Chapter IV: Section 3: The Church at King's-Street

When discord and contentions arise in a Christian society they are productive of great evils--opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, they prove a hindrance to the advancement of individual piety, and to the extension of the kingdom of Christ among men. Yet the God who "makes the wrath of man to praise him," often overrules the disagreements that arise in his Churches for "the furtherance of the Gospel." In the preceding account of the Church at Castle Hill it will have been seen that during the ministry of Mr. Hextal dissensions arose, which led to his dismissal from his office as pastor by a majority of the Church.

In the month of August, 1774, Mr. Hextal was afflicted with a disease which rendered him incapable of fulfilling all his duties as pastor of the Church at Castle Hill. It was therefore determined to invite an assistant; and it appears that the greater part of the Church wished to have a minister who was not quite agreeable to Mr. Hextal and the major part of the subscribers. This was the occasion of much dissension. A great deal of acrimonious feeling was manifested; pamphlets were written on both sides; and at length a separation ensued; the Chapel in King Street was built, and Mr. Hextal carried on his ministry there. It was erected in the year 1776.

In a preface written by Mr. Hextal to one of the pamphlets that was published, we find the following paragraph, which we extract as expressive of the principles he maintained, and the spirit he wished to exemplify and promote. After censuring the injudicious zeal of some, he observes,--

I mention these things, not to encourage a disregard or indifference
about the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel--far be such a thought
from me. I believe them, and will earnestly contend for them in the
spirit of meekness. The doctrine of the divinity of Christ, on which
I humbly apprehend the efficacy of his atonement depends; the fall
of man, or his lost estate by the great apostacy; the deity of the
Spirit, and the necessity of his influences to renew fallen man to
the divine life, are doctrines I believe evidently discovered in
Scripture. These I have constantly insisted upon in the course of my
ministry, for the truth of which I can appeal to those who have
heard me ever since I came to this place. But it has ever been my
opinion, that these doctrines, which I look upon as the
distinguishing glory of the Gospel, should be maintained in the
spirit of love and candour, with soft words and the strongest
arguments we can use; and sorry I am that the word 'candour' should
sound harsh, and give offence to any Christians, especially to any
that belong to the Church and congregation that enjoyed so long such
a burning and shining light as Dr. Doddridge, in whose example and
ministry the zeal for Gospel truth adorned with moderation,
benevolence, and charity, appeared with such an amiable lustre; and
who, "though dead, yet speaketh" in his learned, valuable, and
useful writings. * * * May we all be thoroughly convinced, and
helped to act agreeable to the conviction, that he is the brightest
ornament of his Christian profession, the best friend to the Church
of Christ, and partakes most of the temper of heaven, who best loves
all of every denomination that he thinks bear the name of Jesus, and
most readily exercises candour and forbearance to those who differ
from him in non-essentials. Should the separation here be permitted
to continue, may we live in peace, and sincerely pray for each
other.

Here Mr. Hextal laboured until the close of his ministry, and ended his days amongst this people, dying at the age of 66 years.

The following inscription is on a tablet in the Chapel:--

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Sacred to the memory of the Rev. WILLIAM HEXTAL, a faithful minister
of the Gospel, and sometime pastor of this Christian society; who
remarkably exhibited in his life what he warmly recommended from the
pulpit,--unfeigned piety to God, and universal benevolence to men.

Having endured many and great afflictions, both in body and mind, he
entered into the rest which remains for the people of God, November
4th, 1777, aged 66.

Mr. Porter was the next pastor of the Church, entering on his office a short time after the death of Mr. Hextal. The register of baptisms, it is stated, was begun A.D. 1778, by Thomas Porter, pastor of the congregation that assembles in Kingshead Lane, Northampton. The last entry made by Mr. Porter is of a baptism that took place August 8th, 1784; the next being by Mr. Edwards, August 13th, 1786; so that Mr. Porter's ministry was not continued for much more than six years.

