A memoir of the Rev. John Jenkins...missionary in...Jamaica

Front matter

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MEMOIR

Preface

Ma-NY were led to expect a Memoir of Mr. Jenkins, about twelve months ago, from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Beal ; a gentleman whose name excited such expectations as place his present biographer in very unfavourable circumstances. The question, " Why, at this late period, is it sent into the world by one whose name is scarcely known ?" appears to be so natural, and so reasonable, that it deserves a serious reply. This is found in the facts that, twelve months after the death of Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Beal was obliged to return the papers from which materials were to be collected, his other engagements rendering it impossible for him to redeem his pledge ; and, owing to a short acquaintance having existed between the present writer and Mr. Jenkins, his amiable widow pressed him to engage in the undertaking with an importunity which he found it impossible to resist. It was urged that about 600 subscribers had given in their names for copies of a Memoir of Mr. Jenkins ; and that, in general, this was from pure affection to him, and not from any regard to the known ability of his supposed biographer. These friends Mrs. Jenkins felt desirous to gratify ; and, as she was pleased to place some confidence in the person whose name appears on the title-page of this Memoir, though he had no prospect of paying either immediate or uninterrupted attention to it, and consequently must compose it under great disadvantages, yet, rather than Mrs. Jenkins and the friends of her deceased husband should be entirely disappointed, he very reluctantly consented to engage in the undertaking. He knows that his work will meet the eyes even of the subscribers under every disadvantage.

PREFACE.

Many of their minds are chilled by disappointment ; all have been subjected to unreasonable delay; and, of course, on him is imposed the onerous task of suing for indulgence, where he ought to have met with regard. Could he not plead their affection for their departed friend, and their wish that some one should be employed as his biographer, he should despair of success ; but, as he can sincerely urge these powerful pleas, he feels some degree of hope, though, owing to circumstances over which he has had no control, he is obliged to throw himself on their indulgence.

The Memoir must stand or fall by its own merits ; and therefore he feels it to be useless to say much to gain it acceptance, or avert its condemnation. He has endeavoured, as much as possible, to make Mr. Jenkins his own historian, though he has also inserted such remarks of his own as appeared to him to be required for the purpose of either comment or correction. Having himself been a Wesley an missionary in the West Indies, he felt a solemn anxiety to convey correct information, especially at a time when misrepresentation and persecution put the friends of missions so fully on their defence. This he hopes will be regarded as a sufficient reason for what some may perhaps consider an occasional digression, and for the volume being larger than was at first intended. He has endeavoured to bear in mind that he was writing the life of a Missionary ; and, as every man is in some degree what circumstances make him, and can only be fully known by his powers of compliance, resistance, or control, as occasion may require, he has made such remarks on the state of West Indian society as Mr. Jenkins's papers seemed to demand, and his own observation had furnished ; and such as he hopes will increase the interest of the volume. He has frequently felt much gratification and profit while engaged in the work of compilation ; and he sincerely hopes and fervently prays that his " labour may not he in vain in the Lord,

Hastings, August, 1832.

Chapter I

Introductory remarks. — Pietv of Mr. Jenkins's ancestors. — His conversion. — Religious experience and consistent conduct. — Employed as a local preacher. — Zealous and useful labours in England. — In Wales. — Examined and recommended to the Conference as a candidate for a foreign mission. — Correspondence with the Rev. A. Barber. — Letter from the Rev. W. Barber.

Chapter II

Mr. Jenkins appointed to Ashburton. — Remarks on the probation of Missionaries. — Labours in the Ashburton circuit. — Opposed by a clergyman. — Illness. — Several times in great danger. — Letter to Rev. A. Barber. — Letter to Mr. Jenkins, Sen. — Acceptable and successful labours. — Letter from Rev. A. Barber : revival in his circuit. — Mr. Jenkins appointed a third year to Ashburton.^ — Is requested to hold himself in readiness to be examined as a missionary. — Letter to his sister on the subject. — His appointment to Jamaica. — Anecdote of a Cornish cynic. — Letter from Rev. J. Saunders. — Lines on the portrait of Mrs. H. Newell.

