this church on the 4th June, 1802, and was some years afterwards chosen a deacon. In both relations, he acted with uniform candour, kindness, meekness, and generosity. He was a liberal pecuniary contributor to the support of the cause; the friend of minister and people, and the benefactor of the poor.

He sustained, as a merchant, a reputation against which slander never ventured to direct a shaft; and his whole deportment imparted, in the eye of the world, a weight and dignity to the christian community to which he belonged. The declaration of holy writ was manifestly verified in reference to him: “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him,” Prov. xx. 7. He lived to witness the departure into the eternal world, of five of his children, who all died in the faith and hope of the gospel. Two only survive—they have risen up to “call him blessed,” and one of them fills an important station in the Baptist Academy at Bristol.

Mr. Crisp died on the 18th January, 1836, in the 80th year of his age. {250}

* * * * *

After Mr. Flower’s restoration to health, an increasing eagerness to hear the gospel was manifested, and the duty of providing additional accommodation in the chapel became a subject of serious consideration. Early in the last year (1836) an extensive alteration and enlargement was determined upon; the greater part of the requisite funds were furnished by the cheerful contributions of many, and the very liberal assistance of some; and the work has since been accomplished. A sketch of the building in its improved form is prefixed to this little volume.

* * * * *

The expense of erecting and enlarging places of worship is far more serious to dissenters than to members of the Established Church, since independently of receiving no direct aid from government, the former are subject to the duty upon the materials used, from which burden the latter are exempt. Nearly allied to this tax upon nonconformity, are the stamp duties upon the conveyances, and deeds for renewing trusts, of chapels, and the charges for enrolment.

These form a heavy item in the balance of justice which remains due to the dissenting portion of the community, or rather, to the interests of religion itself. Its liquidation is not demanded merely as an act of justice; but as a step towards the total disenthralment of Christianity from the paralyzing grasp of state patronage. The religious world, taught by principle and by example, is discovering that it must look to the voluntary efforts of benevolence, impelled by christian principles and crowned with the divine blessing, for the evangelization of the people.

For a long period after the revolution, the nonconformists, bleeding with the persecution of ages, sank into a premature and too protracted slumber. But they have gradually aroused themselves, and are engaging in the assertion of their rights with increasing vigour. Nor will their claims cease to be reiterated, till in the affairs of the soul, “ABSOLUTE LIBERTY, JUST AND TRUE LIBERTY, EQUAL AND IMPARTIAL LIBERTY,” shall have become the possession of every British subject.

SUMMARY OF MINISTERS.

PASTORS. SUPPLIES. John Clarke (?) 1653–1656 Robert Ottee 1656–1689 Joseph Tate 1691–1694 John Killinghall 1697–1699 William Nokes 1703(?)–1710 Edmund Spencer 1711–1736(?) Thomas Tingey 1736–1749 William Lincoln 1749–1757 John Hurrion 1757–1758 Nicholas Phené 1758–1760 John Fell 1762–1770 Baxter (?) Cole 1771 Joseph Heptinstall 1773–1802 1771–1773 Isaac Sloper 1803–1834 1802–1803 Thomas Morell 1832–1833 John Flower 1834–

INDEX.

ABBOT, 102.

Adkins, 10.

After, 73.

Archer, 233.

Articles, 4, 66, 75, 84, 104.

Artis, 126, 153, 160.

Association, 229.

Asty, 124.

Athanasius, 78.

Aylmer, 67.

* * * * *

Baker, 142, 157.

Bancroft, 93.

Baptism, 78, 127, 129, 167.

Baptists, 120, 177, 207.

Beccles, 29, 32, 111.

Bible-meetings, 227.

Bidbanck, 144.

Bocking, 191, 192.

Body, 82.

Bradfield, 112.

Brewster, 118.

Bridge, 105, 106, 122, 138.

Brinsley, 123.

Brodie, 11.

Brougham, 12.

Brownists, 88.

Burial, 80.

Bury, 33, 179.

* * * * *

Carter, 194.

Catechism, 79.

Ceremonies, 56, 76, 103, 147.

Charles I. 103, 105.

Clark, 113, 118, 143.

Cole, 185.

Collinges, 148.

