EVENTS
AT PLYMOUTH, AND
SUBSEQUENTLY AT
THE BETHESDA MEETING IN BRISTOL,
1844 to 1849.
Part
1
5
The facts relating to these matters, and the principles involved, are
clearly set forth in the following:—
(a) Letter
by Mr. W. Trotter, dated July 15th, 1849.
BELOVED BROTHER,—In
your favour of the 26th ult., you say you have received Mr. Juke’s
printed letter to the Leeds and Otley gatherings, from which you learn
that something has occurred at Bethesda, rendering it in your judgment
needful for us to separate therefrom, and you wish me to furnish you
with all that has been printed on all sides. The fact is, however, that
the present question arises out of others which have exercised the souls
of brethren for years; and it would be impossible for you to understand
the one without some acquaintance with the others. My object, therefore,
is to give you a brief and general statement of the whole case, referring
you throughout to such of the principal publications on all sides as
may enable you to form a judgment for yourself as to whether or not
my statements are borne out by the facts. All I desire is that with
the facts fairly before them, brethren should seek light and grace from
God to judge of them in His presence. Were He thus simply sought, with
nothing to desire or maintain but His glory, I doubt not He would make
a plain path before His people (indeed I believe He has done so) however
difficult and intricate it may appear to anything but the eye of faith.
6
It is now nearly twenty years since it pleased God to awaken many of
His children to the importance, and solemnity, as well as to the exceeding
blessedness of what He has revealed in His word respecting HIS CHURCH.
Its union with Christ as one body (of which He is the glorified Head)
quickened, indwelt, and governed by the Holy Ghost come down from Heaven,
along with the proper hope of the Church, which is the coming of God’s
Son from Heaven, formed the substance of what the Christians I speak
of were led to discern as the teachings of God’s word on this
subject. I speak not of God’s previous dealings with the souls
of many of them. They held of course the common faith of Christians
with regard to foundation truths, and there was doubtless a great measure
of personal devotedness, self-denial, and separation from the world,
before they received clear light from God’s word as to what the
calling, glory, position, and hopes of the Church are. What I speak
of is the effect this light from God’s word had upon their souls,
and how it manifested itself in their course.
The first
effect was necessarily a deep sense of the entire contrast between all
that man and the world calls “the Church,” and what “the
Church” really is as seen in the light of God’s thoughts.
Deep humiliation and sorrow of heart, with unfeigned confession of the
Church’s low and sorrowful estate were the fruit of this. Then
came the exercise of conscience as to whether they could maintain their
individual connections with the great professing body in any of its
several sections—whether, in short, this was not the practical
denial of what the Church is, as the one holy elect bride of Christ
separated from the world to wait on Him as her only hope, and knowing
now the presence of the Comforter as her only joy.
Many and
painful and deep were the searchings of heart through which these brethren
passed; issuing, however, in the secession of many individuals from
7
the various bodies of professing Christians, and in their coming together
for worship and communion on ground entirely distinct from that taken
by any of the denominations around. It was not that they attempted to
re-constitute the Church as God (not man) had constituted it at first.
To attempt this they (at least most of them) saw would be presumption,
and end in something worse than that from which they had withdrawn.
Having got a higher standard than before by which to judge themselves
and things around, I mean God’s own thoughts concerning “His
Church,” they had been forced by the contrariety to these thoughts
of everything which bore the name of “the Church” to go
“outside the camp.” Just as Moses went outside God’s
camp of Israel because a calf was worshipped there instead of God, so
did these brethren go outside the camp of the professing Church, because
of the virtual and practical denial there of the holiness, the unity,
and the heavenly calling and hopes of the Church; and finding one another
thus outside, they were cast upon the living God for His guidance how
to act.
They formed
no system, they made no plan. Their hope was the speedy return of Jesus,
and they desired to. be found of Him, yea, and that as many of His saints
as possible might be found of Him in such a position that they might
not “be ashamed before him at his coming.” The will of God
and the end for which Christ died they saw to be “that he might
gather together in one the children of God scattered abroad.”
The very instincts of the divine life too, made them desire and feel
their need of the fellowship of saints. And it pleased God to show them
that they neither needed to re-constitute the Church themselves (which
was plainly impossible), nor wait till He should re-constitute it upon
earth (which He has nowhere promised to do), but that at once they had
the warrant of His word for meeting together for
8
worship and communion, with the assurance of the Lord’s presence
to bless them and guide them onward in their path. “Wherever two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.” In the faith of this they began to meet together, and they
found the Lord faithful to His word. His presence was manifested among
them, and His strength made perfect in their felt and acknowledged weakness.
