Since 1849 nothing has occurred to disturb the peace of the saints meeting in Bethesda and other places in Bristol connected with it; and those principles of holy independence of man in the things of God, which the brethren have sought to maintain in the church , and for the benefit of the church at large, have taken root, and the real fellowship of the church in the oneness of the spirit has been increasingly sought after, and by the grace of God increasingly felt, in much happy fellowship with all saints, irrespective of party, name, or denomination; and those fundamental truths, touching alike the divinity and humanity of the blessed Lord are held, preached, and contended for earnestly, as the faith once delivered to the saints. Those who know most of the church at Bethesda will testify to the earnestness with which a godly discipline seeks to keep alive among the saints a deep sense of the value of foundation truth, and of the imperative necessity of a godly consistent life in all admitted to church fellowship.
The following remarks made by the late Mr. Craik in reference to these separations, written at the time, we transcribe for the instruction of all.
“Since we have been separated from both parties (i.e. Mr. Newton’s and Mr. Darby’s), there has been much quietness amongst us; the Lord is present in our meetings; souls are constantly added to the church. We meddle not with things too high for us; as in ourselves lost and guilty, we make Jesus our only refuge. We meet to exhort one another, and to wait patiently on God; we publish the glad tidings to the world, and the Lord gives testimony to the word of His grace. Far removed from strife and contentions, we are not over anxious what man may think of us, so long as we can walk in spiritual comfort, and promote the cause of Jesus. The days of our earthly pilgrimage are gliding away; we profess not to be superior in light and attainment to other believers. We know ourselves to be weak. We confess it to God; we do not desire needlessly to talk about it. We seek to enjoy the truth in secret, and to serve Him in conscious weakness: to avoid all heartless, thorny, and unprofitable controversy; to be in fellowship with all who love our Lord Jesus, and who do not require anything which we cannot grant as the price of that fellowship. We would use no hard words or cherish unkind feelings towards any. We know that we have been misrepresented, evil spoken of, unjustly condemned. The day will declare it; but oh! when the soul is really conscious that accusations are false, they are harmless as the roar of the distant thunder. I would rather enjoy the serenity of conscious innocence on any point, than possess the undeserved approbation of the whole church of God.”
The course pursued by Bethesda all through this painful controversy, up to the present hour, has been to maintain silence, and to avoid all self-vindication, committing their cause as between them and their exclusive brethren who have cast them off, to the Lord who judgeth righteously,
