Born: Jan­u­a­ry 23, 1717, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, Eng­land.

Died: Sep­tem­ber 23, 1795, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, Eng­land.

Buried: Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, Eng­land.

Son of Bap­tist min­is­ter John Bed­dome, Benjamin was ap­pren­ticed to a sur­geon in Bris­tol, but moved to Lon­don in 1739 and joined the Bap­tist church in Pres­cott Street. At the call of his church, he de­vot­ed him­self to the work of Christ­ian min­is­try, and in 1740 be­gan to preach at Bour­ton-on-the-Wa­ter, Glou­ces­ter­shire. 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, he wrote A Scrip­tur­al Ex­po­si­tion of the Bap­tist Cat­e­chism, by Way of Quest­ion and An­swer. In 1770, Beddome re­ceived a MA de­gree from Prov­i­dence Coll­ege, Rhode Is­land.

It was Bed­dome’s prac­tice to write a hymn week­ly for use af­ter his Sun­day morn­ing ser­mon. 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 piec­es. Rob­ert Hall wrote of Bed­dome’s hymns:

The man of taste will be gra­ti­fied with the beau­ty and orig­in­al turns of thought which ma­ny of them ex­hi­bit, while the ex­per­i­ment­al Christ­ian will of­ten per­ceive the most se­cret move­ments of his soul strik­ing­ly de­lin­e­at­ed, and sen­ti­ments pour­trayed which will find their echo in ev­e­ry heart.

Sources

Hymns

  1. All Glory Be to Him Who Came
  2. Almighty God, We Cry to Thee
  3. And Shall I Sit Alone?
  4. Arise, Thou Bright and Morn­ing Star
  5. Ascend Thy Throne, Almighty King
  6. Awake, Awake, My Heart and Tongue
  7. Awake, Awake, Thou Mighty Arm
  8. Behold the Day Is Gone
  9. Behold the Eunuch, When Baptized
  10. Burdened with Guilt and Pale with Fear
  11. Buried Beneath the Yielding Wave
  12. Can Sinners Hope for Heaven?
  13. Come Ho­ly Spirit, Come
  14. Come, Jesus, Heavenly Teach­er, Come
  15. Come, Thou Eternal Spirit, Come
  16. Come, Ye Humble, Contrite Souls
  17. Death, ’Tis an Awful Word
  18. Did Christ o’er Sinners Weep?
  19. Dost Thou My Profit Seek?
  20. Each Other We Have Owned
  21. Eternal Source of Every Good
  22. Faith, ’Tis a Precious Gift
  23. Father of Mercies, Bend Thine Ear
  24. Fountain of Blessing, Ever Blest
  25. From Thy Dear Pierced Side
  26. Go Forth, Ye Saints, Behold Your King
  27. God, in the Gospel of His Son
  28. Great God, ’Tis from Thy Sovereign Grace
  29. Great God, to Thee I’ll Make
  30. Great God of Providence, Thy Ways
  31. Great God, My Maker and My King
  32. How Free and Boundless Is the Grace
  33. How Great, How Solemn is the Work
  34. How Great the Wisdom
  35. How Ma­ny Doubts and Fears Prevail
  36. If Secret Fraud Should Dwell
  37. In All My Ways, O God
  38. In Duties and in Sufferings, Too
  39. Jesus, Delightful, Charming Name
  40. Jesus, My Love, My Chief Delight
  41. Jesus, My Savior, Bind Me Fast
  42. Jesus, My Savior, Let Me Be
  43. Jesus, When Faith with Fixed Eyes
  44. Let Party Names No More
  45. Lord, Incline My Wandering Heart
  46. Lord, Though Bitter Is the Cup
  47. Lord, with a Grieved and Aching Heart
  48. Love Is the Fountain Whence
  49. Mighty God Will Not Despise, The
  50. My Few Revolving Years
  51. My Rising Soul with Strong Desires
  52. My Times of Sorrow and of Joy
  53. O Blest Society
  54. O Lord, Thou Art My Lord
  55. O Lord, Thy Perfect Word
  56. On Britain, Long a Favored Isle
  57. On Wings of Love the Christ­ian Flies
  58. Pray­er Is the Breath of God in Man
  59. Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns
  60. So Fair a Face Bedewed with Tears
  61. Sprinkled with the Reconciling Blood
  62. Straight the Gate, the Way is Narrow
  63. There Is a World of Perfect Bliss
  64. This World’s a Dreary Wilderness
  65. Wait, O My Soul, Thy Maker’s Will
  66. Wandering Star, the Fleeting Wind, The
  67. When Adam Sinned, Through All His Race
  68. When by the Tempter’s Wiles Betrayed
  69. When Israel Through the Desert Passed
  70. When Storms Hang o’er the Christ­ian’s Head
  71. Where’er the Blustering North Wind Blows
  72. Why, O My Soul, Why Weepest Thou?
  73. Witness, Ye Men and Angels, Now
  74. Ye Trembling Souls, Dismiss Your Fears
  75. Ye Worlds of Light That Roll So Near
  76. Your Work, Ye Saints, Is Not Comprised