John Elder Robison delivers a 17th century sermon on hypocrisy
My ancestor Rowland Jones was the first rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was an Oxford graduate, from Merton College, ordained by Bishop Henry King and sent to Virginia six years later. Arriving at Jamestown, he traveled to Williamsburg to become their first rector. He served the congregation faithfully from 1674 until his death in 1688. I always wondered what he might have preached in his church . . . now I have an idea. The pastor who followed him - James Blair - recorded some of his sermons for posterity.
This evening, I decided to read one for you. There are a few bumps as I stumble on the old language but all in all, it still reads pretty smoothly. Its message, though dated, still rings true today.
This very sermon was originally delivered before the Bruton Parish congregation, in my ancestor's church over 300 years ago. When you click the link it opens a new window and downloads the 17 meg mp3 file, which should play automatically.
I'd be very interested in what you think.
The photo below shows the church yard where he's buried, illuminated by starlight last week.
https://sites.google.com/site/johnelderrobison/home/hyp_sermon.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1
Comments
And you read the sermon quite well, indeed.
Interesting that there are so many that use the outword signs of religion to profess their faith, yet their actions outside the church tell otherwise.