Benjamin Watkins was born into an Episcopalian home on this day in 1755. His father died while he was just a baby, but his did her best to see that he was raised well – that he was moral, obedient and kind. She succeeded in her desires, but the heart of Benjamin was empty nevertheless. In the midst of the persecutions against the Baptists of Virginia, Benjamin Watkins, in his nineteenth year, was born again, and in 1776 he was baptized, joining the ranks of the Baptists. A few years later he began preaching and was ordained in 1786. In God’s grace and perfect will, Brother Watkins was not given the privilege of suffering imprisonment with his brethren, but he was faithful to his ministry and through him hundreds came to know Christ as Saviour. At the age of 76, during the last week of his forty-eight year ministry, he preached twice on the Lord’s day. The subject of one message was “God be merciful to me a sinner” and that is exactly what he experienced. He died on July 17, 1831.
