Memoirs of the Rev. Joseph Benson

Front matter

I t aiiiiiiiik'Ji

^ic- UNIVERSITY 3V7 LIBRARY

Cornell University Library

Preface

Soon after Mr. Benson's death, Memoirs of him were pubhshed by the Rev. James Macdonald ; with whom, during the space of six years, he had hved in the closest habits of intimacy. But, whether from the size of the volume, or the price at which it was sold, or from any other cause, it is a fact, that though it has been on sale for eighteen years, a part of the edition yet remains unsold ; and, consequently, by far the greater number of the present race of Methodists are utterly unacquainted with the character, virtues, and successes of that extraordinary man, who was, in his day, one of the brightest ornaments of Methodism ; and to whom it is more deeply indebted than to almost any other man who has ever graced its triumphs since its revered founder finished his course, and passed into the skies. It was therefore thought that a moderate-sized duodecimo volume, descriptive of Mr. Benson's character, and illustrative of the labours of his life, would be generally acceptable, and greatly tend to promote the spi-

4 PEEFACE.

ritual profit of many. The author was requested to prepare such a memoir with as little delay as possible. Such a volume is now presented to the public : and if the reader be benefited by perusing its contents, the end of its publication will be answered, and the glory be ascribed to God.

London, October Slat, 1840.

Chapter I

Introductory remarks — ^Mr. Benson's ancestry — ^His birth — Education — Conversion to God — He obtains the witness of the Spirit — Quits his father's house — ^Is disappointed in not meeting with Mr. Wesley at Newcastle — Arrives in London — Accompanies Mr. Wesley to Kingswood — Is appointed classical master of the school there — Engages in the prayer-meetings — Corresponds with Mr. Wesley — Keeps his terms at Edmund Hall, Oxford— Dedication of himself to God — His acquaintance with the Rev. John Fletcher - Page 9

CHAPTER n.

The college at Trevecca in Wales — Terms on which the students were admitted — Mr. Fletcher appointed to superintend the establishment—Mr. Benson chosen head-master — His dismissal from the college — His removal to Oxford — Is refused ordination — Leaves 0.xford — Visits his ixienda at Bristol — Preaches in different parts of Wiltshire. 28

Chapter III

Mr. Benson is appomted to the London circuit — ^Mr. Fletcher's lett«r to him — His admission into full connection — Is appointed to the Newcastle circuit — Is removed to Edinburgh — Extracts from his journal — Letter to him from Lady Maxwell — Letter from Mr. Wesley — Is reappointed to Newcastle — Labours to suppress smuggling — Mr. Wesley's advice to him on the subject — Is stationed at Bradford — Extracts from his journal — ^Remarks on Thomas Walsh — Observations on watch-nights.... 40

6 CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

Mr. "Wesley's visit to New-Mills— Remarks on the danger of much company — ^Mr. Benson's tour to the north — ^Preaches at different places — ^Visits his mother and sister — ^Reada Dr. Watts's Treatise on the Glory of Christ — Is accused of Arianism by Dr. Coke — Is examined at the conference — ^Is fully justified from this charge — Renounces the notion that he had entertained of the pre-existence of the human soul of Christ — Mr. Wesley's letter to him on this subject — ^His marriage — A letter from him to Mr. Pawson — Has serious thoughts of retiring from the itinerant work — ^Remarks on late worshippers — Observations on different books.... Page 73

Chapter V

The Deed of Declaration made — Several of the preachers offended — Extracts from Mr. Benson's journal — ^Mr. Wesley invites him to the London conference — Is excused from attending — ^Death of Mr. Fletcher — Erection of George-yard chapel, in Hull — Mr. Benson publishes a Scriptural Essay on the Immortality of the Soul — ^Mr. Edmondson's account of Mr. Benson's popularity — ^Extracts from his journal — He attends the conference in Leeds ; preaches there — Is disappointed at not going to the circuit to which he had been invited — He attends the conference in Bristol, the last at which Mr. Wesley presided — ^Account of Mr. Wesley's death — The Birmingham riots 94