Common Prayer, 66, 75, 77.

Congregationalism, 89, 138.

Corporation, 31, 70.

Corporation Act, 117.

Covenant, 112, 114.

Cranmer, 17, 23.

Crick, 59.

Crisp, 167, 248.

Cromwell, 109, 119, 140.

Cutlove, 117, 126.

* * * * *

Deacons, 126, 127, 161, 175.

Declaration, 100, 138.

Delf, 223.

Denton, 112, 144.

Doddridge, 172.

Dunning, 38, 39, 73.

* * * * *

Ebbs, 191.

Edgefield, 112.

Edward VI., 16.

Edwy, 33.

Elizabeth, 53, 65.

Exiles, 55.

Experience, 206.

* * * * *

Fell, 180.

Fenner, 198.

Finch, 145.

Fishery, 31.

Fisk, 25, 26.

Fleming, 69, 86.

Flixton, 140.

Flower, 241, 246.

Framlingham, 19.

Freke, 63.

Friends, 112.

Friendship, 171.

Fuller, 94.

* * * * *

Girdler’s-hall, 160.

Godwick, 112.

Gravestones, 178.

Green, 166.

Gregory, 156.

Gresham, 73.

Grindal, 62.

Guestwick, 112.

* * * * *

Hammond, 63.

Harsnet, 102.

Haylouck, 153, 160.

Heath, 41.

Hell, 81.

Henry VIII, 14.

Heptinstall, 187.

High Commission, 54, 67.

Homilies, 83.

Hopton, 39, 73.

Howard, 34, 185.

Hupton, 207.

Hurrion, J., 179.

Hurrion, S., 179.

Hutchinson, 11.

* * * * *

Independents, 89, 95, 99, 162.

Ingham, 112.

* * * * *

Jacob, 94, 99.

James I, 92, 100.

James II, 153.

Justices, 64, 91.

* * * * *

Killinghall, 163.

King, 12.

* * * * *

Lad, 94.

Laud, 103.

Lawrence, 58.

Letters, 157, 201, 210, 237.

Liberty, 7, 8, 43, 108, 252.

Lincoln, 179.

Locke, 12, 45, 48, 51.

Lord’s supper, 126, 128, 191.

* * * * *

Martyrs, 23, 37.

Mary, 18.

Maunsell, 94.

Meeting-house, 161, 221, 250.

Meetings, 172, 232.

Millenary petition, 92, 100.

Millenium, 83.

Minister, 75.

Ministry, 123, 149, 199, 248.

Missionary Society, 226, 237.

Music, 83.

* * * * *

New England, 26, 96, 132.

Newton, 161, 176.

Nokes, 167.

Nonconformity, 1, 8, 141, 147.

Norfolk, 23, 26, 63, 67, 112, 137.

Norwich, 106, 113, 114, 173.

* * * * *

Ordination, 125, 191, 205, 246.

Ottee, 121, 143.

* * * * *

Parkhurst, 63.

Peck, 102.

Penance, 83.

Phené, 180.

Playters, 167, 178.

Popery, 13, 48, 110, 146.

Pougher, 175.

Prayer, 213.

Presbyterians, 119, 120, 162.

Prison, 34.

Prophesyings, 59, 62, 89, 134.

Protestantism, 145.

Providence, 155.

Psalms, 81, 132.

Puritans, 55, 87, 101.

* * * * *

Raleigh, 90.

Rede, 73.

Rendham, 180.

Ridgley, 175, 178.

Robinson, 94.

Rogers, 23.

Rushall, 177.

* * * * *

Sacraments, 79.

Sanderson, 59.

Savoy, 136.

Scales, 4.

Scambler, 59, 72.

Schism, 85.

School, 30.

Scott, 4.

Scriptures, 5, 115, 146.

Shardalow, 119.

Shufflebottom, 194.

Sick, 79, 209.

Siddons, 216.

Sigebert, 32.

Singing, 131.

Sloper, 198, 226.

Southwold, 172, 180.

Spencer, 174.

Sports, 100, 103, 104, 105.

Stalham, 112.

St. James’, 25.

Stoke, 24.

Subscription, 84.

Suffolk, 23, 26, 28, 64, 67, 137.

Supremacy, 54.

