THE LIFE STORY OF JOHN NEWTON

Probably one of the most remarkable examples of Sovereign Grace bestowed upon a great sinner was John Newton, one of the great ministers of England who lived in the 1700’s. By his own account Newton says that he did everything to ruin his soul and frustrate the grace of God. But God made him a monument of mercy. His life story, as a sailor and slave trader, is not only highly interesting, but deeply touching. We propose, the Lord willing, to publish this history in forthcoming issues. We believe that readers of all ages will find this account well worth their attention.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners : of whom I am chief.

“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

I Timothy 1:15, 16

“And the angel said unto them. Fear not, for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

JOHN BERRIDGE: 1716–93

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11

John Berridge was born at Kingston, Notts, on the 1st of March, 1716. He was the eldest son of the family, and named after his father, who was a farmer. The first fourteen years of his life were chiefly spent with an aunt at Nottingham, with whom John was a particular favorite. Berridge ascribes first serious impressions to the following experiences: “One day, as he was returning from school, a boy, who lived near his aunt, invited him into his house, and asked if he might read to him out of the Bible.” The invitation was several times renewed, to which John felt a secret aversion, and would have declined had he so dared. At this time Berridge began to perceive that he was not right before God. It was intended that he should follow in the footsteps of his father’s business. “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” Prov. 16, 9. So it proved in this case, for notwithstanding the pains bestowed upon him by his father, he seemed to be quite unable to form a correct judgment of the value of cattle. At last his father, determined to send him to college, “in order;” as he unthinkingly said, “that he might be a light to lighten the Gentiles.” This word, probably spoken in carelessly, proved true in course of time. In his nineteenth year he entered Clare Hall, Cambridge, and became a Fellow of his college,

“Afterwards he took the pastorate of Stapleford, five miles from Cambridge, and moved to Everton, Beds., on the 7th of July, 1755. In a letter written July 3, 1758, Berridge writes: “When I was about the age of fourteen, God was pleased to show me that I was a sinner, and that I must be born again before I could enter into his kingdom. Accordingly I betook myself to reading, praying and watching: and was enabled hereby to make some progress in sanctification. In this manner I went on, though not always with the same diligence, till about a year ago. I thought myself in the right way to heaven, though as yet I was wholly out of the way : and imagining I was travelling toward Zion, though I had never yet set my face thitherwards. Indeed, God would have shown me that I was wrong, by not owning my ministry; but I paid no regard to this for a long time, imputing my want of success to the naughty hearts of my hearers, and not to my own naughty doctrine. You may ask, perhaps, What was my doctrine? Why, dear sir, it was the doctrine that every man will naturally hold while he continues in an unregenerate state; viz., that we are to be justified partly by our faith, and partly by our works. This doctrine I preached for six years at a pastorate which I served from college, and though I took some extraordinary pains, and pressed sanctification upon them very earnestly, yet they continued as unsanctified as before, and not one soul was brought to Christ. There was indeed, a little more of the form of religion in the parish, but not a whit more of the power .

At length I removed to Everton, where I have lived altogether. Here again, I pressed sanctification and regeneration as vigorously as I could; but finding no success, after two years preaching in this manner, I began to be discouraged ; and now some secret misgiving arose in my mind, that I was not right myself. Those misgivings grew stronger, and at last very painful. Being then under great doubts, I cried unto the Lord very earnestly, ‘Lord, if I am right, keep me so; if I am not right, make me so. Lead me to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.’ After about ten days crying unto the Lord, he was pleased to return to answer my prayers, and in the following wonderful manner:—as I was sitting in my house one morning, and musing upon a text of scripture, the following words darted into my mind with wonderful power, and seemed indeed like a voice from heaven, viz., ‘Cease from thine own works.’ Before I heard these words, my mind was in a very unusual calm; but as soon as I heard them, my soul was in a tempest directly, and tears flowed from my eyes like a torrent. The scales fell from my eyes immediately, and I now clearly saw the rock I had been splitting on for nearly thirty years. And now let me point out to you the grand delusion which had almost ruined my soul. I saw very early something of the unholiness of my nature, and the necessity of being born again. Accordingly I watched, prayed, and fasted too, thinking to .purify my heart by these means, whereas it can only be purified by faith, Acts 15, 9. Watching, praying and fasting are necessary duties ; but I, like many others, placed some secret reliances upon them, thinking they were to do that for me—in part, at least—which Christ only could. The truth is, though I saw myself to be a sinner, and a great sinner, yet I did not see myself an utterly lost sinner, and therefore I could not come to Jesus Christ alone to save me; I despised the doctrine of justification by faith alone, looking on it as a foolish and dangerous doctrine. I was not yet stripped of all my righteousness—could not consider it as filthy rags; and therefore I went about to establish a righteousness of my own, and did not submit to the righteousness of God by faith. Rom. 10, 3. I did not seek after righteousness by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law. Thus I stumbled and fell. In short, to use a homely similitude, I put the justice of God into one scale, and as many good works of my own as I could into the other; and when I found, as I always did, my own good works not to be a balance to the divine justice, I then threw in Christ as a make-weight. And this every one really does who hopes for salvation partly by doing what he can for himself, and relying on Christ for the rest. But, dear sir, Christ will either be a whole Saviour, or none at all. And if you think you have any good service of your own to recommend you unto God, you are certainly without any interest in Christ; be you ever so sober, serious, just, and devout, you are still under the curse of God, as I was, and knew it not, provided you have any allowed reliance on your own works, and think they are to do something for’ you, and Christ to do the rest.”