Chapter VI

The first confemice after Mr. Wesley's death — ^Different opinions concerning the future existence of Methodism — ^Mr. Benson is appointed to Manchester — Observations on a publication of his, entitled " Socinianism Unscriptural" — He meditates the design of writing a commentary on the New Testament — ^Is delivered from danger — Goes to Manchester — Disputes concerning the Lord's supper — Conference in London — Address to the societies — Mr. Benson is greatly afflicted — Democratical principles prevalent in Manchester — Dr. Tatham's sermon — ^Mr. Russel's pamphlet — Mr. Benson's answers to these publications — The Leeds conference — Address to the societies — ^Mrs. Benson in great danger — ^Mr. Benson's prevalent intercession on her behalf — Remarks on the abuse of power 117

CONTENTS.

Chapter VII

The Bristol conference — Mr. Moore prohibited from preaching in The Room — Division in the society — Mr. Benson takes part with the trustees — Ebenezer chapel built — Mr. Benson's journey into Cornwall — Preaches there to immense congregations, and with singular success — The Manchester conference — Plan of Pacification formed — The Newcastle letter — Mr. Benson's answer to it — Mr. Kilham's trial and expulsion at the London conference — Formation of the New Connection — Extracts from Mr. Benson's journal — Edward Hare's character and decease — Conference held in Bristol — Mr. Benson chosen president — His letter to Mr. Dawson — Conference at Manchester — Mr. Benson declines attending it Page 150

CHAPTER Vni.

Report from the clergy in the diocess of Lincoln — Mr. Benson answers their pamphlet — Observations on the Toleration Act — Mr. Benson's visit to Mr. Mather — An account of his sickness and death — Mr. Benson's appointment to the London circuit — An account of the Rev. P. Dickinson — A petition from the London quarterly meeting to the conference on behalf of Mr. Benson's continuance a fourth year in London — His appointment to the office of editor of the Magazine — His answer to Dr. Hales, an Irish clergyman — Mr. Benson preaches at the opening of Carver-street chapel, in Sheffield — Mr. Pitt's death — Remarks on Popery — ^Mr. Pawson's death — Mr. Benson begins to write a Commentary on the Bible — His wife's death — He is chosen' president a second time — Death of Lady Mary Fitzgerald — Mr. Macdonald's appointment as an assistant editor — Mr. Percival's death — An address from the committee of privileges to the Methodist societies 1 98

Chapter IX

Mr. Benson's continued labours — He opens new chapels at Tunbridge- Wells and Gravesend — The benevolence of some unknown friend to him — He finishes his Commentary on the Old Testament — Obtains a remarkable answer to prayer on behalf of his daughter — Dr. CoUyer preaches in City-road chapel before the duke of Kent, the lord mayor, &c. — ^Mr. Benson visits Cambridge — Two Prussian ministers are introduced into the conference — ^Mr. Benson opens Queen-street

8 CONTENTS.

chapel — Finishes his Commentary — ^His remarks on education — He attends the conference for the last time — Is unable through increasing infirmities to preach regularly — Concludes his public ministry at Walworth — His health rapidly declines — Conversations with several friends during his affliction — His death — Funeral— ^Inscription on his coffin

Chapter X. The Character Of Joseph Benson

Observations on biography — Of Mr. Benson's intellectual powers — ' His learning — Warm and ardent in his temper — Grave and serious in his deportment — A great economist of time — Of his disinterestedness — His compassion toward others — Love to his children — Dr. Bunting's description of him — Mr. Kruse's account of a sermon of his at City-road chapel — His preaching at SafFron-hill and Clerkenwell-green — ^His pastoral character — Love for Sunday schools — Chosen president of the Missionary Society — Hartwell Home's opinion of his Commentary — Remarks on his style of preaching by the " London Christian Instructor" — Tablets to his memory 264

MEMOIRS

REV. JOSEPH BENSON.