There were
two things clearly involved in the ground on which they were thus gathered
together. The name of Christ being the centre of their union, that which
they looked for in any who sought their fellowship was the saving knowledge
of that name by the quickening power of the Holy Ghost. But then, as
it was really the perception God had given them of His holiness and
the holiness that became His house, which had separated them individually
from the bodies with which they had been connected, so was there full
provision in the blessed promise of our Lord above cited for maintaining
that holiness even where but two or three are gathered together in His
name. “There am I in the midst of them.” More effectual
provision for godly discipline there could not be, and solemn indeed
is the sanction declared in the context as attaching to any act of discipline
flowing thus from the presence of the Holy One in the midst of His twos
or threes. “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.” The following extract from the Christian
Witness of April, 1835, pp. 137-8, will show what were brethren’s
views on this subject then.
“Thus,
in the worst possible circumstances, two things are secured to the
Lord’s people, their strength and comfort in His presence, and
their right to regard as a heathen man and a publican, any one who
brings a scandal on his profession, and blasphemes that holy name
by which he is called. The people of the Lord can always act;
if they be His, they have
9
His Spirit, and in that Spirit can meet together,
and with that Spirit they can judge and withdraw themselves from any
brother, who, after remonstrance, still continues to walk disorderly.
So that the comfort of His worshippers, and the purity of His worship,
is secured, by this charter of the ever gracious and loving Lord,
to His very feeble remnant. The simple principle is, that the Lord
would never oblige His people to sin.”
I feel this
extract to be an important testimony at this moment, as many are denying
that brethren ever acknowledged any power or capacity for the exercise
of discipline in the position they occupy.
For a length
of time the blessing of God evidently rested on the brethren who thus
began to meet together. Evangelising testimony went forth, and many
in different places were brought to know the Lord. The attention of
Christians too was awakened very widely, and in both ways the number
of those meeting together in the name of Jesus was greatly increased.
Much opposition was made by leading men in the several denominations,
but this seemed only to increase the attention of Christians to what
God was doing, and to confirm in their position of separateness to Him
and simple dependence upon Him, those who had been brought there by
His grace.
But in process
of time it became very evident that many had been attracted to the position
by other motives than those which swayed the brethren who originally
took it. Attracted by the manifestation of love and union which they
witnessed, or finding more joy and refreshment under the ministry which
God raised up among brethren than elsewhere, they assumed a position
outwardly, the grounds and nature of which they had never really understood
by the teaching of God’s Spirit. They preferred to be among Brethren,
not because they had gone through the exercises of soul which originally
brought brethren out of the different sects to meet simply in the name
of Jesus, and in dependence upon the Spirit of God
10
alone, but just as people would prefer one denomination to another,
choosing that one where all were happy and united, and the ministry
such as they approved, never troubling themselves about other matters.
Besides, as at the first introduction of the Kingdom of Heaven, “when
men slept the enemy sowed tares” where the good seed had been
deposited, so in the case before us.
It now appears
that almost from the very first there were elements of evil introduced
by the enemy, very slowly and gradually manifesting themselves for a
time, but in the end assuming a distinctness and working with an energy
which left no room for doubt as to whence they came and to what they
tended. One person, Mr. Newton, of Plymouth, who if not one of the earliest
labourers there, was there soon after the commencement, began at a very
early period to pursue a course distinct from that of the other brethren.
This you may see traced from the beginning in ”The Narrative of
Facts,” by J. N. Darby. Suffice it to say here that Mr. N.’s
course was such as issued in all the other brethren who laboured there
at the first leaving Plymouth to work elsewhere. Mr. Darby went abroad,
Captain Hall to Hereford, Mr. Wigram to London, and Mr. N. was left
almost alone at Plymouth. A beloved brother, Mr. Harris, who was not
identified with the movement at first, became associated in labour with
Mr. N. at Plymouth, and his presence there for several years was the
only hope that brethren elsewhere had of any check being put to Mr.
N.’s course. He, however, at a very early period of the present
trouble withdrew from association with Mr. N. and those identified with
him. The system introduced by Mr. N., and most speciously disguised
for a time, was directed to the undermining of all the truth by which
God had acted on the souls of brethren, and thus to the setting up afresh
in another form of all that had been renounced.
