Biography

Born in January of 1717, Benjamin Beddome was welcomed into the family of John and Rachel Beddome of England. John was a Baptist minister. Benjamin intended to become a surgeon, but God called him to the ministry, so he changed his plan of studies to theology. He became a Baptist minister in 1740 and three years later was ordained. The last fifty-five years of his life would be spent proclaiming the gospel and writing over 800 hymns. His common practice was to write a hymn for each sermon delivered. The hymn would follow the sermon and help the congregation to reflect and remember the teachings of that particular service. At the age of 78, Beddome died and was buried in the church cemetery. In 1818, a hymnal containing 830 of Beddome's hymns was published and titled Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion.

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer