II. John Berridge, 1716-93
by Rev. H. R. Moshe Radcliff, Th.L.
John Berridge was born on the 1st March, 1716, in Kingston, Nottinghamshire, the eldest of four sons of a wealthy farmer. Although it was his father’s intention to train him for the land, Berridge soon proved himself useless for that occupation. An early tendency for prayer and reading induced his parents to send him to Clare Hall, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1738 and M.A. in 1742. He acquitted himself well, displaying brilliance, and it was not long before he also gained his Fellowship.
With scholarship he also combined a turn of mind for wit which made him highly favoured in all circles. It was said that when it was known that he was to be one of the guests at a public dinner, his table would be crowded with guests who would enjoy his humour. Thus he became known as a clever, learned and witty don. But with all this he was still unconverted.
He was ordained into the Church of England ministry while he still did not know Christ in a personal way, and he soon imbibed the Socinian heresy. (Socinians deny the deity of Christ, affirming that he was only a mere man. This in turn stems from their wrong view of Scripture.) This soon affected his habits of prayer, which he sadly discarded. However his intellectual powers soon showed him the inconsistency of this system of doctrine and that there was only a slender line dividing Socinianism from atheism. This resulted in his returning to orthodoxy, but he was still ignorant of the New Birth.
In 1749 he became the assistant minister of Stapleford, where he took pains to instruct his flock in sanctification by faith and works, but he was soon disappointed when it did not bring about the desired change. In 1755 he was inducted to the Parish of Everton, Bedfordshire, where he was to remain the rest of his life. At the beginning of his ministry in Everton he continued to teach the same doctrine as he did in his previous Parish, but with the same singular failure.
For another eighteen months he continued this style of preaching, but the end of 1756 found him cast down in discouragement and he began to wonder if he himself had all this time been mistaken. In despair he called upon the Lord: “Lord, if I am right, keep me so; if I am not, make me so. Lead me to the truth as it is in Jesus.” This was a prayer that God was to hear, and answer abundantly. A few more days passed while his soul was kept in travail, and then one day as he was meditating on a portion of Scripture, a verse, “Cease from thine own works . . .” (Prov. 23.4), flashed through his mind with such power that he was deeply moved. He now saw clearly that Christ alone was the way of salvation and that he had to receive Him by faith apart altogether from works. Later in life he wrote: “I had hoped to be saved partly in my own name, and partly through Christ’s name, though I am told there is salvation in no other name, except the name of Jesus Christ.” He immediately set about searching the concordance for the words ‘believe’ and ‘faith’ and was surprised to discover how many times these words appeared. From that time onward he resolved to preach nothing else but Christ crucified — salvation by faith in His Name only. Thus at 42 he became a true preacher of the everlasting Gospel.
He sought another token for good from the Lord. He prepared a few sermons on this new theme and preached them on the first Sabbath. At first there was no change among his people and once more he was disappointed and believed that he was still on the wrong track. But then the Lord worked graciously on his behalf and one of his parishioners called on him for counsel. This is how their conversation began: “Well, Sarah.” She replied, “Well? not so well I fear.” Taken aback by this Berridge enquired, “Why? What is the matter, Sarah?” She answered him. “Matter! Why I don’t know what is the matter. These new sermons! I find that we are all to be lost now. I can neither eat, drink or sleep. I don’t know what’s become of me!” Others called on their minister with a similar burden.
He now burnt all his old sermons and soon stopped writing his sermons at all. His church became crowded as many were truly converted under his preaching. Reviewing his life at a later date he said: “I preached sanctification by the law earnestly for six years and never brought a soul to Christ. I did the same in this Parish without success. But as soon as ever I preached Christ Jesus and faith in His blood, then believers were added to the Church continually; then people came from all parts to the glorious sound of the Gospel.” It is not surprising that he had to face opposition, and the local squire warned his tenants not to attend on his preaching at the pain of eviction.
In 1758 John Berridge began field preaching, but unlike George Grimshaw, who kept mainly within the bounds of his own parish, Berridge went far beyond into the counties of Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Among those to whom the word of God was blessed was the Rev. W. Hicks, the minister of Wrestingworth, four miles from Everton, who at first was hostile to Berridge, but before long accompanied him. The following year Everton was visited with a gracious revival. Soon Berridge was visited by John Wesley, and through him Berridge’s name was mentioned to Lady Huntington, a true friend of the Lord’s cause, with whom he was to have a life long friendship.
John Berridge’s preaching was always simple and to the heart of his hearers. Although he had a quaint turn of mind he usually kept this under control, and only very occasionally did he allow himself to be quaint in the pulpit. For a short time his preaching was attended with signs similar to those that attended Wesley’s preaching. Some people, mostly men, would fall down as dead, others would cry out as the Holy Spirit was powerfully present among the people. While he was on his preaching tours, he never failed to show his appreciation to his hosts by eating the simple fare that was put in front of him and giving them a half-crown for their kindness. He was generous to those in need by giving liberally of his means. He paid the lay preachers whom he employed out of his own income, both when he was Vicar of Everton and also when he was a Fellow of Clare. He even sold the family plate to pay them. Such was his zeal.
Berridge remained a bachelor and his decision to be so is best described in his own words in a letter to Lady Huntington. “I besought the Lord to give me direction; then letting the Bible fall open of itself, I fixed my eyes immediately on these words, ‘When my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down and died! (2 Esdras 10:1). This frightened me heartily, you may easily think; but Satan who stood peeping at my elbow, not liking the heavenly caution, presently suggested a scruple that the book was apocryphal, and the words not to be heeded. Well, after a short pause, I fell on my knees again and prayed the Lord not to be angry with me whilst like Gideon I requested a second sign and from the Canonical Scriptures; then letting my Bible fall open as before, I fixed my eyes directly on this passage: ‘Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.’ (Jer. 16:2.) I was now completely satisfied!”
When the Calvinistic controversy arose, Berridge clearly took the side of the Calvinists and published a treatise under the title of ‘The Christian World Unmasked; Pray come and Peep.’ While it shows that even repentance is the free gift of God, it is full of the free offer of the Gospel. But he was no friend of controversy and he did his best to avoid it.
His intinerating meant that he had to break Church Order, and this made him many enemies so that he was nicknamed “The Old Devil”. It also brought him into conflict with his bishop. But Berridge had no time for Church Order if it meant that he was hindered from reaching men’s souls by it. When he was summoned to appear before his bishop for preaching outside the bounds of his Parish, the following repartee took place. “Well, Berridge, they tell me you go about preaching out of your own Parish. Did I institute you to the Livings of Abbotsley, or Eton, or Potton?” “No, my lord,” he replied, “neither do I claim any of these Livings; the clergymen enjoy them undisturbed by me.” “Well, you go and preach there which you have no right to do,” was the bishop’s reply. Berridge: “It is true, my lord; I was one day at Eton and there were a few poor people assembled there and I admonished them to repent of their sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation . . . I saw some clergymen, all out of their own Parishes, on Eton Bowling Green.” When the bishop warned him that he would be sent to prison, he replied that he would rather be inside with a clear conscience than free without one. When later that day he had a further interview with the bishop, Berridge told him that he could not desist from preaching outside the bounds of his parish for, he said, “there is one Canon which saith: Go preach the Gospel to every creature.” It was only through the good offices of Lord Chatham’s nephew, the Peer to whom the Bishop owed his See that Berridge was at last left unmolested.
Berridge was able to continue his activities almost until the end in the 1780’s, when his natural faculties began to decay so that he became almost blind and deaf, and his voice became feeble. This isolated him, but engaging in prayer on one occasion he said: “Lord, if I have Thy presence that suffices.”
In the beginning of 1793 he was struck down with an asthmatic attack. When one told him that Jesus would soon call him higher, he replied, “Aye, aye, aye, higher, higher, higher.” After that he only spoke of the blessed hope that he was to enjoy for eternity and the exceeding preciousness of the Saviour. Shortly after he fell asleep in Jesus.
He wrote his own epitaph except the date of his death:
Here lie
The earthly remains of
John Berridge
Late vicar of Everton
And an itinerant Servant of Jesus Christ
Who loved His Master and His Work
and after running on His errands many years
Was called to wait on Him above.
Reader
Art Thou born again?
I was born in sin February 1716
Remained ignorant of my fallen state till 1730
Lived proudly on faith and works for salvation till 1754
Admitted to Everton Vicarage 1755
Fled to Jesus alone for refuge 1756
Fell asleep in Christ January 22nd 1793