John Reynell Wreford (1800-1881)

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 13
Listen from:
Presbyterian (with Unitarian views)
Hymn #157.
J. R. Wreford was born December 11, 1800 at Barnstable, Devonshire, England, and was educated at the Unitarian Manchester College in York. He became co-pastor of the Unitarian “New Meeting” in Birmingham (1826), but his voice broke down and he retired from public ministry to open a school in Egbaston, a suburb of Birmingham in 1831. It has been written about him that he regarded himself as one of those “English Presbyterians who always carefully repudiated all sectarian names and doctrinal distinctions.” His life span was commensurate with that of J.N. Darby. How good it would have been had he gone also outside the camp, actually separating from all sectarianism! He had a zeal for the Unitarian form of profession and this led him to set aside all Trinitarian formulas and what savored of Calvinism. However, hymn #157 was incorporated in the 1856 (Wigram) and 1881 (JND) books, and is a faithful presentation of Romans 8:37-39:
“In all things more than conquerors
Through Him that loved us—
We know that neither death nor life,
Nor angels, rulers, powers,
Nor present things, nor things to come,
Nor even height nor depth,
Nor any other creature thing,
Above, below, around,
Can part us from the love of God
In Jesus Christ our Lord.”