Benjamin Beddome (23 January 1717 – 23 September 1795) was an English Particular Baptist minister and hymn writer.
Life
Beddome was born in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England, the son of Baptist minister John Beddome and Rachel Brandon. He was baptized in 1739 at a Baptist church in Goodman's Fields, London. Initially apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol, in 1739 he joined the Baptist church in Prescott Street, and at the call of his church devoted himself to the work of Christian ministry. In 1740 he became the pastor of the Baptist churrch in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, and was ordained in 1743. He continued in this ministry for fifty-five years. He became well-known as a preacher. John Rippon commented that, "though his voice was low, his delivery was forcible and demanded attention." He was a leading figure in the Midland Baptist Association.[1]
He married Elizabeth Boswell (1732–1784), daughter of a deacon in the church in Bourton, on 11 December 1749. They had three sons, John, Benjamin and Foskett.[1]
In 1770, Beddome received an M.A. degree from Providence College, Rhode Island. He died in Bourton aged 78, and was buried in the graveyard of the Baptist church.[1]
Works
Beddome was a prolific hymn writer, composing more than 800 during his lifetime. These were written to be sung after his Sunday sermon each week, relating to the message he preached. were not originally intended for publication, he allowed 13 of them to be included in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, and 36 in Rippon’s Selection. In 1818, a posthumous collection of 830 of his hymns was published as Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion. A number of Beddome's hymns are also included in the Sacred Harp. Robert Hall wrote:
The man of taste will be gratified with the beauty and original turns of thought which many of them exhibit, while the experimental Christian will often perceive the most secret movements of his soul strikingly delineated, and sentiments portrayed which will find their echo in every heart.
In 1752, Beddome wrote A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, by Way of Question and Answer, which was reprinted in 1776. Three volumes of his sermons were printed posthumously.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Lowther, W. B. "Beddome, Benjamin (1717–1795)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/1921. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links
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