He was, by most accounts, rather eccentric. More sophisticated preachers accused him of saying odd things and using unrefined illustrations in his sermons. In his defense, the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said of him, “What a lump of quaintness he was, but what a power to stir souls and lead them to the Savior’s feet.”
John Berridge (1716-1793) was called as vicar to serve a rural English church in 1755. He was not yet fully converted and wrote in his epitaph that “he fled to Jesus for refuge in 1756.” Once he opened his life to Christ, he could not be contained. He traveled outside his parish as an itinerant preacher, speaking in homes, barns, streets, and fields. Some fellow ministers objected that he was encroaching on their territory and complained to the bishop about it. The bishop called John on the carpet, “You have no right to preach outside your parish. You are acting contrary to the canons (rules) of the Church of England. If you do not desist, you will be sent to the Huntington Jail.” John didn’t back down, “There is but one canon, my lord. ‘Go preach the gospel to every creature'” (Mark 16.15). He faithfully served until he died in 1793.
I referenced his epitaph earlier, which he composed himself, “Here lies the remains of John Berridge, late Vicar of Everton, and an itinerant servant of Jesus Christ, who loved his Master and His work; and after running His errands for many years, was caught up to wait on him above. Reader! Art thou born again? No salvation without a new birth! I was born in sin, February 1716; remained ignorant of my fallen state till 1730; lived proudly on faith and works of salvation till 1754; was admitted to the Everton Vicarage in 1755; fled to Jesus for refuge in 1756; fell asleep in Jesus on January 12, 1793.”
One prayer by John Berridge that was later set to music serves today’s prayer: