The Countess of Huntington

Selina Hastings The Countess of Huntington.

Transcribed from the Audio message by Roger Jack

S he is one of those described by Luke in his gospel, certain women who ministered unto him out of their substance. She was, perhaps one of the greatest this country has seen of such.

Selina Hastings. That was her married name was perhaps used more for the spread of the gospel indirectly than most in the history of the gospel in this land. Her century, the 18th century saw one of the greatest gospel revivals since the days of the apostles, God raised up not one or two, but a great number of gifted gospel preachers and use the men like Whitfield, the Wesley’s, Grimshore, Howe Harris and a whole string of others, those men needed support, they needed finance, they needed protection.

God also raised up a small band of influential women willing to use their wealth and position to support and to protect his work. And Selena Hastings who was in the foremost of these, that she never preached publicly. Yet, these great preachers, all of them to a man gave her the place of highest honour in their ranks. They referred to her as the elect lady.  Now, her Life and times social status, were  nothing like ours, but in the essentials of the Christian life, she has left us an example of total dedication of all she possessed and all she was.

The story begins with a funeral. A little girl at the funeral of her playmate, the open grave and the company churchyard. The solemnity the words earth to Earth, Ashes to ashes, they filled this little child with awe and at that time, the cry of her heart   was oh god be my God when my hour show come.  She said later, she felt like the prodigal in a foreign country and that seriousness, never left her.   The little girl was Salina, second daughter of the Earl    One of the most privileged people in our land, I suppose at the time, few have been born into great privilege.  Her family was of royal descent, lived in a stately home with 150 acres of parkland. She herself was outstandingly gifted, in temperament, the character, a very, very delightful person, calm, thoughtful, serious, and a total contrast to the frivolity of the age in which she lived. Her home was happy, her parents are loving. You couldn’t think of anything that she lacked. She grew up to move in high circles.   Her aunt lady, Fanny Shirley was the leading beauty in the royal court at the time, and Selena was often at her Villa, in Twickenham, moving among the cultured people who found her receptions there poets, philosophers, authors composers handle, the composer was her friend, Geodini, another composer, wrote tunes for her which later she used in her hymn book.  But for all this exciting life, and it was an exciting life, she had no peace in her heart. She always felt happiest at home, where she could retire to meditate and to pray and visit the grave of her childhood friend. She had nobody to guide her yet all the while she was seeking for something she didn’t know what.

Age 21 she married. It was an ideal marriage. It was a genuine love match. Her husband Theopolis Hastings, the Earl of Huntington was 12 years older than her. He too came from a family with royal blood. Like her he was seriously minded. He mercifully was a home lover, although he was high in court circles. These years of her marriage were the happiest years of her life from one sence were from one angle. The summers would be spent at Donington Hall near Ashby. The winters would be spent in their London mansion.  Life was busy managing the many stately homes her husband owned mothering six young Children, and all the while she was seeking.

She did all the good she knew, helping the poor praying, fasting, giving charity to charities, living a model life. And she’d say to herself, surely, I’ve done enough. But always in her mind the nagging doubt would come, but how can, I be sure. So, it went on until God’s time came. That was a year 1739 when she was 32 years old. She had a visit from her sister in law Lady Margaret Hastings. She had been newly converted, a young Yorkshireman Benjamin Ingham, had returned from Oxford University to Yorkshire.  He was one of a small band of students who had been meeting to seek God. They were nicknamed the holy club. Men like john Wesley Charles Wesley George Whitfield. Ingham is one of these. They were ridiculed. They were nicknamed Methodist or enthusiasts, but they were on fire for the gospel. Wherever they went, they preached Christ. Although they were ordained ministers in the Church of England, the church authorities disowned them but they continued, and Ingham  went back to his home county, Yorkshire. And wherever he preached souls are saved, including Lord Hunting’s, two sisters. At once they began to do what he did. They told all they knew of their Savior.  Lady Margaret’s words to Selena left her very troubled that what she said was, since I have known and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been as happy as an angel. Now to Selena this was a foreign language. she said to herself, but what about all my good works? So, she began to try harder than ever to be holy and failed. Her Health gave way a dangerous illness brought her to death’s door, and death terrified her.

And her good works got a new comfort. And the last year was driven to her knees. She followed her sister in law’s example, I will cast myself wholly on Jesus Christ for salvation. She did a heartfelt plea with tears was Lord, I believe, Help my unbelief. Now it was a genuine, deep change. Love and humility, entered that life that tended to be hard and proud, which often comes with high rank she became self-abased and humble. There was a new longing for others rich or poor to win them for Christ and the watchword for her life was now my God, I give myself to thee  and the Lord took her word. Her life was taken up by him. And it became a wonderful display of His providence in opening up paths of service she had never dreamed of. Well, new life began when she was 32. She wondered what she could do. Well, she did what every new Christian can do. She began just where she was. She was a wife and a mother. Her first calling was to support her husband. In  his official life. She had much to do, managing his estates, educating her children, living a pattern of Christian behavior. And in one sense, her life never changed. In another it was transformed. She couldn’t preach but she could support the gospel. And so her home was open to any gospel preacher. With her husband’s approval. The Wesley’s Whitfield and others shut out by the church authorities found both a refuge and a preaching Centre at her mansion. her life’s work began without really being aware of it.  She was a supporter and a protector of the gospel. But above all, her personal witness began. They were the poor in  the villages around and she visited, played with them care for them, became almost a mother to their children.

But more than this, she became a soul winner. Nobody was too rich or too poor to hear the gospel. servants, the gardeners, the guests, noble friends, they all needed Christ, and she spoke of him freely. Her social life was transformed. It continued the season in London every winter became a new mission field. Her Park Lane drawing room gathering they had to hear. Some of them were indignant and complained to her husband. But he left her free to carry on some riducled her once.  The Prince of Wales asked one day at court where is Lady Huntington. And one of the court ladies replied with a sneer. I suppose she’s playing with one of her beggars, the Prince of Wales later King George the Third, replied, Lady Charlotte, When I’m dying, I think I should be glad to see is the skirt of Lady Huntingtons mantle, to lift me up to heaven with her.  a new life, happy service, and she never looked back. But the Lord sent with it, sorrow, upon sorrow. Within two years, her two younger sons died. Not long after afterwards, her husband, only one of her children was a believer, her favorite daughter Selena, and she too died, leaving her mother with nobody in the family with any care for the gospel.

On her husband’s death, she had to continue managing his estate until the eldest son was of age, and then she moved out of his mansion, to live simple life in a rented house. From now on, she renounced the ease and splendour of noble rank  for the service of the gospel, she still mingled with high society. But now it was only that she might be useful in saving souls. Little by little, her health gave way when her husband died. And as a means of recovering, she took if you like a health tour from Bath into Wales. It wasn’t a typical health tour, She had with her two ministers. One of them was the young Howard Harris, a Welsh preacher. And as they travel from town to town, every evening they preach and crowds, hundreds. Sometimes 1000s would gather to hear the gospel for the first time. The journey led to Howell Harrises hometown to Trevecca, where for several days, four to five times daily 1000s would gather in the open air to hear them preach, and many, many were converted.

Now this experience, confirmed to her what she could do, she could both support and protect the gospel. she realised that when she returned home, because the moment she was gone, Harris and the poor believers felt the loss of the unbelieving clergy, who stirred up the mobs and the magistrates. Poor believers are heavily fined. Harris had to preach in hiding in the hills. And when she heard of this, she had the influence to raise the matter with high officials in government, because this breach the act of toleration, and the government acted, the persecution ceased the fines what he paid. Coming back to London, she heard George Whitfield is back in England from America. And so she invited him to London, and twice every week she would gather the cream of society to hear him. Among them there were two leading infidels. The two leading infidels of the day, I suppose. Lord Chesterfield, Lord Bolingstoke, friends of her husband. His message left them untouched, his eloquence fascinated them. They came regularly. Bolingstoke called him the most extraordinary man of the times. Others heard though and believed, Lady Chesterfield the infidels,  wife, a friend of the queen, became a believer. Lady, Penny Shirley, her aunt was converted, and she, in turn, turn her Twickenham Villa, into a place where the gospel was preached. and many others followed. Soon, Lady Huntington had a prayer meeting at her house of noble ladies. But it wasn’t just high society. Her kitchen was turned into a preaching center where she could gather the poor, and anybody who would come to listen. And so rich and poor heard what they could never hear from the churches and chapels of those who had no Gospel to preach. And now their way was becoming more clear.

