James Fanch 1707-1767

James Fanch of Romsey was the first minister of the Baptist church there,which probably grew out of work in Southampton. Fanch was the brother of the wife of fellow minister Daniel Turner of Abingdon, and (according to Ivimey) "a man of considerable learning and excellent judgment, but not of popular pulpit talents". Ivimey sayss his sermons in manuscript are fine specimens of sound divinity. As an example he cites one preached in Whitchurch May 26, 1744 on Isaiah48:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. He gives the concluding paragraph of the sermon as a specimen of the preacher’s style and manne.

“By righteousness, in the text, I have before told you, may be understood increase of holiness in heart and life. There is a very general complaint of the sad decay of vital religion, and there is no need to question the justness of the complaint; but it were well for us if men were more industrious about a cure than complaining of the evil. How justly may God say to the professors of this lukewarm age, O that you had hearkened to my commandments; when I so frequently warned you not to ‘forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is’ - when I so plainly told you, that if you did not watch against an evil heart of unbelief you would, before you were well aware of it, and by insensible degrees, depart from the living God; - when ‘I charged you to forbear all malice, all guile, and evil speaking, and ‘ as new-born babes, to desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye might grow thereby; - when I required you to exhort one another daily, lest any of you should be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.’ O that you had thus hearkened to my commandments! Then had you had more peace of conscience—more peace in churches—peace in families, and among christian neighbours; then had your fruits of righteousness abounded more and more; then had your ‘ light so shone before men, that they might have seen your good works, and have glorified your Father which is in heaven.’ What power had you gained over indwelling sin ! How had you been able to have bridled in your now uusanctified passions of anger, disdain, and resentment! How have you, while you have spent your time in fruitless contentions about the smallest things, and been busy about things of very small concernment, neglected your watch against growing error and profaneness, the common and most deadly enemies of all piety, virtue, and religion! But O that you would at last ' repent and do your first works, quickening the things that remain, which are ready to die ;’ so may you still‘ hope to have your ‘ peace as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea.’ But if you will still go on frowardly in the way of your own hearts, ‘ beware,’ says the Saviour, ‘ lest I spew you out of my mouth,’ as something abominable both to God and man.”

Fanch published several practical works. He was the author of a piece, entitled The Lord’s Prayer, in a method partly borrowed from Bernard’s Thesaurus Biblicus, with Scripture illustrations.

He was buried at Lockerly. A plain stone has this couplet on it

“Can any good from these dead ashes rise? Yes, if they learn the wicked to be wise.”