11
The coming of the Lord as any object of present hope or expectation
was denied, and there was substituted for it the expectation of a train
of events, many of them nowhere foretold in Scripture, and only existing
in Mr. N.’s imagination. The real unity of the church as one body
indwelt and governed by the Holy Ghost was denied; and instead of it
the doctrine was asserted of a kind of independent churches—so
independent indeed, that when division took place at Plymouth, and godly
experienced brethren from Exeter, London, and elsewhere went down to
aid by their prayers and counsel, Mr. N. and his party peremptorily
rejected their aid on the ground that they were not of Plymouth, and
had no right to interfere. For the presence and sovereign rule of the
Holy Ghost in the church was substituted the authority of teachers,
and the authority claimed for them and by them was
so absolute, that when Mr. Newton was charged with untruthfulness, and
it was sought by one and another that the charge should be investigated
before the whole body of believers, this was steadily refused on the
ground that he could not be tried but by those who with him were the
teachers and rulers there, and as they acquitted him there
was no further appeal and no remedy. Besides this there was the steady
systematic absorbing of all ministry in the word or even participation
audibly in public worship into the hands of one or two, with the effectual
exclusion by one means or another of all others. See as to this Mr.
Hill’s letter, entitled “Remarks,” etc. There was
also the zealous unwearied endeavour to form a party distinguished by
Mr. Newton’s views of prophecy and church order, to which the
appellation, “the truth,” was arrogated, and means were
found to keep away from Plymouth any brethren whose views were known
to be adverse to those.
Such were
the leading features of the system which silently grew up at Plymouth,
and I was quite aware
12
of its existence and of the concern felt by many brethren respecting
it from the time that I became acquainted with the brethren between
six and seven years ago. There were worse features to be developed than
any of those, but the time did not arrive for their manifestation “till
the energy of the Spirit of God was introduced into the scene in the
ministry of Mr. Darby.” Long had he and others watched the progress
of things at Plymouth with sorrow and apprehension; still no hand was
lifted to arrest the progress of the evil. At last Mr. D. came over
from the continent, and after spending several months in Plymouth, labouring
within the gathering there, and using what means he could to awaken
the consciences of brethren, he was obliged, in order to keep a clear
conscience himself, to withdraw from the assembly. He did so on the
ground that God was practically displaced and man set up in His stead,
and also that there was evil allowed in the assembly without any means
of bringing it before the saints for judgment. Being called upon by
many to explain the grounds upon which he had seceded, he consented,
and in doing so he charged Mr. Newton in two distinct instances with
having acted untruthfully.
The result
of all this was, that a number of brethren from different parts went
down to Plymouth, some of them zealous partisans of Mr. N., and others
with no judgment formed on the matters they went to inquire into. As
already stated their interference was sternly refused by Mr. N. and
his friends, and he would consent to no investigation of the charges
against him except on the worldly principle of arbitration, he appointing
four of his friends and Mr. Darby four of his. This Mr. D. felt would
be taking the case out of the hands of God and His church, as well as
making himself the head of a party. This proposal he accordingly refused,
offering at the same time to meet Mr. N. before the whole assembly,
or, if it was preferred,
13
before a number of the most grave and experienced brethren, or before
certain brethren, fifteen in number, who had met together previously,
and in whose presence that had occurred on which two of the charges
were founded. To none of these would Mr. Newton consent. His fellow-rulers
at Plymouth acquitted him, though one of them was distinctly implicated
in one of the charges, and they were all identified with him and zealously
aiding him in the course he pursued. To no other tribunal would he or
they allow the case to. be referred (the proposal to arbitration having
been, of course, rejected by Mr. Darby) and hence a separation became
unavoidable. Mr. Harris had ceased ministering among them for some time,
and he eventually withdrew from communion. Some hundreds withdrew and
began to break bread in Raleigh-street, and thus the division was completed
at Plymouth.
At first
Mr. Darby’s act was judged by brethren almost everywhere to be
rash and premature. They had not been inside the scene, and so knew
but little of the system that had been introduced. Several of those
who went down to Plymouth to inquire, found things so much worse than
they had any conception of, that they also separated from Mr. Newton
and his party. One thing which seems to have weighed greatly with these
brethren was the corruption of moral integrity, and the system of intrigue
and deception which attended the evil. In April, 1846, a meeting of
brethren from all parts was held in London for common humiliation and
prayer, where the tokens of the Lord’s presence were graciously
vouchsafed to us, and from that time the eyes of brethren seemed to
open to the evil. Mr. Newton and his friends were invited to that meeting
but refused to attend. They printed their reasons for refusing, which
were widely circulated.
