John Berridge

Let me give you my final quote from 187- s- 18th century.

A vicar in England, in Bedfordshire, his name was John Berridge.

He was an interesting man.

He wrote his own epitaph, and I'll read the epitaph, and then we'll be done.

This is what is written on his tombstone.

"Here lie the earthly 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 on his errands many years, was called to wait on him above." Okay? So we walk through the graveyard and say, "John Berridge has gone.

Where has he gone? He's gone to serve Jesus.

He's just doing it somewhere else." Okay? What else has Berridge left for us as we walk through the graveyard? Well, now he addresses the reader.

It's a great phrase.

He quotes an old minister named John Berridge, who said, "If you don't preach the gospel, you can sleep soundly, but if you preach it faithfully, you will hardly have a sound place in your skin because of all the enemies assailing you." Spurgeon asks the congregation to look around at the religious landscape.

How is it that we never hear of any slander against a great many ministers? Everything goes comfortably in their churches.

Nobody is ever offended.