* * * * *

Tate, 156.

Thanksgiving, 131.

Thaxted, 183.

Tingey, 175.

Toleration Act, 152.

Toplady, 40.

Towle, 185, 190.

Trusts, 161, 162.

Tunstead, 112, 166.

* * * * *

Uniformity Act, 85, 140.

Usher, 4.

Utrecht, 167.

* * * * *

Visitation, 104.

* * * * *

Walpole, 112.

Walsham, 112.

Wattisfield, 112, 142.

Watts, 161, 168, 171.

Wesley, 207.

Whitgift, 65, 73, 93.

Whiting, 102.

Wilton, 84.

Winter, 200, 202, 209.

Woodbridge, 112.

Wren, 104.

Wrentham, 112, 142, 172.

Wycliffe, 4, 14.

Wymondham, 112.

* * * * *

Yare, 29.

Yarmouth, 106.

* * * * *

William Lenny, Printer, Beccles.

Footnotes

{vi} In addition to the books referred to in the subsequent pages, may be mentioned Towgood’s Letters to White; Furneaux’s Letters to Blackstone; Robinson’s Plan of Lectures on Nonconformity; Graham on Ecclesiastical Establishments; Marshall’s “Ecclesiastical Establishments considered,” and “Ecclesiastical Establishments further considered;” Scales’s “Principles of Dissent;” Thorn’s “Union of Church and State Antiscriptural;” and, amongst a multitude of able pamphlets, that by the Rev. J. B. Innes, of Norwich, entitled “Ecclesiastical Establishments Indefensible,” and “A Letter on the Principles and History of Dissenters,” by the Rev. John Raven, of Hadleigh.

{vii} Bishop Burnet.

{3} Matt. xxiii. 10.

{4} One of the opinions Wycliffe was charged with holding was this, “It is blasphemy to call any but Christ, head of the church.”

“The office of the head is, to prescribe laws to his church which
should bind men’s consciences to the obedience of the same: and of
such lawgivers there is but one. James iv. 18.”—_Archbishop Usher_.

“Christians are forbidden to look up to any man as having dominion
over their faith, as entitled to implicit credence and submission,
or, as the head of their sect whose decisions were stamped with
authority over their consciences; they were to oppose all claims and
pretensions of this kind by whomsoever they were advanced or on
whatever grounds.”—_Rev. T. Scott_, _late Rector of Aston Sanford_,
_Comment_. Matt, xxiii. 8–10.

It is equally difficult to reconcile a hearty belief in the twentieth article of the Church of England with these sentiments, and to distinguish them in substance from the following: “Authoritative and legislative interference apart from him, we dare not recognise: our loyalty to Christ as the church’s only head, compels us to disclaim it, and to protest against all human dictation. It cannot be shown that he has any where delegated his sovereignty; that he has appointed any order of men to act for him in a vice-regal capacity, and invested them with irresponsible and discretionary powers, or indeed with any powers at all, to frame articles of belief and formularies of worship and discipline, to fix the meaning of his word, or to devise and prescribe the religion of a congregation, or community, or province, or nation.”—_Scales’ Principles of Dissent_, p. 72.

{5} Isa. viii. 20. “With respect to difference of opinion on religious subjects, the basis of religion is the Bible, and those [are the] most orthodox christians who adhere the most strictly to the doctrines laid down in that sacred volume. To explain it, is the duty of all mankind, and its interpretation is confined to no particular sect. To use coercion in compelling uniformity is not only impolitic, but while man is constituted as man, it will be impracticable.”—_Hansard’s Debates_, _May_ 21_st_, 1811. _Speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury_.

{7a} Acts v. 29.

{7b} John, iv. 23, 24.

{7c} Acts v. 38, 39. The conduct of the apostles “was a stand for principles; and in this respect they take their station at the head of the reformers of the world.”—_Bogue and Bennett’s History of Dissenters_, i. 290.

{8} Earl of Chatham, in the House of Lords, 1773.

{10} There is abundant evidence that the christian sects properly called with reference to their church government, Independents, are entitled to this honourable distinction. The Rev. Thomas Adkins in his recently published Records of the Independent Church at Southampton, (a book more especially valuable for its argumentative and explanatory observations,) has collected several testimonies in support of the statement that “The Independents were the first as a sect, in this country, to discover and to recognise, to their full extent, the sacred rights of conscience.”