She realised that the church authorities would silence the gospel they possibly could. She had the power to prevent that. She was a peeres of the realm. She  could appoint ministers to be her private chaplains to preach for her. They couldn’t be touched. And so that is what she did. Howard Haris, George Whitfield,  and many others were appointed chaplains to the Countess of Huntington, and now they could preach freely supported and protected by her position. Well, God led her on. Her real work hadn’t begun. It was now 1758. When the next development took place, she was 51 Her sorrows increased. Her son the present Earl had embraced Lord Chesterfield atheism. She realised she couldn’t stay at Ashby any longer. She learned that her youngest son was dying.  So she having to be near him, took up lodgings in North St. Brighton in those days, was not the Brighton in the Regency days. It was later on, it was a very poor place. And as ever, she was a soul seeker. She learned that there was a soldiers wife was almost destitute. And so she took food and clothing, to visit her and the gospel. Now the poor woman is lodging or joined a bake house. There was a crack in the wall. And the workers in the Bakehouse overheard the conversations. And they came down and begged for permission to come in and listen themselves. And it true. The local blacksmith or wicked men learned of it too, and decided that he would force his way in and disrupt it. He did. And he left a saved man and actually lived for 29 years to adorn the gospel. Other developments took place, a woman stopped in the street.  So, you’ve come she said, Do you know me said the counters. Three years ago, I saw you in a dream, dressed just as you are now. And that conversation led to the woman’s conversion. And her triumphant death A year later, it was obvious that God was working. And so she invited Whitfield down to preach in the meddow under spreading tree that summer, and many, many were converted. Now she realised she had a problem. Who could teach them they had no church, they would never hear the gospel elsewhere. she realised she must build a chapel near her house. Well, by now she’d given away a fortune. But she remembered her jewels. She had discarded them years ago. They must be sold to pay for the chapel. They were 698 pounds, which doesn’t sound a lot but in our money today, it would be hundreds of 1000s of pounds. And in 1762 years after her arrival, the chappel was opened. Now that was just the beginning. Many of these poor people coming to it had to walk a tremendous distance and they begged couldn’t the church or Chapel or a chappel be built near their home? And providentially the Lord provided a disused mansion the property of one of her relatives, large enough to set aside space for the chapel, and also living accommodation for one of her chaplains. And God worked. And the congregation who opened the church was formed. And it was a wonderful church that early one old Abraham 100 years old, was converted for years he had been seeking. Now when he was so overjoyed, he must tell everybody, neighbours, he said, I found the very truth of God’s Word I’ve been seeking for years and have never found. And so he went on what happened there was then repeated at Louis and then at bath. And then it wouster in fact if you go to town gate shopping centre today, you will see lady Huntington’s chapel. They’re not used as a chapel any longer. And by 30 years in 30 years  time 70 chapels, particularly the South of England bore, her name that was not out of pride. she realised with her name on them, they would be protected from persecution by the law, and the Church of England could not touch them. Of all these chapels the work at  bath stood that Spar town was the equivalent of London in the winter. Every summer high society gathered at bath to take the waters in the pump room. In 1765. She built a chapel there  Whitfield preached again, many titled  people were converted and not only title people, but people of all walks. Among them was lady Anne Eskin. She had come with her invalid Father, Lord Buchan. To what actually became the last treatment he would have he returned to Scotland to die. And on his death, she realised her calling. She had been wonderfully saved herself like her father by coming to bath. And now she threw in her lot with lady Huntington. And together they formed a wonderful partnership that would ended only by death. She shared her work and continued after the Countess  died. The age gap of 30 years never seemed to enter into their thinking. They were so happy together in their work. Now, even today, after 200 years, many of those chapels are still continuing the work for which they were built. This here is actually the little Handbook of the Countess of Huntington’s connection with a list of all the chapel’s bearing that names are still operating. And so her work was growing 1708 another development, she was now 61. Her chapels needed preachers. The fields were white, the labourers are few. And there were a few preachers, the only route to ministry in the Church of England because all these were still officially Church of England chapels. The only route to the ministry was ordination at Oxford and Cambridge, and she had helped many young men into the ministry by that path. But in 1768, six of her students were expelled from Oxford, they would have been guilty of a gave offence. It was that they had they were enthusiasts who talked about inspiration, regeneration, and drawing nigh to God. Their college principal pleaded for them. They were godly. They were sound in doctrine, but he was overruled and she could see the way the wind was blowing. It prompted her to realise that she must form a college herself for training young men for her for the ministry. And so her thoughts