John Brekell (1697–1769) was an Englishpresbyterianminister and theological writer.
Brekell was born atNorth Meols,Lancashire, in 1697, and was educated for the ministry atNottingham, at thedissenting academy ofJohn Hardy.[1] His first known settlement was atStamford, Lincolnshire, apparently as assistant, but he did not stay long. He went to assistChristopher Bassnett at Kaye Street,Liverpool, 1729.[2]Joshua Toulmin prints a letter (dated Liverpool, 3 December 1730) from Brekell to Rev.Thomas Pickard ofBirmingham, showing that Brekell had been asked to Birmingham, but had 'handsome encouragement to continue' where he was. The date, April 1732, given byJames Martineau, may be that of Brekell's admission to the status of a colleague after ordination.
On Bassnett's death on 22 July 1744 Brekell became sole pastor. His ministry covers the period between the rise of theevangelical liberalism ofPhilip Doddridge (his correspondent, and the patron of his first publication), and the avowal ofSocinianism byJoseph Priestley, to whoseTheological Repository he contributed in the last year of his life. Brekell, though his later treatment of theatonement shows Socinian influence, stood firm on the person of Christ. In his sermons he makes considerable use of his classic literature.Nathaniel Lardner quotes him as a critic of the ante-Nicene writers.[3]
There arose a burning question among Liverpool presbyterians in reference to a form of prayer. At length a section of the Liverpoollaity, holding what they termed "free" views intheology, built theOctagon Chapel, printed aForm of Prayer and a new Collection of Psalms, 1763 (theLiverpool Liturgy, as it became known) and brought in a minister from London. The leading spirit in this movement wasThomas Bentley, Wedgwood's partner. His manuscript correspondence deals with Brekell, whom he treats as representing the "presbyterian hierarchy". Brekell did all he could by pamphlets in 1762 to show the inexpediency of forms of prayer. The new chapel was sold to a Liverpool clergyman on 25 February 1776. Brekell died on 28 December 1769. He married, on 11 November 1736, his wife's name being Elizabeth, and had five children.
His first publication wasThe Christian Warfare … a Discourse on making our Calling and Election sure; with an Appendix concerning the Persons proper to be admitted to the Lord's Supper, 1742. Following the example of his predecessor, he preached and published a sermon to sailors,Euroclydon, or the Dangers of the Sea considered and improved, &c. (Acts xxvii.), 1744. Then cameLiberty and Loyalty, 1746, (a Hanoverian pamphlet).
The Divine Oracles, or the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, &c., 1749, is a reply to a work byThomas Deacon, M.D., ofManchester, a nonjuring bishop. At this date (see pp. 72, 74) Brekell sides withAthanasius against theArians. He published also onHoly Orders, 1752, and two tracts in vindication ofPaedobaptism, 1753 and 1755. Brekell's name appears among the subscribers to a work by Whitfield, a Liverpool printer and sugar refiner, who had left the presbyterians, entitledA Dissertation on Hebrew Vowel-points. After Whitfield's lapse, Brekell wroteAn Essay on the Hebrew Tongue, being an attempt to shew that the Hebrew Bible might be originally read by Vowel Letters without the Vowel Points, 1758, 2 pts (1763).
Brekell wrote tracts onBaptizing sick and dying Infants, Glasgow, 1760, and onRegeneration, 1761. He published a dissertation onCircumcision, 1763, a volume of sermons,The Grounds and Principles of the Christian Revelation, 1765, andA Discourse on Music, 1766. Toulmin gives the titles of sixteen of his publications. It adds:All at Stoke: or an Earnest Persuasive to a Vigorous Self-defence, &c. By J. B., author of the Christian Warfare, &c., Liverpool, 1745, (a sermon (Luke xxii. 36) dedicated 'more especially to the Gentlemen Volunteers of Liverpool, and the Regiment of Blues raised at their own expense by that Loyal Town and Corporation. At the end is a warlike 'Hymn suitable to the Occasion of the general Fast to be observed with a view to the present War, both Foreign and Domestic'); also aSermon (Phil. i. 11) on the Liverpool Infirmary, 1769, (his last publication). The signature to his papers in theTheological Repository, vol. i. 1769, and vol. ii. 1771, is 'Verus.'
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Brekell, John".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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