The editor of Col. Hutchinson’s Memoirs, (a clergyman of the Established Church,) says, they “proceeded upon that principle which, how general soever it ought to be, is, however, unfortunately very uncommon, of allowing to all that liberty of conscience they demanded for themselves.”—_Introd._ p. 17.

Mr. Brodie, the learned author of the History of the British Empire from the accession of Charles I. to the Restoration, remarks that “The grand principle by which the Independents surpassed all other sects was, universal toleration to all denominations of christians whose religion was not conceived to be hostile to the peace of the state, a principle to which they were faithful in the height of power as well as under persecution.”—Vol. iii. p. 517.

“By the Independent divines, who were his instructors, (says the
noble biographer of Locke,) our philosopher was taught those
principles of religious liberty which they were the first to disclose
to the world.”—_Lord King’s Life of Locke_, 4to ed. p. 178.

On the motion for inquiring into the cause of the death of the missionary Smith, Lord Brougham is reported to have said, “Mr. Smith was a pious and faithful minister of the Independents, that body, much to be respected indeed for their numbers, but far more to be held in lasting veneration for their unshaken fortitude, with which, in all times, they have maintained their attachment to civil and religious liberty, and holding fast by their own principles, have carried to its utmost pitch the great doctrine of absolute toleration.”

{14} He affirmed, from his own perusal of them, that in the primitive church there were but two orders of ministers, priests and deacons, and that “by the ordinance of Christ priests and bishops were all one.”—_Vaughan’s Life of Wycliffe_, 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 275.

{15a} Stat. 26 Hen. VIII. c. 1.

{15b} Stat. 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. c. 1.

{16} He “laid all his subjects on the bed of Procrustus; some he stretched as too short for the extent of the monarch’s faith; and others he decapitated for presuming to look over his shoulders.”—_Bogue and Bennett_, i. 44.

{17} Stat. 2 & 3, Edw. VI. c. 1. 5 & 6, Edw. VI. c. 1.

{18} Burnet’s Hist. Ref. ii. 178.

{19} Framlingham Castle had been granted by the preceding monarch to Mary. One inducement to take her station there during the suspension of her rights, probably was the proximity of the place to the sea coast. The residents in Suffolk who came forward as her adherents do not appear to have been all favourable to the reformation. The first who took up arms and levied men in her defence was Sir John Sulyard of Wetherden, who, as a reward for his fidelity, was appointed to guard her person during her stay at Framlingham; and whom we shall presently find zealously engaged in executing her sanguinary edicts.

{20a} Eftsoons, immediately.—_Bailey_.

{20b} It was an argument employed in her favour by the Earl of Arundel, in his harangue at the great meeting of her friends at Baynard’s castle, that she had made this promise. Who, he asked, had seen cause to think that, in matters of religion, Queen Mary intended any alteration? for when she was lately addressed about this, in Suffolk, she had given a very fair, satisfactory answer.—_Green’s Hist. of Framlingham_, p. 79.

{21a} Fox’s Acts and Monuments, ed. 1684, vol. iii. p. 12.

{21b} Neal’s History of the Puritans, ed. 1822, vol. i. p. 73.

{22a} Stat. 1 Mary, sess. 2, c. 2.

{22b} Neal’s Pur. i. 77.

{22c} The Statutes of Rich. II. and Hen. IV. for burning heretics, were revived.—_Neal’s Pur._ i. 82.

{23a} Burnet’s Hist. Ref. ii. 267.

{23b} Fox’s Acts & Mon. iii. 98.

{24a} Fox’s Acts and Mon. i. 600.

{24b} Neal’s Pur. i. 92. Price’s Hist. of Prot. Nonconf. i. 191.

{24c} Fox’s Acts and Mon. iii. 773. Brook’s Lives of the Puritans, i. Introd. 13.

{26a} Rev. vi. 9. See Mather’s Hist. of New England, 1702, p. 140. From the last-mentioned of these brothers, was descended Mr. John Fisk, an eminent preacher and writer in the primitive times of New England. He was born at the parish referred to in the text, about 1601, and died at Chelmsford, N. E. 16 Jan. 1676.