turned to Howel Hlarris in Triveca and going to him that she persuaded him to be the first principal of the Tribeca college. She bought Tribeca house a 12th century 12th century mansion, converted it into a college. And there over the years, hundreds of young men were prepared for the ministry. God blessed them. They went out to preach in the towns and villages within a radius of 30 miles. And the whole of that area in South Wales heard the gospel. She cared for her students. She loved them, she knew them. She was a mother to them. And today in Cambridge University Library is a collection of 3000 letters that she wrote to her students. Her college survived her death. It moved later to Cheshire, near London. But it wasn’t until 1967 that it finally closed. It wasn’t just at home that she had influence has felt in 1770. When she was in her mid 60s, George Whitfield died, he was burned out by incessant preaching. In His will he entrusted his orphanage in Georgia to Lady Huntington. Now she had an enormous workload. And yet she gladly took on this new burden. She saw it as a missionary opportunity for her students. And she went to them and laid it before them. And to her delight, a band of young men offered themselves to go out to Georgia to preach. And in 1772, they set out for America. God was with them, many were saved. And for many, well, not many years, there was a wonderful time of gospel blessing. But then the war of American independence put a stop to it. England was at war with the United States, and they had to return home. And for 11 years, nothing could be done. But God’s work went on. in their place God raise up local preachers who were used very very powerfully. And then in 1792, the government’s decided they would set up a colony in West Africa for freed slaves. What today is Sierra Leone, and about 1200 freed slaves returned to their native land. Now, about half of these were Christians connected with Lady hunting the mission and it was said to be a fine sight when they disembarked in West Africa, led by six native ministers, they marched in them singing one of her hymns awake and sing the song of Moses in the land. I don’t know why they chose that one. But that was the one that they chose. And they marched into the forest, cleared the forest and built the first settlement in Sierra Leone. They named it Freetown. It is now the capital city of Sierra Leone. And the work there still goes on lady huntington’s,  mission still has its connections in Sierra Leone. They are 23 churches, seven schools and the Bible College all count to be called the Countess of Huntington’s connection. And evidently, mothers still love to call their baby girl Selena in Sierra Leone today.  So if you’re short of a name for a little girl, you can always use Selena. Well, the work that you had begun carried on until 1783. She was 76. And then her greatest conflict came. Earlier that year, two ministers had taken over a disused theatre, in spa fields or Clerkenwell, in London. God bless them, very poor area. And yet, souls were saved. And a good congregation was built up. The local clergyman jealous, claimed that it was his. He was the parish Vicar. By law, he alone could appoint preachers, the offerings that had been given belong to Him. And the church authorities supported his claim. As church of England  ministers, these two preachers exceeded their rights. The building must be closed. The congregation scattered it was tragic. It shows actually the attitude of the church authorities in the 18th century, they would have killed the gospel Had it been possible. Lady Huntington herd of it, she could only see one answer, she would buy the place and make it her chapel. She did actually, that was an interesting thing in itself, because she hadn’t the money. She was completely without funds. And yet she applied to buy this, disused theatre, one of her friends begged her saying don’t you have enough burdens. Without this, he said, and you haven’t any money to do it. Just then there was a knock on the door, the letter was delivered. And it was exactly the sum of money required to buy the theatre. And so she showed him the letter and the draft of the money, with the words be not faithless, but believing and she bought it and the preaching restarted. And again, the congregation was built up. And once again, the jealous Vicar intervened, took it to court. And once again, he won. And this time her lawyer advised her that her chapels were not protected by law as she thought they were. And it wasn’t only this one, but all her chapels could be taken from her and taken over by the church authorities. So again, she could only see one answer, and this nearly broke her heart. She would withdraw them all from the Church of England now like the Wesley’s and Whitfield, and all these men, whom God raised up, she loved  the church of her childhood, to leave the Church of England for her was heartbreaking. But she knew it must be. And so from then on all her chapels became a separate denomination. Referred to as I mentioned, the Countess of Huntington’s connection. They had a confession of faith, which was reformed, biblical evangelical, very similar to our own, most of them that remain, still keep to that confession of faith and keep the original name. The saddest part of the story for her was that when this change came, many of her dear friends who had preached for her, felt that now she had withdrawn from the Church of England, they could not help her by preaching for them. And so men like Venn and Toplady and others, From then on, would not support her. But good old john Berridge was a staunch supporter, as staunch as ever I regard neither high church or low church, he said, nor any church but the Church of Jesus Christ and so He would continue to preach for her.

