The Life And Testimony Of Margaret Bates
Gospel Standard 1872:
Death. On March 26th, aged 72, Margaret Bates, wife of Mr. Edward Bates, of Over Darwen, She was a member of the church at King Street, Bolton. She was a member amongst the Independents in the early part of her life; but in process of time was brought amongst the Particular Baptists at Blackburn. She was first brought to see herself as a poor, guilty, naked sinner, before a holy, righteous God, under the sermon that was preached just before the baptism of the late Mr. M’Kenzie, which was at Blackburn. Some time after this she was blessed under the minister and was baptized, and taken in as a member by the late Mr. Worral. She now saw the difference between a free-grace gospel and a Yea and Nay one; and she loved the former, and commenced following and hearing Mr. Gadsby; and hearing that Mr. Warburton was going to Manchester, she with a friend went there to hear him. That was before the death of Mr. Gadsby. She had got the first part of Mr. Warburton’s book, and many a feast in reading it we both had. It is a blessed book for a living soul. After the death of Mr. Gadsby, Mr. Warburton was to preach at Manchester for three Lord’s days, and she was determined to go to hear him. So she went there and back, forty miles, each Lord’s day.
After being at Manchester three Lord’s days, Mr. W. went to Rochdale and Bury; and the last time he preached at Bury my wife and I both went, and such a blessed day we never spent on earth before. We often spoke of that day. He preached from Is. 61:3. When he came to describe the sinner that had God’s religion in his heart, from that part of his text, “beauty for ashes,” he said there must have been a fire; for there could be no ashes without fire; and he tried to find those poor souls that had ashes, and in his own way said, “Come, poor soul, if you have ashes you know something of God’s religion.” Here he went into the various fires that the sinner had to pass through to burn up his supposed goodness, fleshly work, prayers, duty-religion, and doing of all sorts of things from the flesh. These all had to be burnt up. When God’s fiery law came to the sinner all the hay, wood, and stubble had to go; all his self-righteous beauty and goodness that he supposed he had, all had to go into the fire. At the close of the morning service we said to each other, “I have got ashes,” and “So have I.” There was no small stir made in the hearts of many who had come miles to hear him. What a longing for the afternoon service, for “beauty.” As we had been so completely stripped of all our old rags of self, we were very anxious to be clothed. So in his sermon on “beauty,” Mr. W. showed how the sinner was clothed in the precious robe of Christ’s righteousness. Like a good workman, he showed the need of being washed in the precious blood of Christ, in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. Then the rich robe of Christ’s righteousness was put on the sinner. The Lord had him clothed from top to toe. He fitted the poor thing with such a rich suit, wrought out by the blessed Saviour. Mr. W. Preached us both in so sweetly that we went home with hearts full of peace and joy in God; and his love and grace so filled our hearts we could do nothing but talk of them by the way.
After Mr. Horbury’s death my wife was seldom favoured with the word being made a blessing to her soul, and very often under his ministry the latter end of her days she was unable to get to the house of God. This she sorely felt. Her time was spent in reading the Bible and hymn book; also Huntington’s, Gadsby’s, Warburton’s, and Philpot’s writings, the “Gospel Standard,” &c. She had a stroke on Monday, March 13th, and died on the 26th. On covering her in bed it was said to her, “We will make you as comfortable as a queen.” She replied that she had often thought that she was a king’s daughter.
A few days before her death, at the top of her voice, she repeated with very great feeling:
“’Weary of earth, myself, and sin,
Dear Jesus, set me free,'” &c.
Her end was peace. She had long felt the sweetness of God’s religion.
Edward Bates
Darwen.
Margaret Bates (1800-1872) was a Strict and Particular Baptist believer. She was blessed to sit under the gospel ministries of William Gadsby and John Warburton.