Chapter III

Mr. Jenkins's ordination. — Marriage. — Sails for Jamaica. — Reflections on leaving home. — A storm. — Driven into the Cove of Cork. — Letter to Mr. Jenkins's parents. — Leaves Ireland. — Pilot-boat upset, and narrow escape of the crew. — Reflections on losing sight of Waterford light-house. — Unable to have divine service on board. — Character and kindness of the Captain. — Divine service on deck. — Flying-fish. — Dolphin. — Mr. Jenkins's birth-dav. — Passes the Leeward-Islands. — Jamaica in sight. — Lands at Morant- Bay. — Kindness of the Rev. Mr, Trew, the Rector. — Visit to a sugar-estate. — Visit to the burying- ground. — Tedious passage to Kingston. — Wesleyan chapels and congregations in Kingston. — Sickness of Mr. iVllen. — Mr. Jenkins stationed at Grateful-Hill.— Death of Mr. Allen.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV. Page

Mr. Jenkins's station at Grateful -Hill. — Letter of J. S. Lane, Esq. — Hostility to missions. — Smith and Shrewsbury. — Defence of the Wesleyan missionaries. — Letter of the Rev. Joseph Taylor. — Rev. R. Watson on Wesleyan missions. — Letter from. — Rev. Mr. Trew on Missions. — Remarks on the late rebellion in Jamaica. — Fidelity of religious slaves. — Mr. Box's imprisonment. — Jeopardy of the missionaries. — Letter from Mr. Jenkins on the condition of the slaves. — Reasons for controverting its contents. — Food of slaves. — Clothing. — Sabbath. — Rev. Mr. Trew's remarks upon. — Labour of slaves. — Punishment. — Dr. Williamson upon. — Rev. Mr. Trevi^ upon. — Female flogging : Awful case of. — Extract from the Jamaica Christian Record:" Cases of great ^raelty. — Abolition o£ slavery. — Jeremie's " Four Essays" on. — Mr. Beaumont's speech. — Substitution of missionary labours for the cart-whip. 66

CHAPTER v

Slaves the direct objects of the Wesleyan missions in the West Indies. — Letters from Mr. Jenkins to the Rev, Messrs. W. and A. Barber. — Remarks on the resolutions of the. Wesleyan missionaries in Jamaica on the subject of slavery. — Dangers of insurrection averted by the Rev. R. Young, — Letter from the Rev. J. Shipman. — Mr. Jenkins appointed to Morant-Bay. — Letter to his father. — Exhausting labours. — Rev. Mr. Kerr, arrival and station of. — Mr. Jenkins's attempts to establish a mission at Port Antonio. — Letter of a magistrate refusing licence. — Imminent danger of Mr. Jenkins from the fall of his horse. — Sickliness of the country, and death of seamen. — Letter to the Rev. A. Barber. — Morals of the West Indians. — Letter from the Rev. Mr. Morley, — Opposition to missionary meetings. — Letter from a clergyman. — Miscellaneous interesting communications. 135

Chapter VI

Loss of the Maria Mail-Boat. — Letter of condolence to Mr. Jenkins from the Rev. Mr. Trew.' — Remarks on the removal of missionaries. — Letter from the Rev. Mr, Crofts. — Letter Trom Stephen Drew, Esq. — Mr. Jenkins's removal to the Bahama Islands. — Shipwrecked on his arrival. — Appointed to Turk's-Island. — Illness and departure for New-York. — Sails for England. — Letter from the Rev. Mr. Morley. — Appointed to Pembroke, South Wales. — Letter from the Rev. Mr. James. — Letter from the Rev. Mr. Shipman. — Specimens of Mr. Jenkins's Poetry. — Appointment to the Scilly Islands.— Sickness, Death, and Epitaph. 181

A MEMOIR, &c.

Chapter I

Introductory remarks. — Piety of Mr. Jenkins's ancestors.~His conversion. — Religious experience and consistent conduct. — Employed as a local preacher . — Zealous and useful labours in England — In Wales. — Examined and recommended to the conference as a candidate for a foreign mission. — Correspondence with the Rev. A. Barber. — Letter from the Rev. W. Barber.

We obtain some of our most gratifying and instructive thoughts by indulging our disposition for contrast ; but it is one of the most pleasing reflections of the writer of the following memoir that he has not to offer it to the world as unique in its kind. Though it is the memoir of a man who would once have been considered a Christian and a missionary of no ordinary stature, the standard of piety in the present day is such that the church of Christ contains many such Christians, and the zeal of that church employs many such missionaries. The times are happily passed when mere official piety, or even gross superstition, were the only requisites for the pulpit ; it is only a very small minority who are disposed to tolerate an impious ministry ; and " Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" as it is the enquiry of inspiration, is now also the general question of mankind. It is, therefore, properly demanded of one who undertakes to be the biographer of a missionary that he shall be prepared to give an account of his conversion : for conversion, in the scriptural sense of that term, is the only proper ground of Christian piety.

