The Existence and Attributes of God, Volumes 1 and 2Charnock, Stephen
Religion
The Existence and Attributes of God, Volumes 1 and 2
Charnock, Stephen
God (Christianity) -- Attributes; Providence and government of God -- Christianity
The restoration of Charles, in 1660, put an end to Charnock’s
ministry in Ireland, and hindered his resuming it elsewhere for a
considerable time. That event, leading, as it could not but do, to
the re‑establishment of arbitrary power, was followed, as a natural
consequence, by the ejectment of many of the most godly ministers that
ever lived. Among these was the excellent individual of whom we are
now speaking. Accordingly, although on his return to England he took
up his residence in London, he was not permitted to hold any pastoral
charge there. Nevertheless, he continued to prosecute his studies
with ardor, and occasionally exercised his gifts in a private way for
fifteen years, during which time he paid some visits to the continent,
especially to France and Holland.
At length, in 1675, when the restrictions of the government were so
far relaxed, he accepted a call from a congregation in Crosby Square,
to become co‑pastor with the Rev. Thomas Watson, the ejected minister
of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, who, soon after the Act of Uniformity,
had collected a church in that place. Mr. Watson was an eminent
Presbyterian divine, and the society which he was instrumental in
founding became afterwards, under the ministry of Dr. Grosvenor, one
of the most flourishing in the city, in respect both of numbers and of
wealth. It may not be uninteresting here to insert a few brief notices
respecting the place of worship which this congregation occupied,
being the scene of Charnock’s labors during a principal part of his
ministry, and that in connection with which he closed his official
career.
The place in which this humble Presbyterian congregation[1] assembled
was a large hall of Crosby House, an ancient mansion on the east side
of Bishopgate Street, erected by Sir John Crosby, Sheriff and Alderman
of London, in 1470. After passing through the hands of several
occupants, and, among others, those of Richard III., who thought
it not unfit for being a royal residence, it became, about the
{a8} year 1640, the property of Alderman Sir John Langham, a staunch
Presbyterian and Loyalist. A calamitous fire afterwards so injured
the building, as to render it unsuitable for a family residence;
but the hall, celebrated for its magnificent oaken ceiling, happily
escaped the conflagration, and was converted into a meeting‑house for
Mr. Watson’s congregation, of which the proprietor is supposed to have
been a member. The structure, though greatly dilapidated, still exists,
and is said to be regarded as one of the most perfect specimens of the
domestic architecture of the fifteenth century now remaining in the
metropolis. But, as an illustration of the vicissitudes such edifices
are destined to undergo, it may be stated that Crosby Hall, after
having witnessed the splendors of royalty, and been consecrated
to the solemnities of divine worship, was lately――perhaps it
is still――dedicated to the inferior, if not ignoble, uses of a
wool‑packer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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