Sermon published by John Brine

A sermon preached to deacons by the Hyper-Calvinist John Brine appeared that year. London minister Brine lived 1703-1765

Death of Thomas Lewis Welsh Baptist Minister

Born c. 1671, son and heir of John Lewis, landed gentleman and Baptist of Glascwm, Radnorshire. who experienced persecution in the Restoration. The son, like his father, became a member of the Baptist church at Leominster c. 1692 or at least before 1694 and is believed to have started to preach soon afterwards. He had left Leominster before 1707 and had incorporated the Baptists of east Radnorshire into a church at Glascwm and New Radnor. He was very active among them and is said (Dr John Evans ‘Return’ (1715)) to have had a congregation of 400. In 1728, in company with Thomas Evans, brother of Caleb Evans, minister at Pentre, Radnorshire, he was appointed distributor for Wales of the Baptist Fund. He was buried in a burial-ground at Glascwm which his father had given to the church.

The Cause of God and Truth

It was in 1735 that the first part of The cause of God and Truth by Dr John Gill (1597-1671) appeared. There were to be four parts in all. The final preface of the massive work begins

It should be known by the reader, that the following work was undertaken and begun about the year 1733 or 1734, at which time Dr. Whitby's Discourse on the Five Points was reprinted, judged to be a masterpiece on the subject, in the English tongue, and accounted an unanswerable one; and it was almost in the mouth of everyone, as an objection to the Calvinists, Why do not ye answer Dr. Whitby?

Induced hereby, I determined to give it another reading, and found myself inclined to answer it, and thought this was a very proper and seasonable time to engage in such a work.

In the year 1735, the First Part of this work was published, in which are considered the several passages of Scripture made us of by Dr. Whitby and others in favour of the Universal Scheme, and against the Calvinistic Scheme, in which their arguments and objections are answered, and the several passages set in a just and proper light. These, and what are contained in the following Part in favour of the Particular Scheme, are extracted from Sermons delivered in a Wednesday evening's lecture.