About the year 1786, Mr. B. L. Edwards became the pastor of this Church, and filled this office for 45 years, as he died January 2nd, 1831, aged 66 years. The following account of Mr. Edwards appeared in the _Congregational Magazine_, shortly after his death:--

Mr. Edwards pursued his preparatory studies for the ministry at the
Theological Institution then conducted at Hoxton, we believe under
the tuition of Drs. Savage, Kippis, and Rees; and from thence he
proceeded to the station which for so many years he has occupied
with an unblemished character. As a minister of Christ, he united
orthodoxy of sentiment with liberality of spirit; as a man, he was
admired most by those who were best acquainted with him--warm and
faithful in his friendships, of a most enlarged benevolence, and
universally regarded as the ardent and consistent advocate of civil
and religious liberty throughout the world. The later years of life
were distinguished by a growing spirituality of mind; and as he drew
near to the close of his labours upon earth, he seemed to increase
in the fervour of his public ministrations. The illness which
terminated in his death was of short duration. On the second Sabbath
in December he preached three times: on the afternoon of the day he
delivered a funeral discourse, founded on the exhortation of Christ
to his disciples, "Be ye also ready," and distinguished by unusual
earnestness and deep solemnity; and in the evening he closed his
public labours by a sermon from Psalm xxxi. 19. Though from that
time till within three or four days of his departure he was too
unwell to leave the house, yet no painful apprehensions of immediate
danger were excited in the minds of his friends. On the Thursday
night preceding his dissolution he became, however, materially
worse, from which time he rapidly declined, until, on the morning of
the Sabbath, he received the summons, and entered into rest. An
individual who on two occasions saw him during his illness, was
gratified with the delightful frame of spirit he discovered when
speaking of the heavenly world, and the blessedness of those who had
reached that place. He is understood to have declared, a short time
before his departure, his simple reliance upon the atonement of
Christ; and in the anticipation of the great change, to have adopted
the words of the Apostle, "I know whom I have believed." The nature
of his afflictions, however, prevented him from conversing much; and
though he expressed sufficient to satisfy his friends as to the
calm and happy state of his mind, their hope of his meetness for the
kingdom of heaven rests upon the evidence which a long life
furnishes to them spent in the cause of Christ, and for the good of
men.

His mortal remains were committed to the earth on the 11th of
January, in the presence of a large assembly, within the walls of
the place in which, for so long a period, he had preached the Gospel
of the grace of God. Mr. Griffiths, of Buckby, delivered the funeral
oration; Mr. B. Hobson, of Welford, and Mr. T. Toller, of Kettering,
conducted the devotional parts of the service. On the Sabbath
following, the funeral sermon was preached to a crowded auditory,
from a part of the 7th and 8th verses of the 4th chapter of the 2nd
Epistle to Timothy, by Mr. James Robertson, of Wellingborough. Mr.
Edwards for many years filled the office of Secretary to the
Association of Independent Ministers of the County of Northampton,
and was a liberal and disinterested supporter of the Provident
Society connected with it.

The following inscription is in the Chapel for Mr. Edwards:--

To the memory of BENJ. LOYD EDWARDS,
upwards of 45 years the able, conscientious,
and affectionate pastor of the congregation
assembling within these walls,
this tablet is placed by his bereaved flock,
as a testimonial of his faithfulness in,
and their gratitude for, a connexion
which terminated only with
his lamented death, on the 11th of January, 1831,
in the 67th year of his age.

Mr. John Woodward became the pastor of the Church July 1st, 1832. It appears that though this congregation has been highly respectable, yet the number of Church members has been comparatively few; for when Mr. Woodward became pastor, a list of members is given, numbering 33. From this time to April 5th, 1835, when Mr. Woodward resigned, 15 persons had been admitted to the fellowship of the Church.

The next pastor was Mr. Thomas Milner, M.A., known as the author of 'The Seven Churches of Asia;' 'The Life and Times of Dr. Watts;' 'Scripture and Astronomy;' 'Gallery of Nature;' 'Descriptive Atlas of Astronomy,' &c., &c.

November 28th, 1847, Mr. G. Nicholson, B.A., the present pastor, entered on his labours here. Since that time 25 persons have been admitted to the Church, so that the present number of communicants is 72.

During the ministry of Mr. Milner new school-rooms were erected, at a cost of L336. 6_s._ 5_d._ There are 95 children in the Sabbath-schools.

The accommodation in the Chapel, we are informed, is not so great as it ought to be; nearly every seat being taken, so that there is no surplus room to which to invite the poor. Architectural difficulties have hitherto stood in the way of enlargement, but it is hoped that some way of surmounting them will, in no very distant period, be found.