John Rippon - How Firm a Foundation

John Rippon

John Rippon came to Christ at age 17, in the year 1768.  He entered Bristol Baptist College in England and, upon graduation at age 21, he was called by a church whose long-serving pastor had passed away, a very respected author and preacher named John Gill.  When he came to interview, the church extended the call to him but 40 families were turned off by his youth and left to form their own congregation…eventually calling a 19-year-old man as their pastor.  John did not let the bad blood fester, even participating in the consecration of that young pastor.  He even encouraged his own congregation to contribute funds to the building of the breakaway church’s new sanctuary.  Because of Rippon’s humility and good humor, the two churches became close and worked together for the cause of Christ.

Rippon was less of a scholar than his predecessor, but an impassioned pastor to his flock with a strong burden for the lost.  His London church, called Carter Lane Baptist Church, experienced great growth during his 63-year tenure at that church, Pastor Rippon serving until his death in 1836, having baptized over 900 people.

John Rippon was an author and editor.  He edited a publication called ‘The Baptist Annual Register’ – a compilation of Baptist writings from England and North America on missions, business, associations, notices of books and articles by Baptist scholars, obituaries, and any other item he deemed of interest to English-speaking Baptists.  Baptist historians today are greatly indebted to his work.  He also wrote a selection of hymns which he intended to complement the incredible works of Isaac Watts.  His  most notable being ‘How Firm a Foundation’.

                How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
                Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
                What more can He say than to you He hath said,
                To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

In his latter years, Rippon would often pray for God to raise up a young man to lead his church to bigger and greater things.  Many people see the answer to his prayers in the man who took over his church almost 20 years after his death and later moved the place of meeting and renamed it ‘The Metropolitan Tabernacle’ – the ‘Prince of Preachers’ Charles Spurgeon, who was 19 years old at the time of his calling.  Spurgeon, later writing the history of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, characterized Rippon and his ministry as, “Beloved at home, respected abroad, and useful everywhere.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rippon

https://hymnary.org/person/Rippon_J

https://www.tribune.org/john-rippon-63-years-a-london-pastor/