Mr. Darby’s
“Narrative of Facts” was printed soon
14
after, and in the autumn of that year a series of meetings was held
in Rawstorne-street, London, very important in their origin, character,
and results. They originated in a visit of Mr. N.’s to certain
brethren in the neighbourhood of Rawstorne-street and breaking bread
there. He held some Scripture readings at the house of one of them,
after which he stated that his errand to town partly was to meet any
brethren who were wishful of information as to the charges brought against
him in the “Narrative of Facts.” Most providentially Mr.
Darby was at the time in London. He had come to town on his way to France
and had got his passports, changed his money, and was ready to depart,
when brethren waited on him to detain him till efforts were made to
bring about an open investigation of the whole case, with accused and
accuser face to face. The brethren to whom Mr. Newton had offered to
give information, proposed to him this open investigation. It was proposed
to him again and again by others, but steadily and invariably refused.
The brethren meeting at Rawstorne-street then assembled,and after united
prayer and consultation concluded that Mr. Newton could not be admitted
to the Lord’s Table there, so long as he refused to satisfy their
consciences as to the grave charges alleged against him.
In connection
with these events there were three documents issued by Mr. Newton and
his party. One, a paper by Mr. Newton himself in answer to the charges
of untruthfulness. Another, by his four co-rulers at Plymouth, assigning
reasons for his non-attendance at Rawstorne-street to satisfy the consciences
of the saints meeting there. Also a remonstrance addressed by the Plymouth
rulers to the brethren meeting at Rawstorne-street on their exclusion
of Mr. N. from the Lord’s Table. All these were examined at large
in four tracts entitled “Accounts of the proceedings at Rawstorne-street
in November
15
and December, 1846.” These four tracts are very important as showing
the dishonesty connected with the system of which the three papers before
named were a defence. The proceedings at Rawstorne-street, and the publications
growing out of them, cleared the souls of many; and in February, 1847,
a meeting was held in the same place, attended by many brethren from
the country, in which nearly all those who had been at all looked
up to amongst brethren gave their solemn testimony as to the evil
system which had grown up at Plymouth, and as to the need of absolute
and entire separation from it. The testimonies of Messrs. M’Adam,
Harris, Lean, Hall, Young, and others, were most solemn and decisive.
There was scarcely a brother, whose name was well-known amongst brethren
as labouring in the word and watching for souls, who did not at that
time acquiesce in the sorrowful necessity for separation from this evil
and demoralising system.
And now we
come to a new era in this mournful history. Thus far the evil had been
confined to the undermining of all the truths of which there had been
a special revival, through the Lord’s mercy, among brethren—the
setting up of clerical power and pretension to an alarming extent, and
the effort to form a party for these purposes, by means indicating the
total loss of integrity on the part of those who used them, and most
corrupting in their effects on others. Now we are to find the foundations
of the faith assailed by the introduction of false doctrines concerning
the blessed Lord Himself. Strange things were known to have been taught
previously. In his “Thoughts on the Apocalypse,” Mr. N.
had taught the astounding doctrine that in the future glory the saints
will participate in the omniscience and omnipresent power of the Lord
Himself. Other statements, equally strange, had been made on other subjects;
but it was not till after the London meeting, in February, 1847, that
16
there was brought to light a systematic and diligent inculcation of
doctrines which undermine all that is essential to Christianity. These
doctrines were first brought to light by Mr. Harris. He published a
tract, entitled, “The Sufferings of Christ, as set forth in a
Lecture on Psalm 6, considered, by J. L. Harris.” The lecture,
notes of which were thus printed and examined by Mr. H., was by Mr.
Newton. The following is Mr. Harris’s account of the way in which
he became possessed of those notes, and of what induced him to publish
them, with his remarks upon them:—
“I
desire explicitly to state how the MS. came under my notice. About three
weeks since one of our sisters in Exeter very kindly lent the notes
to my wife, as being Mr. Newton’s teaching, from which she had
found much interest and profit. When my wife first told me what she
had brought home, I did not pay much attention to it; but shortly after
I felt it was not right in me to sanction in my house this system of
private circulation, and I determined to return the MS. unread. Accordingly
I wrote a note to the sister who had lent the MS., thanking her for
her kindness, and explaining my reason for returning it unread. It was
late at night when I had finished writing, and I found in the meantime
my wife had looked into the MS. so as to get an outline of its contents,
which she mentioned to me, especially the expression that 'the cross
was only the closing incident in the life of Christ.’ She thought
she did not understand the meaning of the author, and referred to me
for explanation. I then looked into the MS. myself, and on perusing
it felt surprised and shocked at finding such unscriptural statements
and doctrine, which appeared to me to touch the integrity of the doctrine
of the cross...
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