Conversion is the w^ork of the Holy Spirit on the heart of its subject : and, though its fruits are manifest unto all to whom the convert may be known, the process and the consummation of the change are

B known only to the almighty Agent, and the favoured recipient, of this spiritual transformation. This renders it desirable that religious biography should be compiled partly from the records of the experience of the subject of the story ; and this desire the journal kept by our departed brother Jenkins will enable us to gratify. His religion was " that of the heart and of this religion he kept a record, which carries us back as far as the thirteenth year of his age.

From this record it appears that Mr. Jenkins was born at Sw^ansea, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales, in the year 1798/' of truly rehgious parents, who trained him up " in the iiurture and admonition of the Lord." St. Paul made the piety of Timothy's

mother" and " grandmother" the occasion of his grateful observation ; perhaps because their example had been blessed, and their prayers answered, in the communication of that " unfeigned faith" to him which " first dwelt in them ;" and Mr. Jenkins's ancestors w^ere like-minded with those of Timothy. Mrs. Jenkins remarks, " His grandmother, Elizabeth Jenkins, was among the first that embraced Methodism in Carmarthen, and was one of the first leaders, made such by Mr. Wesley on his second visit to that town. He often went to her house (as it was always open to the preachers), and Mr. J.'s father has frequently stood between his knees, Mr. Wesley caUing him namesake, and often praying the Lord to bless him, and make him and his posterity a seed to serve him." W^e know not the blessings which descended on " the house of Onesiphorus," in answer to the prayer of the apostle, because " he often refreshed him, and was not ashamed of his chain ;" nor do we know the blessings we may entail on our posterity, by inducing those whom we entertain to store the minds of our children with blessings and prayers, and to lay up in their behalf this kind of treasure. All whose minds are properly regulated would prefer that they should have an interest in these, rather than in the hereditary worldliness and wealth of a Demas," who, under the same trying circumstances, forsook the apostle, ^' having loved this present world." " The effectual.

THE REV. JOHN' JEXKIXS. ?j

fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Though a conviction that he " was not worse than other boys " for some time prevented ]Mr. J. from hearkening to good advice," so as to lead to his conversion, yet it kept a restraint upon" him, and prevented his " running to the same excess of riot." But, from this time to the sixteenth year of his age, his hfe does not appear to have been equally blameless ; for though at a prayer-meeting in the vestry of Portland Chapel, Bristol (to which city he was brought by his parents early in life), he was convinced of his sins, and of the need of forgiveness, he became *' acquainted with some youths of a bad moral character :" he " was drawn away by them to seek death in the error of his ways;" and he expresses his " belief that, if God had not called him when he did, he should have become one of the most abandoned wretches on the face of tJie earth." His conversion, however, soon followed : and it is dated ]March 13th, 1814. About two months previous to this date, he was taken by his father to a Sabbath-school in the country, to a place called Clay-hill;" and in this school he " became a teacher." To the duties of a teacher in this school he " devoted himself for years," says ^Irs. Jenkins, " gohig with his sister every Sabbath three miles into the country, takinor their food alonof with them ; and in one of these journeys they narrowly escaped being lost in the snow." This pious employment brought him into the society of those who were differently disposed, who desired his salvation, and who invited him to one of their love-feasts on the day above mentioned. He went, " accompanied by several of his acquaintances : *' he was soon impressed with a sense of his danger ; and his companions beginning to cry for mercy increased his distress, and he soon " saw himself as it were on the brink of hell." Though he saw no hope of mercy, he cried mightily to God, until eleven o'clock arrived ; when, though he was perhaps unconscious of it at the time, and possibly ever afterwards, sleep seems to have come to his relief. This, I think, will appear from his own words, which are extracted from his account of this occurrence in his journal.

" I continued crying to God, until my strength failed, and I was forced to lay my head down and continue silent. But my agony increased. O ! the agony ! the inexpressible agony of my soul ! "

In noticing " the way in which he felt his soul delivered of its burden," he speaks as follows : —

" It was about 11 o'clock, after I had been on my knees about two hours, that the Lord visited me with his salvation. I leaned my head upon the form where I was kneeling, when m\ ears were saluted with the sound of harps ; for I thought they were in the room where I was. No sooner had I listened to this strange sound, than the door of che room opened, and a man with a robe as white as the light came directly to me, and stood over me ; and, with a smile on his countenance, said, ' Son, be of good cheer : thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee : arise, and go in peace.' This was glorious news for me ; it was this that gave me the victory over sin and death, that filled my soul with love that is past all human comprehension : and I praise God that ever since I have found him as good as his promise ; for he has told me that he " will never leave me nor forsake me."

