I would say that Joseph Stennett's two greatest contributions to total Christianity are his hymns and his activity in the Baptist cause. First we will consider his hymns for the Lord's Supper. In the Reformation on the continent, Luther used hymns based on the Scriptures, Latin sources and the originality of the German Muse. Calvin made singing a main feature of Christian worship, but believed the best hymns were psalms set to meter. Psalm singing followed Calvinism through France into Scotland and down into England where in the period 1644-1660 congregational singing of metrical psalms was the only music allowed in church. Individuals at the beginning of the seventeenth century had seen composing original hymns in English, but there was no hope of using them in the church service. William Barton in 1659 had published A Century of Select Hymns in the preface of which he wrote in favor of original hymns provided only that they be founded on Scripture. Then in 1679 John Patrick came out with a new version of the Psalms that included the name of Christ! Yet there was no general acceptance of hymns. Much less, singing in the church service was becoming unpopular. Previously John Smyth in Amsterdam had set up a stringent standard against formalism:
In the middle of the century, the Quaker George Fox also fought formalism, protesting that people "fed upon words and trampled upon the life." However, there was singing in some Quaker meetings. In 1691 a Mr. Steed published An epistle . . . concerning Singing, denouncing the practice. H. Wheeler Robinson summarizes the book thus:
However, among the Presbyterians, Richard Baxter, and among the Particular Baptists, Benjamin Keach supported the use of original hymns in the church service. In 1683, John Mason048 published Spiritual Songs, a book that had special influence on Isaac Watts, a somewhat younger Baptist writer. Nearly three hundred hymns were published in 1691 by Benjamin Keach in a book entitled, Scriptural Melody049 I do not know that Keach and Stennett, both with hymn-writing interests, knew each other at this time. It is possible that they did. Anyway, by 1704 they are acquainted for Stennett defends Keach when he is attacked by a member of the Church of England.050 Also the same year, Stennett was called to the death-bed of Keach. Keach gave Stennett the text for his funeral sermon and later Stennett preached the sermon for his friend.051 (This shows an amazingly Christian Spirit between the two men, for only four years before, Keach had written a book against the practice of observing Saturday as the Sabbath!)052 I believe that Stennett's particular Baptist church sang psalms in the worship service. In 1696, Joseph Stennett, together with J. Maister, Wm. Collins, John Piggott, and Thomas Harrison, endorsed an essay by Richard Allen which was to prove that the "singing of psalms with conjoined voices was a Christian duty.053 Furthermore, Stennett's congregation knew a number of hymn tunes. 054 the Pinners' Hall congregation had not rejected psalm-singing. I surmise Stennett felt that psalms might do for general worship, but something peculiarly Christian was needed for the Lord's Supper. He had a keen appreciation of the Lords Supper.055 Accordingly he would write hymns
To counteract opposition to singing and the use of contemporary hymns, Stennett did two things. In his preface to his Communion hymns, he wrote:
Joseph hopes that the imperfections of his poetry may be an occasion of the setting of a better man at work, one who would produce "politer" compositions. Anyway, men arise, who are to receive greater acclaim an hymn writers than Stennett does now in the twentieth century, the first great name is Issac Watts (1674-1748). When Watts "was not more than eighteen years of age, he expressed to his father his irritation at the unmelodious hymns sung at Nonconformist meetings, and was met by the challenge, 'Make some yourself, then '"062 Thus I think Watts' inspiration for hymn writing is independent of the influence of Joseph Stennett. Nevertheless, one of Watts' hymns does contain phrases taken from Stennett.063 The poets most familiar to the twentieth are Charles and John Wesley, whose hymns helped popularize singing in the Evangelical Revival. I would evaluate Stennett's influence on hymnology as historical rather than the production of hymns of eternal popularity. His hymns and his reputation as a Baptist leader in London, besides being a Seventh Day Baptist minister, had weight against the Nonconformist hesitancy about singing contemporary hymns. Today, most hymnals have none of Joseph Stennett's hymns. An exception is the joint hymnal of the American Baptists and the Disciples of Christ064 which has one of his communion hymns: "Lord, at thy table we behold the wonders of thy grace." The Disciples have communion every Sunday, which might explain the wider search for communion hymns.065 Of course, in Seventh Day Baptist churches, occasionally a Sabbath Hymn. "Another Six Days Work Is Done," is sung.066 Thus I state Stennett's major influence in music as being his work for the preservation of singing and the advent of original hymns· A writer such as Watts, for example has eleven hymns in the Disciples' book. Charles Wesley has a dozen in the Disciples book. Stennett's hymns are very accentuated in their portrayal of Christ's sufferings. "Rivers of blood ran from his wounds·"
treatment:
