{"id":23648,"date":"2024-12-08T23:30:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T23:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=23648"},"modified":"2024-12-09T04:49:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T04:49:53","slug":"an-appreciate-letter-upon-the-death-of-john-kershaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2024\/12\/an-appreciate-letter-upon-the-death-of-john-kershaw\/","title":{"rendered":"An Appreciation Letter Upon The Death Of John Kershaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gospel Standard 1870:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Late Mr. Kershaw<\/b><\/p>\n

Dear Friends,\u2014I knew Mr. Kershaw for about 32 years, for about 27 intimately. Before I knew him I heard him spoken of as an Antinomian. I at that time was under deep distress of soul from law-work. When I heard him preach for the first time, I had never in my life heard a gospel sermon before. His sermon was the means of taking such a weight off my mind that I went home rejoicing in the God of my salvation. It was preached in a large club-room at Wadsworth, near Hebden Bridge, and the room was filled. Many of us went home talking of his sermon. By the Holy Spirit’s power and grace of God, the sermon just fitted my case, and gave me such new light that I shall never forget as long as my memory lasts. After that I heard him preach scores of good sound doctrinal, experimental, and practical sermons. A fellow-workman and I used to walk from our homes at Mytholmroyd to Rochdale, 12 miles there and 12 back, and returned home sometimes by Todmorden, making it three miles further, so that we could talk with others going that way who had been to hear him. Our hearts used to burn within us by the way, and we often had a week’s food in store to feed upon; and when Sunday came again we were off again and again.<\/p>\n

I tell you these things to show you how the Lord blessed our dear friend to his people, many of whom, like us, came from the country round and round, and flocked to his chapel like doves to the window.<\/p>\n

As a Christian adviser, I always found him to be depended upon, because he always took the Scriptures for his guide, and had such an aptitude to point out the right ones for the occasion. He was always for peace. “Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God.\u201d He once told me of being himself insulted at a funeral by a minister, and he was enabled, by the grace of God, not to resent it; but, his Master like, the first opportunity he had he returned good for evil. Seeing the minister one very wet day walking in the rain, he prevailed upon the driver of a coach to take him inside. The minister was so overcome with Mr. Kershaw’s kindness that he begged his pardon for the offence at the funeral.<\/p>\n

Once, when I had received a large sheet-full of abuse from a person, I wrote him back what I thought a suitable reply, and I took it to Mr. K. for his opinion; but I shall never forget what a changed appearance my epistle had when my dear Christian father had pruned it, and just added to it, “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.”<\/p>\n

He preached in many pulpits in and about London, and, I believe, as Mr. Taylor said at the grave, in almost every county in England; and he preached also in Scotland; and wherever he went his Lord and Master honoured the word spoken by him. Many times when I have accompanied him to the old Assembly Room, and other places in and about Halifax, when he has had hold of my arm on our way he has shaken like a leaf, and used to say, \u201cO Samuel, the word shakes me almost to pieces.” But in a few moments after he had taken his text, he would speak forth the gospel of Jesus, so that even the weakest of God’s children might understand, and often, under his sermons, read their titles clear.<\/p>\n

I will conclude. He has fought a good fight, and is sat down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the redeemed family that are called home, singing unto the Lamb for ever and ever those grand songs which those alone can sing who are in the Lamb\u2019s book of life. Amen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Samuel Magson<\/p>\n

Halifax<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends,\u2014I knew Mr. Kershaw for about 32 years, for about 27 intimately. Before I knew him I heard him spoken of as an Antinomian. I at that time was under deep distress of soul from law-work. When I heard him preach for the first time, I had never in my life heard a gospel sermon before. His sermon was the means of taking such a weight off my mind that I went home rejoicing in the God of my salvation. It was preached in a large club-room at Wadsworth, near Hebden Bridge, and the room was filled. Many of us went home talking of his sermon. By the Holy Spirit’s power and grace of God, the sermon just fitted my case, and gave me such new light that I shall never forget as long as my memory lasts. After that I heard him preach scores of good sound doctrinal, experimental, and practical sermons. A fellow-workman and I used to walk from our homes at Mytholmroyd to Rochdale, 12 miles there and 12 back, and returned home sometimes by Todmorden, making it three miles further, so that we could talk with others going that way who had been to hear him. Our hearts used to burn within us by the way, and we often had a week’s food in store to feed upon; and when Sunday came again we were off again and again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":13397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1162],"tags":[1232,1226],"class_list":["post-23648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-john-kershaw","tag-baptist-history","tag-gospel-preachers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23648"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23652,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23648\/revisions\/23652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}