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yea «* snd in t&e year lyae he was chose « as < heir pastor , the duties of which office he discharged ( ill the time of his 4 eatb , Nov . 2 U 1782 , The subject of this brief memoir was *« trained up in the nurture and admonition of the JLord , and , in obedience tp the dictates of his conscience , was baptized on the 23 th of May , 1749 , 10 the 17 th year of bis age . Shortly after this event he went to London , where he resided for a few years in the capacity
of a shopman , and on his return to his native place engaged in business , which he attentively followed till the last sixteen years , when he retired from its en * gagernents with a comfortable income and cc a good name . " About the 22 nd year of hi * age he began to preach , and
on flct 13 , 1772 * was unanimously chosen by th ^ society as co-pastor with his fes&er , on whose decease , the duties , by 4 ssir « <> f the church * devolved solely orxhim , and which , with every just allowance f pr declining years , he respectably Mm&X
, „ 5 To sketch the character of the dead i * a difficult task , le&t friendship should too highly extol , what impartiality would j ustly < kscr&e ; the writer feels the difficulty , but makes the attempt . A # a map , th ^ deceased had his imperfectioms , for absolute perfection is not
the lot qf humanity ; yet moral rectitu ^^ wa ^ stamped upon his character : industry , temperance and honesty are virtues which adorned his life , while ardent a&d unaJCected piety animated his heart . He . was frugal , perhaps to an extreme , in his circumstances , yet liberal 20 those who asfced his assistance ,
and charitable where he saw a propriety u > giviangj hi $ beneficence was guided by prudence- —it was veiled by secresy . By his death many will share the fruits of his labour ; for " he hath dispersed abroad , he hath given ta the poor . ''
He was an admirer of the British Constitution , and a firm friend to his king and country , " rendering unto Caesar the things which are Caesar ' s , ** While as a conscientious Dissenter , in religious concerns he chose to " obey Cod rather than men . "
As a Christian , he was sincere and faithful to his JLord and Master in the discharge of what he esteemed his duty : hre faith was the effect of a rational investigation of the evidences of Chri * - tianity , and his individual sentiments the result of free inquiry . He was a
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strenuous advocate for the perpetuity of baptism , and though lie disapproved of free cummunion , yet had too much charity to wish to unchristianize those who differed from him . A firm believer in the free , unmerited and unpurchaseJ blessings of redemptionthe mercy and love of God were the
theme of his tongue , and his active labours the cheerful sacrifice of his grateful heart to his heavenly Father , and his affectionate Saviour . In the early part of life bis sentiments were waveringon the subject of the Pre ~ existenceo £ Christ , though a steady opponent to the peculiar tenets of Calvinism , but in later
years he was a decided believer in tshe oneness of Jehovah , and the perfect humanity of Jesus the Christ , although til ] within a few months he disapproved of the distinguishing term Unitarian * The last lines which he wrote related
to this subject , they were penned on the Friday preceding his death and are as fellows * . " When he ( Christ ) spake of his coming down from heaven , he could not mean in a literal or natural sense , either as to human nature or external
form , as some misunderstood him , but had reference to his divine wisdom , or doctrine , to his divine authority , or mission . Respecting his doctrine see Johix vii . J 5 , l 6 > 17 . What he was invested with extra , or in a singular rnanner , he derived from the father , and these came down from heaven , whence
comet h every good and perfect . gift ^ eveit from the Father of Lighfca . The Words he spake , and the works he performed were from . God , and with propriety may be said to come down from heaven > att < ij as prior to the birth of Christ , in
Goddid pre exist . See John v . 19 , 30 . viiiK 28 , 29 , xii . 49 , 503 those who consult these passages may see whence he derived his wisdom , power and authority—** his complete equipment for the work and office assigned him . "
As a preacher , he laboured under the disadvantages which arise from a want of education , yet he was acceptable and useful ; the desire of doing good tp his fellow-creatures , and honouring his God were the onlv motive ? of his conduct ; a lively affection and ardent zeal graced
his public labours , and though in his advanced age the powers of " nature were impaired / he continued c < fervent ip spirit , ' and energetic in his delivery till the last . His first public discourse was founded on the "' language of his
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Obituwy . —Benjamin Do 1 * 1 . 57
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1814, page 67, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2436/page/67/
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