Chapter I

Introductory remarks — ^Mr. Benson's ancestry — His birth — Education — Conversion to God — He obtains tlie witness of the Spirit — Quits his father's house — Is disappointed in not meeting with Mr. Wesley at Newcastle — Arrives in London — Accompanies Mr. Wesley to Kingswood — Is appointed classical master of the school there — Engages in the prayer-meetings — Corresponds with Mr. Wesley — Keeps his terms at Edmund Hall, 0.xford — Dedication of himself to God — His acquaintance with the Rev. John Fletcher.

The instruction which God has been pleased to communicate to men in the Holy Scriptures for the formation of their moral characters, is given in the way both of precept and of example. The former describes the duty which they are imperatively required to perform ; and the latter furnishes the encouragement which they have for doing it. Were the oracles of God composed solely of precepts, we might be induced to think that they exhibited a " test for human frailty too severe :" but when we contemplate men of like passions with ourselves, who have irabodied and exemplified the whole of Christianity in their experience and conduct, we not only see the practicability of the divine precepts, but we are encouraged and excited to become followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises. If we abstract from revelation the names and actions of those illustrious men who 1* grace tte pages of the divinely-inspired volume, the loss we should sustain would he incalculable. What a constellation of rare and brilliant lights would be extinguished ! Actions the most renowned, deeds the moat disinterested, incidents the most marvellous, providences the most singular, and enterprises the most perilous, would be consigned to oblivion, and all that laudable and holy emulation which the study of such records is calculated to inspire, would cease to exist. When we behold faith operating in Abraham, meekness in Moses, patience in Job, courage in Daniel, and benevolence in Paul, we are more powerfully affected by the exemplification of these virtues, as exhibited in living characters, than we could possibly be, by any abstract disquisitions on their nature or influence.

Examples cannot fail to be influential. Minds possess the mysterious power of assimilation and imitability. And morals are not unfrequently the transcripts of what we see in others. Hence it behooves the living to remember the dead. " For ' us they sicken, and for us they die." And though dead, they yet speak to us ; and thus the apostle exhorts the Hebrews, " Remember them which have the rule," or have had the rule, " over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God ; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." " This remembrance of the dead saints, with admiration of their virtues, and a desire to imitate them, is," says Dr. Macknight, " the only worship which is due to them from the living." There is no section of the Christian church in modern times which has given birth to more illustrious examples of distinguished' excellence than that of the Wesleyan Methodists. Men, favoured with comparatively few advantages derived from education, and placed amidst many discouragements, have become burning atid shining lights in their generation. Many of these luminaries have been quenched in death ; the recollection of them is all that remains ; but it is the province of biography to transmit to posterity the record of their names, and their virtues, which will be in everlasting remembrance before God.

Among the early race of Methodist ministers, the name of Joseph Benson holds a distinguished place. Of his remote ancestry little is now'known. Miles Benson, his grandfather, was born about the year 1673, and died at Melmerby in Cumberland, September 6th, 1732. His wife Ann survived him thirty-five years ; and died when she was nearly one hundred years old. They had three children, two sons and one daughter ; one of the sons, whose name is unknown, died in his infancy; Sarah, the daughter, was married to a person of the name of Jonathan Watson, the father of Joseph Watson, by whose instrumentality Joseph Benson was brought to a knowledge of the truth. John Benson, his father, married Isabella Robinson, November 7th, 1731. By her he had three sons and four daughters ; none of whom survived the parents, except Joseph and Ann ; the latter of whom lived to an advanced age, and died either at Bishop- Aukland, or Durham ; and her father, in the decline of life, having sold his paternal estate at Melmerby, came to reside with her. He was a man who possessed the form of godliness, but who remained destitute of its saving power, until a little before his death, when he foijnd mercy of the Lord, and died in peace, November 7th, 1769. His wife was rigidly exact in her attention to moral and domestic duties. Even when a child, she loved reading and prayer ; and when placed by Providence to superintend the affairs of a family, she looked well to the ways of her household. Her attendance on public worship in the establishment was serious and regular ; and she was accustomed to call her family together after their return from church, that they might be instructed in the way of salvation, by reading the Holy Scriptures. She was a daughter of affliction.

having suffered much pain of body for thirty years, and many severe exercises from other quarters ; but she bore all with the greatest patience and resignation, and especially her last sickness. The evidence of her acceptance with God through our Lord Jesus Christ was clear and satisfactory. In him alone she trusted for salvation ; and just before her departure, she repeated three several" times, " The God of Israel is my God, both now and for ever."

