In some respects, I regard the present Baptists of England as unworthy sons of their distinguished ancestors. They boast of their progress, of their broad sympathies, and liberal views; that they have gotten away from the bones of theology to the gospel of Christ; that they no longer preach of God’s avenging wrath, but rather of His forgiving mercy. These English Baptists are good men, and they preach the gospel as far as they go; but they do not go far enough. Jehovah is a God of justice as well as of mercy. A body of theology without bones is as useless as a human body without bones. They seem to be sadly lacking in that deep, heart-felt conviction, and in that sturdy, lion-like courage which immortalized their forefathers. They have well-nigh ceased to preach our distinctive doctrines as Baptists, and God, I believe, as a consequence, is withholding His blessings from them. Within the bounds of these three Associations, live more than one-fourth of the population of England, and yet the Associations report only 34,000 members. A church may believe and practice whatever she pleases as to communion (and other things too, I suppose), and still secure or retain membership in any of these Associations.
The leading features of the meeting are as follows: An address on “Reminiscences of Associational Teachers in 1837,” by Rev. John Aldis; the Centennial Sermon, by Dr. Alexander Maclaren, and an address on “Sunday Schools,” by the Right Hon. John Bright, Member of Parliament.
Mr. Aldis is a remarkable man. He has been in the ministry sixty years, and still retains much of the strength and enthusiasm of youth. Possessing such splendid gifts, and having been so long connected with the Associations, there is no man living better able to perform the task assigned to him than the venerable John Aldis. The address is a model of condensation. The speaker was almost as laconic as the tramp who called, late one evening, at a country residence, and said to the lady of the house: “Madam, will you please give me a drink of water? I am so hungry I don’t know where I am going to sleep to-night.” I wonder that one can say so much in so short a time. There is scarcely a superfluous word from beginning to end. It is marked, too, by great literary excellence, and contains some delightful bits of character sketches.