{26b} Acts and Mon. iii. 12.

{27} Fox has preserved the whole of this interesting document. Acts and Mon. iii. 578.

{29} “The mouth of the Yare at that time, (_cir._ A.D. 1000.) was an estuary or arm of the sea, and extended, with considerable magnitude, for many miles up the country. Tradition, the faithful preserver of many a fact which history has overlooked or forgotten, confidently and invariably asserts it; and the present appearance of the ancient bed of the river, from Yarmouth to Harleston in Norfolk, tends to confirm it.”—_Gillingwater’s Hist. of Lowestoft_, 4to, p. 26.

{30a} The upper part of this porch forms a room in which is a small, but valuable, collection of books in divinity.

{30b} A subscription has been set on foot, a site purchased, and the promise of a grant from government obtained, for the erection of a school on the principles of the British and Foreign School Society.

{31} The herring fishery was evidently a principal source of emolument to the inhabitants. In the time of the Conqueror the fee farm rent of the manor of Beccles to the king was 60,000 herrings, and in the time of the Confessor 30,000.—_Domesday Book_.

The grant to the inhabitants at a later period, of the tract of marshes reclaimed from the sea, was perhaps an inadequate compensation for the loss of the fishery. It was stated by a writer at the commencement of the seventeenth century that more wealth was raised out of herrings and other fish in his majesty’s seas by the neighbouring nations in one year, than the king of Spain had from the Indies in four.—_Phœnix_, i. 222.

{32} There has been a difference of opinion respecting the derivation of the name, which is not likely to be settled. The common notion is, that the first letter is an abbreviation of _Bella_. Some suppose the first syllable, Bec, to be derived from the name of an abbey in Normandy. A third interpretation may be suggested. _Bec_ de terre, a point of land, was sufficiently descriptive of the spot, while the marshes which lie west, north, and east of the town, remained under water. _Bec_ and _eglise_ might be compounded into _Becclys_, the ancient orthography. It has been surmised that the town may have owed its origin to its site having “_protruded_ into the ancient river” and served during the Roman, Saxon, and Danish invasions, as a convenient situation for placing a _beacon_ or signal.—_Gillingwater’s History of Lowestoft_, p. 26. At all events, the Rev. Geo. Crabbe has been led into an error in supposing the name to be derived from the present “beautiful church,” nor does it appear why he prefers “_beata_” to “_bella_.” _Crabbe’s Life and Works_, vol. i. p. 147.

{33} Under him it is said that “the sable clouds of paganism which had overshadowed these parts near two hundred years,” were “dissipated by the glorious rays of the gospel.”—_Gardner’s History of Dunwich_, _Blithburgh_, _and Southwold_, 4to, 1754, pp. 42, 43.

{34} The first rise of any material improvement, in this respect, is to be traced to the labours of the philanthropist Howard. He visited Beccles in the years 1776, 1779, and 1782, and thus describes the arrangements of that comparatively recent period. “Beccles.—A room on the ground floor, called the ward; a chamber for women, called the upper ward; a day-room with a fire-place; and a dungeon seven steps underground. In the ward is a window to the street, which is highly improper; . . . no proper separation of the men and women. Only one court; . . . Licence for beer: (a riotous alehouse)” . . . _State of the Prisons_, 3rd ed. p. 303.

{35a} Account of the Corporation of Beccles Fen, 1826, p. 4.

{35b} Ibid. p. 14.

{36} Account of the Corporation, p. 14. There is an engraving of the seal in Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of England.

{37} Acts and Mon. Ed. 1579, p. 1735. Ed. 1684, vol. iii. 589, col. 2. The diction and orthography of the earlier of these editions is here preserved.

{40} Toplady, in his “Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England,” adduces the testimony of these men as contained in this last article. _Toplady’s Works_, ed. 1825, vol. ii. p. 42.

{41a} Tradition assigns as the immediate scene of this, in every view, execrable affair, the ground eastward of the town, and now called the Fair close. A statue, or an obelisk, has often marked a spot far less worthy of being had in remembrance by the friends of protestantism and religious liberty.

