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William Gadsby’s Selection of Hymns
A lecture by Dr. Matthew Hyde on the significance and influence of William Gadsby's Selection of Hymns. Dr. Hyde was invited to deliver his remarks by the Strict Baptist Historical Society, at their annual meeting, held on the 21 March 2014.
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Preface
It is one of the griefs of my life that I had not more of my dear father's sermons taken down. It is true that in his day sermon reporting did not flourish as it did afterwards. With two or three exceptions, none of his sermons in Manchester were ever reported. A few “Scraps” I took down in 1835 and one or two following years; and that was nearly all. When he visited London, Mr. Justins, Mr. Paul, and others took a few; and all these I have, excepting one from Isaiah 63:1, which I once had, and for which, as is well known, I have offered £5; but it is not to be had. Thinking I could easily meet with another copy, I sent…
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John Gill: And The Cause Of God And Truth
Dr. George M. Ella is the author of definitive biographies on William Cowper, William Huntington, Henry Bullinger, James Hervey and Augustus Topdlady. He has also authored several works on theological subjects: “Justification and the Call of the Gospel”, “Common Grace and the Call of the Gospel”, “Particular Redemption: And the Theology of Andrew Fuller”, “The Free Offer and the Call of the Gospel”. In recommending Dr. Ella’s biography on John Gill, Pastor Don Fortner writes: “George Ella has been used of God to give the Christian public an opportunity to understand and appreciate one of the giants of church history in this thoroughly researched biography. As I recommend Gill's writings to anyone who wants to understand the Bible, I heartily recommend George Ella's biography to…
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Eldership Lectures/Book
The Reformed Baptist Movement has given rise to a new form of church leadership not practiced by Baptist churches prior to the 1950's. The majority of modern books and articles almost invariably assert that each church should be overseen by a plurality of elders. While many churches have conformed to the new trend, others staunchly cling to their traditional practice of having a single pastor assisted by a group of deacons. It is unwise to follow a trend, or support a tradition, without knowing the scriptural, historic and practical reasons undergirding the practice. I have invested more than seven years of extensive research on this subject. My notes and gathered resources are several thousand pages large. Some of this material was condensed and presented in…
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Introduction
Clifford Pond served in the pastoral ministry among Grace Baptist churches for more than 50 years. Having seen the need for congregations to better understand the complexities of adopting a plurality of elders, he wrote a book entitled “Only Servants.” The back cover of the book offers a reason why the author is a respected authority on the subject: “Clifford Pond writes out of a lifetime of pastoral ministry, having served churches in Suffolk and Surrey as well as exercising a wider ministry at various times by responsible leadership in young people's fellowships, associations of churches and the council of Grace Baptist Mission.” In the fifth chapter, under the heading “Plurality of Elders and Deacons”, Mr. Pond writes: “Since the Second World War every part…
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The Historic Affirmations
The Affirmations set forth in the following statements are representative views of the historic values maintained by Strict (restricted table) and Particular (restricted atonement) Baptist churches, before and up to the mid-twentieth century. Since the Second World War, most historic churches have (1) adopted the Westcott and Hort text, thereby departing from the high view of verbal inspiration; (2) adopted the teachings of Fullerism, thereby departing from the high view of Sovereign Grace; (3) adopted the philosophy of Ecumenism, thereby departing from the high view of strict communion; (4) adopted an adaptation of Presbyterianism, thereby departing from the high view of Baptist polity. It appears many Strict Baptists have failed to understand that moving with the times does not mean churches must move from the…
