Chapter II

Joseph Stennett

A. Life - National Concern

From Bookish controversies, we turn now to the reality of politics and war on the Continent. The historian Arnold Toynbye has pointed out the following historical trend. In recent Western history there has been a first bout of wars,

The Wars of Religion which began in the sixteenth century and ceased in the seventeenth. The second bout in the eighteenth century and are still the scourge of the twentieth These ferocious Wars of Religion and ferocious Wars of Nationality have been separated by an interlude of moderate wars that were fought as 'the Sport of Kings'.141

King William illustrates the interlude. He, as king of England and parties as stadholder of Holland on the Continent, was involved in Continental politics. Almost immediately after his accession to the throne, he had to defend himself in Ireland against armies sponsored by the French King Louis XIV who was trying to restore James II to the English throne. After the initial success for William in Ireland, The war centered in the continent dragged on in a series of sieges and countersieges. Finally, exhaustion led the countries to the treaty of Ryswick in 1697 with Louis giving William the advantage of the treaty.142

Shortly after the peace treaty between Louis and William, Louis began negotiations between himself and William as to the Future of Spain, Whose king, Charles II, lay dying. Their treaty stated they would let the second son of Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire became the King of Spain, and Louis would receive portions of the lands if the dying Charles II. The emperor, however would not support the partition of the Spanish empire, for he wanted all the Spanish heritage. To Louis' surprise, his own second grandson was named heir to the Spanish throne by Charles II. To benefit his own dynasty, Louis XIV accepted his will, thereby breaking his agreement with William of England and Holland, William was angry but his countries were not interested in revenge for this offense. However, Louis did not "leave good enough alone"; he took some border fortresses some border fortresses from the Dutch, issued commercial decrees to the disadvantage of the English and Dutch trading ships, and proclaimed the son of the late James II as the rightful King of England. Then popular English and Dutch fury did rise against France. England and Holland joined with the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, The King of Prussia and other German princes for the purpose of breaking up the potential France-Spanish combination.143

The alignment of opposing sides resulted in the start of the war of the Spanish Succession in the winter of 1701-1702. William died shortly after the start of the war.144As usual, at times of national significance. Stennett expressed himself to his associates in poetry.145 He called the people to

Mourn for a king that made 'em doubly free,
With civil and religious liberty;
Whose liberal hands dispens'd his royal store.
To feed their prophets and supply their poor.146
Secure we lay, nor dreaded future harms
Under the shade of Nassau's conquering arms.
Europe has fix'd her eye on him, to be
The guardian of her common liberty.147

Queen Mary having died of smallpox in 1694 at the age of thirty-two, William is succeeded by Anne, the sister of Mary and the younger daughter of James II.

Anna the British Scepter mildly sways,
And gives vast hopes of suspicious days:
Anna, whom parents frowns could never move
From her religion, and her country's love.
O tyrants! boast no more that William's dead,
Since Anna's reign shall give you equal dread.148

The turning point in the War of the Spanish Succession was the battle at Bleinheim, a town about one-third the way from the Rhine to Vienna. The Duke of Marlborough, a capable general, succeeded King William as the commander of the English army and the alliance had another outstanding general in Prince Eugene of Saxony. With these men at the head of the allies, the French army operating in southern Germany was handed a crushing defeat.149

The ever patriotic Protestant, Joseph Stennett preached a special sermon on the day of thanksgiving for the victory, September 7, 1704.150 His text was Judges 5: 31: "So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: But let them that love Him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might." Stennett calls the battle "the eminent victory God had lately given his church over their enemies."151

To a twentieth century Christian thinker the initial problem with this text and attitude would be whether or not God sends out special direct physical benefits to his church or its members today. The author of this thesis would hold that physically God does not specially reward the "righteous": God "makes his rain fall on the just and the unjust alike." Stennett likewise apparently felt that outright physical blessing did not occur in the case of the victory, but that

He [God] gives princes, statesmen, and generals, presence of mind, or compounds their thoughts; he directs them to take right methods, or infatuates them; he renders their projects prosperous, or disconcerts and breaks their measures; he sometimes arguments the resolution and valor of those whom he designs to render victorious; so that account they vastly surpass their enemies, and even exceed themselves, and are made to accomplish that which that which on other occasions themselves would think imprudent to attempt.152

To have God operate through the mind rather than through physical miracles, it seems an outstanding insight for a Christianity which, except for Deists, reads the Bible very literally.