Mr. Joseph Benson was born January 25th, 1748, in the parish of Kirk-Oswald, in Cumberland ; and baptized on the 21st of February in the same year. His parents evinced a peculiar degree of affection for him ; and his father, either from the seriousness of his disposition, or the gravity of his demeanour, or the intensity of his application to learning, intended to train him up for the Christian ministry in the established Church. For the amusements to which children are accustomed, he had no relish ; and he was rarely prevailed upon to associate with them in their sports and pastimes. He acquired the rudiments of learning in the village school ; and he was subsequently placed under the care of Mr. Dean, a Presbjrterian. minister, who resided in the same parish. Of his tutor's talents as a teacher, and his aptitude for the communication of instruction, he entertained a high opinion ; and in after-life, when his judgment was more matured, he was accustomed to speak of him in terms of unqualified commendation. Here he acquired some knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages ; but, not satisfied with literary attainments, he embraced every opportunity that presented itself of reading books on theological subjects. The only books of a religious kind of which his father was possessed, besides the Bible, were the old " Whole Duty of Man," and an odd volume of inferior sermons ; but availing himself of the indulgence afforded him by his tutor, who gave him access to his

LIFE OF JOSEPH BJ5NS0N. ' 13

library, he gladly read at his leisure some standard works on Christian theology. So intent was he on acquiring knowledge, that he scarcely suffered a moment to pass unimproved. Often in the severity of winter, while his mother and the female servants were employed in spinning, or in domestic duties, and the men-servants were enjoying themselves around the blazing fire, he retired to the remote part of the hall, to perfect himself in his lessons, and prepare for the engagements and duties of the ensuing day. And so little was he disposed to court his own ease, that, fearless of the winter's cold, he often voluntarily accompanied his father's men-servants, when they went with long poles in search of sheep buried in the snow. And to this endurance of cold and fatigue in early life maybe attributed, under God, that vigour of constitution, and generally good health, which, with little intermission, he enjoyed until nearly the close of a long and laborious life.

But while he gave to his studies a laudable degree of attention, he was not unmindful of the welfare and salvation of his soul. The invisible realities of eternity often arrested his thoughts, and imbued his mind with a deep, death-like seriousness. Bythe inspiration of the Almighty he was gradually led to discover the evil of sin, the vanity of the world, and the necessity of holiness. Even when under ten years of age, he frequently retired into his closet, and sometimes into the fields, where on his bended knees he importuned Heaven with prayers, and sought that grace which would enable him to serve the Lord acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. Once, especially, his mind was unusually affected ; and with many tears and much importunity, he pleaded the words of Jacob, " If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, — then shall the Lord be my God." It does not appear, that at this time he had any acquaintance with the Methodists ; or that he frequented any place of worship, except the parish church. That he might not be a forgetful hearer of the word, he was in the habit of writing down all that he could recollect of the sermons which he heard ; hoping thereby no less to strengthen his memory than to improve his mind. When he had arrived at a proper age, he was confirmed by the bishop, in conformity with the rites of the Establishment ; and with the vows of God upon him, he deemed himself bound to be more strict and conscientious in the discharge of his religious duties than he had previously been.

