Son of Baptist minister John Beddome and Rachel Brandon, Benjamin was born January 23, 1717, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England.
He was apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol at age 16, and moved to London at age 22.
He was baptized that same year at the Baptist church at Prescott Street, Goodman's Fields, London, by Samuel Wilson.
He studied under Bernard Foskett at Bristol Academy, where he established a close friendship with Caleb Evans and John Ash, and later at the Independent academy at Mile End in Middlesex.
At the call of his church, he devoted himself to the work of Christian ministry, and at age 23 began to preach at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, where he remained for fifty-five years.
There was an immediate awakening in Bourton and 40 are baptized.
He was ordained at age 26, with Joseph Stennett preaching the sermon and Bernard Foskett giving the charge.
On 11 December 1749 (age 32) he married Elizabeth Boswell (1732–1784), daughter of Richard Boswell, Baptist deacon of Bourton, at Gloucester.
They had three sons, John (died at age 15), Benjamin, a medical doctor (died of a fever in 1778), and Foskett, (drown in the Thames in 1784 a few months after Elizabeth died).
During his time in Bourton, he was called to a church in London, but refused the calling, electing to stay in Bourton instead, even though it would have meant more money and prestege for him.
For many years he was one of the most respected Baptist ministers in western England.
He was also a man of some literary culture.
In 1752 (age 35), he wrote A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, by Way of Question and Answer.
In 1770 (now age 53), Beddome received a MA degree from Providence College, Rhode Island (not the Roman Catholic college there today).
Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Williams established the first Baptist church in the Colonies in Providence.
It was Beddome’s practice to write a hymn weekly for use after his Sunday morning sermon.
In all, he wrote over 800 hymn poems.
Though not originally intended for publication, he allowed 13 of these to appear in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans (1769), and 36 in Rippon’s Selections (1787).
In 1817, a posthumous collection of his hymns was published, in Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion, containing 830 of his pieces.
Today a number of Beddome's hymns are included in Sacred Harp collections.
I found this interesting bit of history while researching Beddome. Singing in many British Baptist churches was done in secret in England, if at all until the 1680’s, because of persecution.
When it was reintroduced, hymns were only sung for the Lord’s Supper, which was not every Sunday.
Eventually the church, with some dissent, was persuaded to sing every Lord’s Day, but only after the sermon and closing prayer, giving the dissenters an opportunity to leave the building.
Many of these left for good and formed non-singing congregations.
This gave those remaining the chance to sing all they wanted from then on.
The whole question turned on whether there was precept or example for the whole congregation, converted and unconverted, to join in singing as a part of divine worship.
Some believed that those whom God had gifted to sing might do so, one by one, but only as the heart dictated the melody and not by use of rhyme or written note.
Bourton-on-the-Water has the small river Windrush running through it, parallel to main street.
Businesses are on the north side and the fine residences are on the south side.
It is one of the prettiest villages in all of England.
Some have called it the Venice of the Cotswolds, though that would be optimistic.
Its constant flow has always blessed the village with clean water.
It is easy to envision Beddome using the small river in one of his sermons, reminding those in the audience of the fountain of God’s blessing.
Thus "God is the Fountain Whence Ten Thousand Blessing Flow".
It might be noted that Beddome used the title “Love is the Fountain Whence".
Benjamin Beddome died September 23, 1795 in Bourton-on-the-Water and is buried there in the Baptist meetinghouse graveyard.
References:
A Song is Born / Robert Taylor / 2004 / Taylor Publications
Hymns & History / McCann / 1997 / ACU Press
A Literary & Hymn Pilgrimage - Dr. Jerry Rushford / 2011
www.benbeddome.blogspot.com
www.solid-ground-books.com
www.cyberhymnal.org
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