All went well with his Baptist ministry until 1700. Then two complaints sprang up and were reported to Stennett in a letter of April 4, 1700. It was as said that he had preached at Loriners' Hall, and thereby encouraged the schism from the church at White's Alley. Barbican thought that the schism should be discouraged. Secondly, for their own church, they said Stennett had began preaching on the points of controversy between the Remonstrants and Calvinists.075 Stennett replied that he hadn'd realized but it was all right to preach on controversy between White's Alley and the split off church at Loriners' Hall, as long as the latter was now a separate church. As to Barbican, Stennett said the doctrines he was now preaching were the same ones he had preached before, without any offense. "This answer was deemed satisfactory; yet so great was the affection of the church toward him, that they expressed their willingness to pass by what had occurred, if he would forebear preaching upon the" points of difference between the Remonstrants and Calvinists. The answer of Mr. Stennett expressed his willingness to "desist from preaching at Loriners' Hall but not upon controversies," Thus, "on account of his Calvinistic opinions, he was respectfully dismissed from his situation as their minister, about May, 1700." Ironically, in 1706, Barbican joined the particular Baptist association. Stennett, appears cooperative, yet wants his freedom. To do so, he gives up what may well have been a good income, at a time when he has a large family.076 But dismissal from one church did not deter him from preaching on Sundays. I do not know that he ever again was a regular minister of a "Sunday" church, but he did supply preaching. For example, already by June 1700 he preached at least twice to a church in Spittle-fields. He had supposedly been dismissed because of his Calvinism, yet on Sunday, June 16, he says,
I have said that one of Joseph's two greatest contributions to the Christian church was his place in hymnology. The second is his leadership within the Baptist cause which resulted in political action and interchurch cooperation. His Christian interests went beyond the Seventh Day particular church which he served. In 1696 an assassination plot was formed against King William by supporters of James II. Following it there was to be a French invasion of England for the benefit of James. Informers broke up the plot and practically all England rejoiced. The Baptists in and around Lord chose Stennett to congratulate the King on his "deliverance" from the plot. Stennett wrote the address and presented it to the king on April 9, 1696. Eight years previous, he is supposed to have been distrusting the tolerance of James II. Now he tells William III, "we have enjoyed a share of the benign influence of your government, whereby both our civil and religious liberties have been so happily protected and vindicated."080 Again, on December 29, 1701, Stennett wrote and presented "An Address of ye Baptist Ministers in & about the City of London, presented to his Majesty, King William upon ye French King's proclaiming ye pretended Prince of Wales, King of England. . ."081 This address would be supporting William and opposing a Roman Catholic pretender. Joseph Stennett is a loyal supporter of the government. In doing so, he often had a hand in the addresses of the whole body of dissenting ministers in London to the government.082 The year 1700 was a full one for Stennett, for besides the events of his dismissal from Barbican and the sermons he is known to have preached just afterward, he spent time at Tunbridge for the "use of the waters, after his recovery from a dangerous illness." He is supposed to have preached there and also he formed a friendship with Mordeci Abbot, Esq., receiver-general of his Majesty's customs. Abbot praised Stennett highly. When Abbot died, Stennett wrote his epitaph.083 About this same time, Guill family connections attracted attention. In 1698, he was on the verge of going to France to try to recover the Guill estate valued at twelve thousand pounds. Some friends encouraged this move because of his skill in the French language, while others prevailed, pleading the danger of the trip. It is said that some of the members of the retinue of the English ambassador in France met rough treatment while traveling in France, as it was regarded as fortunate that Stennett did not go.084 Susanna Guill Stennett had an older sister, Jane, who married Francis Barckstend. She became a widow, and in 1701, she married a leading presbyterian minister of London, Daniel Williams. Williams is probably better known today because in his will he gave his own library and another wish he had purchased as the start of a resource library. In 1727, a large building was erected following a subscription among wealthy Dissenters in London. This library has had many additions of books and now is one of the leading English libraries on the Dissenters. Williams is supposed to have become a "generous friend" to Stennett.085 Although Joseph Stennett was no doubt very busy with his church work, he is by no means inactive in scholarly work. In 1698, the year after the first edition of his Communion hymns, he publishes a translation from French of a book by the Bishop of Chiapa. This book was entitled An account of the first voyage and discoverys made by the Spaniards in America, with the cruelties exercis'd by them, in destroying above forty millions of people... To which is added, The Art of Traveling.086Likewise, in 1701 he published a translation from French of Dacier's The works of Plato Abridged. . . in two volumes. It is supposed to have been reprinted in 1701, 1720, 1749 and 1772.087 |