But though he was a sincere seeker of salvation, yet his views of its nature, and the mode of its attainment, were very defective and indistinct. With the doctrine of justification by faith he had no acquaintance. But where there is sincerity of mind, and a purpose of heart to do what is right, according to the information which we possess, superior light will be communicated, and clearer discoveries of the will of God be made known. " The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way," Psalm XXV, 9. " If any man," saith Christ, " will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak" of myself,^' John vii, 17. He who commissioned Philip to go and lead the inquiring mind of the Ethiopian eunuch into the way of truth, provided an instructer for our young disciple. When he was about sixteen years of age, his cousin Joseph Watson, who had been providentially led to hear the gospel, by attending the ministry of the early Methodist preachers, was powerfully wrought upon by the divine Spirit ; and being made deeply sensible of the desperate wickedness of his heart, and the sinfulness of his life, and knowing that imless he obtained mercy from God, he must suffer the punishment due to his offences, he was led to seek for redemption through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of his sins. While he was in this state of penitence, sorrowing after a godly sort, Joseph Benson happened to visit him ; but how was he surprised, when his cousin, instead of accosting him familiarly, and amusing him with vain conversation, as he had been wont to do, "began seriously to talk to him concerning his sin and danger, and the necessity of being converted from the error of his ways ! He then invited him up stairs, and said, " Now kneel down !" When this was done, he, with intense desire, and great earnestness, poured out his heart before God on his behalf j and after engaging in prayer for some time, he said, " Now, Joseph, you must pray." At this suggestion, so peremptorily and unexpectedly urged upon him, he was agitated beyond description ; but not daring to disobey, he began with a palpitating heart, and a tremulous voice, to sue for mercy at the throne of grace. How long these two relations, and sincere penitents, continued to engage in this hallowed exercise, cannot now be known ; but the impressions made on the mind of the subject of this memoir were too deep and indelible to be easily effaced.

A few weeks after this, in company with his sister, he paid his cousin another visit, whom he found engaged in reading the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans ; and after reading aloud, with much animation, " There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," he said, '' Joseph, do you feel this 1 Do you know there is no condemnation to you ?" These pointed questions, with several others of a similar nature that were proposed to him, excited his attention, and led to serious self-examination ; and on returning home with his sister, he could not refrain from entering into conversation with her, on the wondrous change which had taken place on the mind of his cousin, the effects of which were depicted on his very countenance. From that time Mr. Benson began to seek the Lord with all his heart ; he also attended the ministry of the Methodists ; and by the advice of his cousin united himself to the society, and diligently read such of Mr. Wesley's sermons, and other works, as he could procure. His own words will best describe the ^tate of his mind at this time. " I was," says he, " more and more deeply made sensible of my alienation from God, by continuing to hear the Methodists, with whom I was united, and was in great disquietude and distress almost continually for about ten months ; till the Lord gave me to believe in his Son, and shed abroad his love in my heart. I may observe, I was not without some gracious drawings from God, and transient tastes of his goodness at times, during that distress ; but for about seven or eight weeks before it was given me to believe, I was powerfully tempted to despair of ever obtaining mercy. Satan thrust sore at me, and I was in horrid agony : when I kneeled down to pray, I could not pray ; it seemed as though the heavens were brass, and not to be pierced. My tears, I saw, availed nothing. I was sorely impatient, and ready to give up all for lost. But glory be to God, he turned my heaviness into joy, and made light to spring up in my heart." The length of time which the subject of this memoir continued seeking the Lord before he obtained the witness of the Spirit to his adoption, can only be attributed to the weakness of his faith, or to some erroneous opinions which he entertained concerning a sinner's justification before God. Penitent sinners who are earnestly seeking the pardon of their sins, are too frequently accustomed to think that some considerable space of time must elapse, before they are entitled to expect the blessing which they so ardently desire. But where there is a consciousness of guilt, attended with a dread of future punishment, — where the soul is brought to groan under the burden of sin, — where there is an intense fervency of spirit awakened after God, combined with a full belief in the infinite efficacy of the blood of atonement, — there, the mind is fully fitted

LIFE OF JOSEPH BENSON. 'i-f

for the salvation of the gospel. Nor can any delay in our expectations, any mortification of our corruptions, any austerities practised upon our bodies, make us more worthy of the promise of that Spirit, which they that believe on him shall receive. Salvation is of the Lord ; but though it is by grace, yet it is through faith ; and faith is an act of recumbency on the part of man, — a resting on the divine promise, and a full confidence that what God hath promised he is able and willing this moment to perform. He therefore that looks at the promise, clings to it, claims it as his own, and depends implicitly on Him who is mighty to save, takes hold of his strength, and receives the full benefit of his meritorious sacrifice.

" Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees. And looks to that alone ; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries, It shall be done."

Mr. Benson pursued his studies under the tuition of Mr. Dean, until he arrived at the age of seventeen : he then engaged himself as a teacher in a school at Gamblesby, in Cumberland, where he continued one year only. His situation at this time was far from being comfortable. His father disapproved of the step that he had taken in joining the Methodist society : in the country where he lived, Methodism was little known, and less respected. He had also to encounter considerable opposition ; and he enjoyed but few opportunities of sitting under the ministry of the word. Thus circumstanced, he meditated the design of leaving his native place and neighbourhood, and of occupying some situation where he might have more frequent opportunities of attending the means of grace, and of cultivating a more intimate acquaintance with that body of Christians to whom he had voluntarily united himself. With a few of the preachers only he was partially acquainted ; Mr. Wesley he had never seen : hearing, however, that

*he was at Newcastle, and having a great desire to see a man of whom he had heard so much, he, in December, 1765, set off for the above place. His father accompanied him some miles on the road ; and at Alstone-Moor they "parted from each other, with floods of tears." They could scarcely have been more deeply affected, had they foreseen, as the sequel proved, that they were never to meet more in this world. Before the son again visited his native place, the father had gone the way of all flesh.

What the subject of this memoir felt, in thus tearing himself away from all the tender connections of life, can be conceived only by those who have been placed in similar circumstances. No motive, less influential than faith in God's guiding providence, combined with a sense of duty, could have prompted him, like the ancient patriarch, to go out, scarcely knowing whither he went. The world was all before him. He had quitted his kindred, and his father's house, to go among strangers, not knowing what encouragement h? would meet with, or where his lot would be cast. On his arrival at Newcastle, where he expected to meet Mr. Wesley, he was disappointed and grieved to find that he had some time previously left that place. Determined, however, not to yield to discouragement, he purposed to go by sea to London ; but as the vessel in which he intended to embark did not sail as soon as he expected, he set off on foot, in the depth of winter, for the metropolis. He proceeded as far as Ferrybridge, where he met with a gentleman who kindly commiserated his circumstances, and generously paid his coach-fare to town. Here he remained for several weeks, at the expiration of which he went to Bristol ;* most probably in company with Mr. Wesley, who arrived there on Tuesday, March 11th, 17.66,

* There are no docunrcnts of which I am possessed that render it certain that Mr. Benson actually accompanied Mr. Wesley to Bristol : but as I learn from the Journal of the latter, that he arrived in Bristol when he appointed Mr. Benson to the office of classical master of Kingswood school. This school occupied a large share of Mr. Wesley's attention and solicitude : it was now composed of the sons of the itinerant preachers ; and a few of the more opulent members of the Methodist societies had sent their sons to this seminary to receive a Christian education. But the state of the school gave Mr. Wesley much uneasiness. The nature of the evils that had crept in, or of the disorders that prevailed in the school, we have no means, at this distant period, of ascertaining. Mr. Wesley says, " Wednesday, 12th, I rode over to Kingswood ; and having told ray whole mind to the masters and servants, spoke to the children in a far stronger manner than ever I did before. I will kill or cure ; I will have one or the other, — a Christian school, or none at all." And it is satisfactory to learn, that during Mr. Benson's continuance there, the most visible and acknowledged improvements took place in the school. This is evident from Mr. Wesley's own statement. " Tuesday, March 8th, 1768," he says, " I reached Bristol, where I did not find any decay in the work of God, though it did not go on so vigorously as at Kingswood. Here the meetings for prayer had been exceedingly blessed ; some were convinced or converted almost daily; and near seventy new members had been added to the society in about three months' time. The school, likewise, is in a flourishing condition. Several of the children continue serious ; and all of them are in better order than they have been for some years." And on Friday, October 7th, in the same year, Mr. Wesley visited the school again ; on which occasion he says, " I spent an hour, much to my satisfaction, with the children at Kingswood. There is reason to hope