Historical Vignette: Septimus Sears, the Preacher

A man respected by John Sears:

Source: The history of Providence Chapel, which includes the following section on the preacher Septimus Sears, as found cited online.

Note:
John Sears named his first son after Septimus Sears, the noted preacher.  The following is quoted directly from the online source.

A word might not be out of place concerning Mr Septimus Sears (for 35 years the first and highly esteemed Pastor of the church at Clifton, Bedfordshire [GENUKI information]) who, unwittingly was at the centre of this division.

Septimus Sears was born at Chatteris in Cambridgeshire, on January 5th 1819. He was the seventh son of Mr Joseph Sears, a highly respected tradesman of the village, who ended a long life under the roof of his beloved and affectionate son Septimus, and was interred in the vault in front of the chapel at Clifton.

Septimus Sears was a man of weakly constitution and delicate health, who many times in infancy and childhood was considered near death’s door. He also had remarkable providential escapes from death.

As a lad, during a long sickness, he was blessed with ‘melting sights of a suffering Saviour’. He says, ‘I scarcely passed a day all that summer but some precious portion of His word was found by me, and I was enabled to eat it and to esteem it more precious than gold, yea than fine gold.’ In the November he was taken worse, and to excruciating pain was added ‘darkness the most dreadful’ which surrounded his soul.

The following May he was able to walk a few yards with crutches, and went to Addenbroke’s Hospital Cambridge, where ‘the doctors had an instrument constructed to hold up my head, which to me was an invaluable help’. He earnestly sought the Lord to unbind him as he did the woman bowed down with a spirit of infirmity. ‘Soon after, these words dropped into my soul, melted my heart and loosed my bonds — ‘Thou art loosed from thine infirmity’ — and immediately (O matchless kindness! O the almighty power of His voice!) I was made straight, and glorified God. After this visit from the Lord, I left the hospital, and my health became much better, so that I could walk forty or fifty yards with my crutches.’

But in February and March 1839 he had an attack of Rheumatic Fever and was afflicted with hardness of heart and wicked thoughts, but in his groanings, opened on the 20th Chapter of John’s Gospel, and Mary at the sepulchre, and ‘the Lord Jesus did so break and melt my heart, did so lift upon me the light of his countenance, that it appeared to cure both body and soul at once.’ He was blessed for some time ‘with much and frequent communion…and so far recovered as to regain the use of my left arm and leg, and to be able to ride out, and to walk a little way with the assistance of crutches. The same year, in June, the Lord opened my mouth in His name for the first time, at Dedington, (where I spoke sitting)’.

‘My strength increased gradually’ he says, until January 26th 1841, when the use of his arm and leg were restored in a very sudden and remarkable manner. From that time his strength gradually increased until he had an accident at Warboys on May 11th. He was greatly blessed in this affliction, which took place immediately after the request (refused) that he should preach at the Old Meeting. He had already preached in the vicinity. Mr Fane of Southill went to hear Mr Warburton (senior) at St Neots, and met Mr Sears who, in November 1840 was invited to preach at Southill. This was before Mr Warburton (junior) was settled there. Mr Tay was almost past preaching because of age and infirmity. The preaching of Mr Sears was greatly blessed to several who heard him at Southill. He preached once or twice afterwards, and the last time the crowd of people who came to hear him was so great, and the aisles and pulpit steps were filled to such a degree, one ‘could almost have walked on the heads of the people’.

The night before Mr Sears preached this last sermon at Southill, he dreamed that he was in a boat rowing off from the chapel with some of the people, which dream was fulfilled; for while some of the heads of the church were not willing he should preach in the chapel again, many clave to him and begged him to come amongst them; and Mr Kempson promised to turn two of his cottages in Clifton Fields into a chapel if he would agree to preach there, which he ultimately promised to do.

In an address to his church at Clifton written at the commencement of his last affliction (its sober, chastened style contrasting with the vehement language of his youth) he says that soon after becoming their stated Pastor, he was much tried about his religion. He saw that his early religion, though it had been accompanied with deep distresses and high joys, and ‘had set me down firmly in the great doctrines of grace, was sadly disproportionate and very deficient or shallow in some important features. I had made very much of depths and heights, workings of corruptions, strong detestations of self-righteousness, and strong adherence to the five points;[6] but had not in the same proportion valued godly fear, humility, and such holy and lowly graces of the Spirit.’

Mr Sears originated the Sower and Little Gleaner magazines, and was the means of erecting four almshouses in Clifton for aged members of his church and congregation. He died December 26th 1877, aged 58. Mr Thomas Hull of Hastings officiated at the funeral service.