I have not a doubt of this being a dream. A youth of sixteen, who had been on his knees for two hours, and who at eleven o'clock at night, and in a state of exhaustion, laid his head on the form before which he was kneeling, would scarcely be able to avoid sleeping, and sleeping he was graciously influenced to dream on what was the subject of his solicitude. This dream, however, in his case, answered the best of purposes. It directed his mind to an encouraging declaration of Holy Writ ; and the man who trusts in the Lord, as therein directed, whatever be the means of " bringing it to his remembrance," will feel that in him he has righteousness and strength." Such was the effect, whatever was the means, that he never afterwards doubted the sufiiciency of the merit of the Saviour's blood ; and the language in which he concludes the paragraph of which the above is an extract was ever afterwards the language of his heart : — " May the Lord grant that I may walk worthy of the vocation

THE RET. JOHN JENKINS.

wherewith I am called, until I am taken up to dwell in his kingdom of glory !" This is the language of one who had " passed from death unto life," whatever the means or the process might have been ; and he attributed the change to its proper agent, in asking;

Did Christ ever send a soul away without the desire of his heart, if he asked in faith ? No," he replies ;

his heart is touched with the cries of the penitent ; he steps in to his relief ; and enables him to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Such was the case with me. I thought it was impossible for God to pardon my sins, on account of the innumerable multitude I saw before my eyes. Yet, when faith was imparted, I was enabled to triumph over them all." Thus God pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel."

Conversion is the point at which scriptural holiness commences ; and the apostolic exhortation to the new" convert is, " Go on unto perfection" (Heb. vi. 1) ; and Mr. Jenkins appears to have been early saved from the fatal delusion of many who lose sight of that maxim of the kingdom of God — " Whosoever hath ([increase] to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance : but from him that hath not [increase] shall be taken away, even that [talent which] he hath.' Matt. xiii. 12. A practical regard to this maxim, and to all the precepts which grow out of it, is the only safe-guard we possess against the doctrine of justification by faith degenerating into antinomianism ; and the best proof of this is found in the fact that the antinomian is the most virulent opponent of Christian " perfection," which now became the object of Mr. Jenkins's pursuit. October 9th he writes,

" For some time past, I have felt much of the powers of the world to come. I have also felt moi^ and more of my own nothingness ; and I feel tlie want of an entire renewal of my perverse and deceitful heart. Sanctification is now what I want to feel : for how can I think of resting short of full salvation, when God has declared that without holiness no man can see his face ? Therefore I am determined that I will not rest short of all the fulness of his Spirit,

B 2

O that 1 had faith ! O that I had that belief of the promises of God which would enable me to lay hold on the blessing.

' I want thy will to do,

As angels do in heaven ; In Christ a creature new,

Most graciously forgiven : I want thy perfect will to prove, All sanctified by spotless love.' "

From this time, to the 1st of February, 1815, he continued in the diligent search of this blessing ; and on that day he writes,

" This day my soul has been drawn out in prayer to God, in full expectation of receiving the blessing ; and, glory for ever be ascribed to the name of the Lord, he has heard my multiplied petitions, and has given me to taste his sanctifying grace. O what shall I render unto my God for all the rich bounties of his love, which he is constantly making known to me ! I have given him my heart, and I know he is able to keep me to the end. May God keep me humble and faithful unto death ! For some time past I have had many severe trials, and many great temptations ; but, blessed be God, I can look to him and find ' no condemnation ; ' therefore I know that his ' Spirit bears witness with my spirit' that I am a child of God — that I have tasted and felt his sanctifying grace, which enables me to triumph over death, and that gives me a glorious prospect of a blessed eternity. O for more of the mind that was in Christ Jesus ! for more of his love that casteth out all fear, and that purifies the heart ! ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name ! bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits ! '

From the first of his Christian course, Mr. Jenkins appears to have been much attached to the Rev. Aquila Barber, then a youth like himself, and like him also fervently seeking the constituent graces, and the pure enjoyments, of the " inward kingdom of God." In several parts of his journal, which a regard to brevity has obliged me to omit, he speaks

THE REV. JOHN JENKINS.

in the most affectionate terms of his attachment to this young friend, and of their frequent Christian intercourse with each other. Under the above date he says, *' One thing that rejoices my heart is, that my dear brother and friend has found the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God. Now we are enabled to go on blessing and praising the God of our salvation ; and God grant that while we live we may live to God ! Joyful mention is also made of the salvation of other young people. Were the intercom'se of the rising generation always thus pure, and their efforts and anxieties always thus directed, spite of the depravity of nature, and the temptations of the devil, our earth would bear some analogy to the original paradise. O, how generally it happens that the confirmed iniquities of age are but the vices of youth in luxuriated maturity !