Well, the years past 1789 when she was 82, was particularly solemn year for her son died. The Earl had been a great man, high up in royal service, a devoted son, and yet sadly a total stranger to God’s grace. He had followed his adopted father, Lord Chesterfield, the atheist, and what sorrow that brought to her. The same year Lord Chesterfield died to, brilliant man. He’d always said death is just a leap into the dark. But now he was dying. She tried in vain to offer him some relief. Then she said, in her own words, his deathbed was awful to behold, the blackness of darkness accompanied by every gloomy horror, thickened most awfully, his dying moments, was what she said. Atheism may be a convenient creed to live with, but it’s an awful thing to die with. It’s so different from another deathbed of that year, dear friend, Howard Harris, his last words as he died were, Glory be to God. Death has no sting. All is well. Well, now her work was done. She knew it. Until her 84th year, she continued vigorous. With meticulous care, she ensured that all her charities and chapels were carefully provided for with suitable trustees to ensure that her work would continue. Her adopted daughter in the faith lady Anne Erskin was still at her side. After 30 years of loving partnership. She knew that  lady Anne knew all it was needed to supervise the whole of the work, and Selena was happy in that peace. Her last home was as was her practice next to the church she had built last, it was in spa fields, the scene of her last conflict. By now all her wealth was gone. All used for God’s service. her income was used almost as soon as it arrived. For years she had lived without a carriage. She allowed herself one new dress per year. Both she and Lady Ann could afford to forget their noble rank, they knew they were heirs of glory. She had a visit one day from a country man, a tradesman who had prospered from small beginnings to become a wealthy man. As he left her, he turned and looked at that poor house, in a poor street. And he explained what a lesson for me. Here is a person with her noble birth, nursed in the lap of luxury. To live in such a place so poorly furnished. And this I myself a tradesman, but now surrounded by luxury and elegance. From this moment, I shall hate my house, my fine furniture, and myself are spending so little for God, and so much in folly. Well, last dateing the 17th of June 1791. She was 84 she was longing for home. My work is done. She said, I have nothing to do but to go to my father. And her last words were I shall go to my father tonight. She did 52 years earlier, she had made her conversion vows,  my God, I give myself to thee she had kept it. He had honoured it. So I thought it was good perhaps for us tonight to remember life like that. And take a lesson from it.

We thank Thee for the wonders that grace can create in a life for given to you we just pray that we too may learn in our day to give our lives to our Saviour completely, so that we too, in that day may receive a likely reward. Now blesses as we have prayed accept our thanks and our praise and our worship for the wonder of your grace towards us, as we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.