{41b} Prior to the reign of Henry VIII. the sheriff had been allowed to burn heretics without the writ _de hæretico comburendo_. It was rendered necessary by stat. 25. Hen. VIII. cap. 14. _Neal’s Puritans_, vol. i. pp. 7, 13. The writ was abolished by 29 Car. II. c. 9.

{44} Quarterly Review, (Dec. 1836,) vol. lvii. p. 366.

{45} “I may grow rich by an art that I take not delight in; I may be cured of some disease by remedies that I have not faith in; but I cannot be saved by a religion that I distrust, and by a worship that I abhor. . . . Faith only, and inward sincerity, are the things that procure acceptance with God.”—_Locke’s third Letter concerning Toleration_, 4to, pp. 26, 27.

{48a} See Locke’s third Letter on Toleration, 4to, p. 105. “He that would vex and pain a sore you had, with frequent dressing it with some moderate, painful, but inefficacious plaister, that promoted not the cure, would justly be thought not only an ignorant, but a dishonest surgeon.”—_Ibid._ p. 124.

{48b} Like the prudent monk, who, when Satan would have drawn him into heresy, by asking him what he believed of a certain point, answered, _Id credo quod credit ecclesia_. But, _Quid credit ecclesia_? said Satan; _Id quod ego credo_, replied the other.—_Dr. Jortin’s Preface to his Remarks on Ecclesiastical History_, pp. 27, 28.

{49} Rev. Samuel Charles Wilkes. See Binney’s “Dissent not Schism,” p. 44.

{50} Stanzas prefixed to the Bible, 1598.

{51a} “They may not maim a man with corporal punishments; may they use any corporal punishments at all? They may not starve and torment them in noisome prisons for religion; that you condemn as much as I; may they put them in any prisons at all? They may not deprive men of their estates; I suppose you mean their whole estates; may they take away half, or a quarter, or an hundredth part?”—_Locke’s third Letter for Toleration_, 4to, p. 107. See also p. 121.

{51b} Dr. Jortin, _ubi supra_, pp. 30, 31.

{52a} Locke’s second Letter concerning Toleration, 4to, p. 9.

{52b} Paradise Lost, b. xii. 1. 524–530.

{54} This statute, (1 Eliz. cap. 2.) and that of supremacy, (1 Eliz. cap. 1.) “constitute the basis of the reformed church of England, and will be regarded,” says Mr. Price, “as its disgrace or glory, according to the views of religious liberty which are entertained.”—_Hist. Prot. Nonconf._ vol. i. p: 134.

{56} Such as the crossing of infants on the forehead in baptism; bowing at the name of Jesus; kneeling at the sacrament, as a term of communion; the use of sponsors to the exclusion of parents; confirmation; and the marriage ring.—_Brook’s Puritans_, i. _Introd._ p. 29.

{57} Neal’s Puritans, i. 125.

{59a} Brook’s Puritans, i. Introd. 29, 40.

{59b} Ibid. 36.

{59c} Particularly Dr. Scambler, Bishop of Peterborough.

{59d} 1 Cor. xiv. 31. Neal’s Puritans, i. 221, et seq.

{60} Neal, i. 224.

{62a} Neal, i. 277.

{62b} Ibid. 283.

{63a} Neal, i. 284.

{63b} Brook i. Introd. 39.

{63c} Ibid.

{64a} Brook, i. Introd. 43.

{64b} Strype’s Annals, III. i. 264.

{65a} September 1583.

{65b} Neal, i. 320.

{67a} Strype’s Whitgift, pp. 115, 116. Neal, _ubi supra_. Brook, i. Introd. 45.

{67b} Neal, i. 323. Brook, i. Introd. 46, where a list is given of the ministers suspended in Suffolk.

{67c} Neal, i. 330, 341.

{68a} Neal, i. 345, 352, 376.

{68b} Ibid. 335, 353.

{68c} Ibid. 337.

{70a} Page 31.

{70b} The surrender is dated 26 Jan. 26 Eliz. [1583, O. S.] and was signed at a meeting of the inhabitants held in the parish church.—_Account of the Corporation_, p. 10.

{72a} Account of the Corporation, pp. 14, 15.

{72b} Neal, i. 353, 354.