The last entry of this year will lead us to regard Mr. Jenkins in his convictions, his fears, his determinations, and his designs, as a Christian missionary. He writes,

" I feel a deadness to the world through the cross of Christ ; but O how hard I feel it to glory in that cross ! I am determined, however, not to give way to the suggestions of Satan : for I know that Christ has called me to labour in his vineyard. ' Woe to me if I preach not the gospel.' I believe the Lord has put this in my heart, so that I can get no rest by day, and scarcely by night. The cry is, ' Come over to India and help us.' I am fully satisfied that, if the Lord please that I should go, he will open my way. I do bless my dear Redeemer for his many great and precious promises ; and I do feel daily an application of his precious blood to my soul. I know that God has the whole of my affections ; I know that he is my God, and that I am his child. I feel that I have redemption in the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of my sins, and it is my desire and determination to be a Christian. God has, and shall have, all my heart."

On the 1st of January, Mr. Jenkins entered into a solemn covenant with God in private ; but during the week he expresses himself as much distressed by temptation, though he " felt not the least desire to submit in any one thing to the tempter," and as " feel-* ing that his treasure and his heart were in heaven." On the following Sabbath he attended " the renewing of the covenant" in Bristol, and says, " My soul returned again to its centre, when renewing my cove-^ nant with my God. I felt my soul melted as wax before the fire, and afterwards, at . the sacrament, I was abundantly blessed."

About this time, he seems to have been much perplexed respecting matters which, owing to his minority, he could not control ; and during this season of perplexity he writes, *' I feel I have lost ground considerably ; for in these dark moments, not beingable to see the smiling face of the blessed Jesus, I was tempted to give up my confidence relative to sanctification. I instantly gave way to the tempter, and relinquished my hope. But, I bless God, I think I have learned wisdom. I see clearly the great danger of drawing inferences in the time of temptation. I ought to look to Jesus, over or through the temptation, and leave all that is past, pressing forward to those things which are before ; and I find, in so doing, that Jesus does hear and answer prayer, and fixes my mind on himself. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given me a name among his people. I am not worthy of the least of his favours, but, I bless his name, I feel I have no other desire than to be given up to him."

March 13th, as the day on which he obtained mercy," was regarded by him as an era in his life, and on this day, 1816, he has the following entry: —

' Hail happy day that fixed my choice, On thee, my Saviour and my God; Fain would my longing heart rejoice, And tell thy praises all abroad.'

Yes ; blessed be God ! I feel at present thankful to God, my Father, for his ever taking notice of a sinner, and that the ' chief.* I have enjoyed the pardoning love of God for two years ; and blessed be God that I do not feel tired of his service. I feel I love it more

THE REV. JOHN JENKINS.

and more. My heart's desire is, ' to know nothing

among" men save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." I

bless his name that he is opening the way for his

unworthy servant to ' preach the unsearchable riches

of Christ ' to a perishing world ; and, as my desire in

this respect is chiefly for the missionary's life, I do not

feel a small deo^ree of comfort on this orround."

Up to this time Mr. Jenkins had not made known

to any one his convictions and designs in this respect ;

but now he was agreeably surprised to find that not

only his juvenile friends, the Rev. A. Barber, and his

brother, but some of those whose years and piety gave

authority to their opinions were equally convinced

that he ouorht to direct his attention to the ministerial

office, improve himself in reference to this sacred

vocation, and hold himself in readiness for the call of

the church. On this subject, under date of April 27th,

1816, he writes as follows : — " I see that, in order to

be ' a workman that needeth not be ashamed,' I must

be very diligent in the acquirement of knowledge, and

likewise get a thorough acquaintance with my own

heart. I see nothinor short of beinor" a Christian in • • •

heart and life will qualify me for the work of the ministry ; therefore, by the help of God, I am determined not to rest short of all the mind that w^as in Christ Jesus."

Mr. Jenkins was made acquainted with the convictions of his friends, in reference to his future employment in the church, just before he completed the eighteenth year of his age : and that one so young should have attracted the attention of the aged and pious proves him to have been possessed of both spiritual and mental endowments beyond his years. From his journal it appears that, about this time, he made a few attempts to speak in public at " the hospital " and other places; and, from the date of the following entry in his journal, it appears, his labours, as a local preacher, became regular, and frequently excessive.

April 29th. — I bless God that nothing can satisfy my soul but his love, and this I have felt for some time past, in a more abundant degree than before. Jesus Christ is my only satisfying portion.

" With respect to the work of the ministry, I do not feel inclined to give up the idea, although the very thought makes me tremble. Yet, through Christ strengthening me, I can do all things. Sometimes I am tempted to think it is all a delusion ; but what gives me very great encouragement is, whenever I stand up to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ, help, — every thing I need, is imparted."