After he had preached for three Sabbaths in accordance with his God-given enlightenment, he was confirmed that the work was of God, by a visit from one of his parishioners. On being introduced, “Well Sarah,” said he. She replied, “Well? Not so well I fear.” “Why, what is the matter, Sarah?” “Matter, I don’t know what’s the matter—these new sermons —I find we are all to be lost now; I can neither eat, drink, nor sleep; I don’t know what’s to become of me.” Similar visits to this followed in great numbers. He burned all his old sermons; and then, at first, he wrote his new sermons before preaching them, but a circumstance occurred which led him to extempore preaching. He was asked to preach on a Monday, at a village a few miles from Everton, but was prevented the week previous from writing a sermon for this occasion, by reason of his time being so much occupied with persons calling to see him who were under concern for their souls. So at first, he thought, as it was a strange place, he would repreach one of his recent sermons, but was prevented from so doing by finding that some of his regular congregation were going to hear him. He then tried to write a sermon on the Monday morning purposing to make it short, comforting himself that the congregation would be but small-but m this again he was prevented. He found the congregation to be a very large one, and that most of the neighbouring clergy were present, and was forced to preach extempore, as he had no sermon with him; but this was with so much liberty to himself, and acceptance to the people, that from henceforth he gave up writing his sermons. In the school of affliction his views of divine truth became more scriptural, and therefore more Calvinistic. His great aim was to lay the creature low, and exalt Christ; and if this be Calvinistic, he was not ashamed to bear the reproach of being called one. “He has taught me,” wrote Berridge, “to labour for Him more cheerfully, and to loathe myself more heartily than I could before. I see myself nothing, and feel myself vile, and hide my head, ashamed of all my sorry services. I want His fountain every day. His intercession every moment; and would not give a penny for the broadest fig-leaves or the brightest human rags to cover me. A robe I must have of one whole piece—broad as the law, spotless as the light, and richer than an angel ever wore—the robe of Jesus. And when the elder Brother’s raiment is put on me, good Isaac will receive and bless the dying Jacob.”

He commenced preaching outside his own parish. One of the first-fruits of this activity was the rector of Wrestlingworth, Mr. Hicks. This Berridge describes in a letter. “On Monday, Mr. Hicks accompanied me to Meldred, and on the way we called at a farm house. After dinner, I went into the yard, and seeing nearly a hundred and fifty people, I called for a table, and preached for the first time in the open air. We then went to Meldred, where I preached in a field to about four thousand people. In the morning, at five, Mr. Hicks preached in the same field to about a thousand. Here the presence of the Lord was wonderfully among us ; and I trust, beside many that were slightly wounded, nearly thirty received heartfelt conviction.”

Berridge was fiercely persecuted by the world through his ministry. Foremost among his persecutors were the unconverted clergy of Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire. Complaint was made to the bishop with whom Berridge had an interview. The bishop accosted him in a very abrupt manner. “Well, Berridge, they tell me you go about preaching out of your own parish. Did I institute you to the surrounding pastorates?” “No, my lord,” replied Berridge, “neither do I claim any of these: the clergymen enjoy them undisturbed by me.” Well, but you go and preach there, which you have no right to do.” “It is true, my lord, I was one day at E-n, and there were a few poor people assembled together, and I admonished them to repent of their sins, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of their souls; and I remember seeing five or six clergy that day, my lord, all out of their parishes upon the bowling green.” “Oh!” said the bishop, “I tell you, you have no right to preach out of your own parish; and if you do not desist from it, you will very likely be sent to Huntingdon jail.” “As to that, my lord,” replied Berridge, “I have no greater liking to Huntingdon jail than other people; but I had rather go there with a good conscience, than live at my liberty without one.”

After the death of George Whitefield, (1770)’, Berridge began to preach in the Tabernacle in London, and repeated his visits from year to year till the end of his life. Both at Tottenham Court Road Chapel, and the Tabernacle in Moorfields he preached to large congregations. About the year 1791, having just arrived at the Tabernacle from Everton, and being led up the pulpit stairs, he addressed the congregation as follows :

“My dear Tabernacle friends,” the tears trickling down his cheeks, “I bless my dear Lord that has thus far brought me on my wearisome pilgrimage through the wilderness, and has permitted his old worn-out servant to see your face in the flesh once more, which, in all probability, will be the last time. Satan said to me as I was coming, You old fool, how can you think of preaching to that great people, who have neither strength or memory left? I said to him, “Well, Satan, I have got a good Master, that has not forsaken me these forty years, and in His strength I’ll try. And, blessed be His name, He has thus far helped me; and if you’ll pray, I’ll try to preach once more in my poor way, and may the Lord make it a blessed opportunity to us all, and I think you’ll say Amen to it.”

His farewell sermon at Moorfields Tabernacle was preached on the 1st of April, 1792, from the text, “Trust in the Lord at all times, ye people: pour out your hearts before Him, God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62, 8.

An epitaph, written by himself, excepting the date of his death, as inscribed on his tomb, in Everton churchyard, reads:

Here lie the earthly remains of

JOHN BERRIDGE

Late Vicar of Everton,

And an itinerant servant of Jesus Christ,
Who loved his Master, and His work,
And, after running on His errands for many years,
Was called up to wait upon Him above.
Reader, Art thou born again?

No salvation without a new birth.
I was born in sin, February, 1716.
Remained ignorant of my fallen state ‘til 1730.
Lived proudly on Faith and Works for Salvation till 1754.

Admitted to Everton Vicarage, 1755.
Fled to Jesus alone for refuge, 1756.
Fell asleep in Christ, January 22nd, 1793.

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