Although that is the major problem to the twentieth century thinker, to Stennett, the most important problem is this: the verse is imprecatory, it seems to rain everlasting ruin on some persons. The 69th Psalm and some other Scriptures desire God to punish Judas and some other enemies of God and his church. This, says Stennett, is an unsuitable attitude when one considers the "mild and forgiving temper" of the gospels, "by which we are taught to love our enemies." However, all of the Scripture, says Joseph, is inspired by the Holy Spirit so that nothing can be "inconsistent";153 one must arrive at some reconciliation. Stennett says,

The Hebrew idiom will bear these words to be interpreted either as a petition, 'so let thy enemies perish, I &c. or as a prediction, 'so shall thy enemies perish, O Lord.'154

Stennett prefers that the translation be a prediction rather than as imprecation. (However, I know of no standard Bible translation that agrees with him.)

As to public enemies, he says,

We are even to desire their preservation, if it may be consistent with justice and the public good: yet this hinders not but we may pray, that if they persist in their injustice and malignity, and are to be reduced by no milder method, they may rather fall into that ruin they have prepared for others, than prosper in their unjust and cruel designs against the innocent.155

This is a Christian spirit in wartime. Yet, says he, in the interests of Christianity, a nation must not fail to defend itself by force when that is necessary. This principal is shown by

reason and the law of nature, the common principle of self preservation, and the law of nations, the love of justice, and the safety of the innocent ....156

This is the Christian policy, he says for nations. However an individual should return good for evil as the Scriptures direct him. If the situation get out of hand, the individual could call in the "magistrate who is God's vicegerent"; for nation, of course, there was no earthly judge, so they sometimes are forced to enrage war, rather than being able to return good for evil.157

Stennett defended the allied cause as right, for the French had persecuted Protestants and had been trying to tyrannize all Europe.158

The sermon has a surprise ending. The day on which the sermon was preached was the day of thanksgiving commemorating the victory. Stennett points out that according to Ester 9: 22, the feast of Purim, as a feast of thanksgiving, was also a day to exercise charity. Accordingly, Stennett called for the people to give their bounty to the needs of the poor159 What a surprise ending for a political occasion!

This sermon, it seems to me, was outstanding in its time because of its wrestling with theological problems and its Christian attitude and application. When it was printed, someone gave a copy to Queen Anne. She was highly impressed with it, and ordered him a gratuity out of the privy purse (her personal income). The humble Stennett did not try to spread the news of this honor, and had it not been for the man who delivered the royal messages, few would have known of the honor.160

Stennett had now become quite well known, for his hymns, his book on baptism, and the sermon we have just mentioned Because of this, he to have "several considerable offers" to become a minister in the Church of England. Yet even with the pressure of a large family and low financial income, he would not let himself be really tempted to give up his Dissenter principles.161

Chapter II - Joseph Stennett I
           A.      Life:                                             .......................................................................................
                     Hymns:                                         ......................................................................................
                     Controversy:                                ......................................................................................
                     National Concern:                       .......................................................................................
                     London Baptist Association:       ......................................................................................
                     National Concern - Continued:   ......................................................................................
           B.      Family:                                         .......................................................................................
                     New Family Information since the Thesis:    ...................................................................
           C.      Thought:                                       ......................................................................................
           D.      Ode to King William III                 ....................................................................................

Contact Us :                                                        ....................................................................................

Interactive Index                                                ....................................................................................