BIOGRAPHY
THERE have ever been believers eminent in the virtue of a
prayerful habit of life, and the communion to which it gives rise. Such was
George Vicesimus Wigram in these last days.
The twentieth child of Sir
Robert Wigram - hence his middle name - he was born in 1805. Two of his
brothers distinguished themselves in their respective careers; one James,
became Vice-Chancellor in the Old Court of Chancery, and the other, Joseph
Cotton, Bishop of Rochester.
GEORGE WIGRAM was converted whilst a
subaltern officer in the army, and in 1826 entered at Queen's College, Oxford,
with the view of taking orders. As an undergraduate he came into contact with
Mr. Jarratt of the same college, and with Messrs. James Harris and Benjamin
Wills Newton, both of Exeter College, who were all destined to take part in the
ecclesiastical movement with which Wigram's name is also prominently connected.
This connection was strengthened from about the year 1830, when these friends,
all Devonians, were associated with Mr. J. N. Darby in the formation of a
company of Christians at Plymouth, who separated from the organised churches,
and were gathered to the name alone of Jesus, in view of bearing a testimony to
the unity of the church, and to its direction by the Holy Spirit alone, whilst
awaiting the second coming of the Lord.
Wigram was active in the
initiation of a like testimony in London, where by the year 1838, a
considerable number of gatherings were formed on the model of that at Plymouth,
and he began to feel that some kind of organisation was needed, whereby these
neighbouring companies should act in concert; hence his letter to J. N. Darby,
which will be found on page 6o of W. B. Neatby's "History." The formation of a
London Saturday-evening administrative "central meeting" dates from that year.
Several years before this, Wigram's interest had been engaged in the
preparation of Concordances, which should aid especially Bible students with no
or but little knowledge of the original languages. The plan of these was
determined on after conference with Mr. De Burgh, who found the workers, whilst
there can be no doubt Wigram himself provided the money, although he humbly
speaks of this only as "passing through my hands." The first to appear, in
1839, was the Englishman's Greek and English Concordance to the New Testament,
and it was followed in 1843 by the Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance
to the Old Testament.
These volumes have largely aided intelligent, if
not scholarly, acquaintance with the background of the Bible in both its parts,
so that their issue by Wigrarn was a signal service of his rendered to the
Church of God, which after the lapse of years still makes itself felt.
Compilers of later works on similar lines have more or less been indebted to
his scheme- cf, in particular, Scrivener's Reference Paragraph Bible. In the
years 1845-1850 Wigram was prominently concerned in the upheaval, with its
melancholy result, which, originating at Plymouth, in spreading affected
Bristol in particular. His sincerity was never questioned, his motives always
recognised by the late G. Muller, much to the credit of this venerated brother.
A veil may now well be drawn over the proceedings of that period. Happily, it
is very easy to believe that Christ, and He alone, was the object of
each.
A magazine known as the Christian Witness had for several years
served as chief organ of the movement in its beginning. This had now lapsed,
and a new periodical, titled, "The Present Testimony" took its place under the
editorship of Wigram. Amongst the papers it contained are his own on the
Psalms, in which the Divine Names are distinguished in the text.
In
1856, he produced a new hymn book, "Hymns for the Little Flock," which for some
twenty-five years remained the staple of praise in the meetings with which he
was associated.
Ten years after the first appearance of the hymn book
edited by him he stood by J. N. Darby once again at a critical juncture, when
the question of the doctrine maintained by the latter on the sufferings of
Christ introduced some further dissension. During the rest of his life he paid
visits to the West Indies, New Zealand, &c., where his ministry seems to
have been much appreciated. He passed away in 1879.
He was one accounted
familiar with the sanctuary, who cared little to counsel others in their
difficulties, referring them to the same resource. It is only upon the
excellencies of such a man that one cares to dwell. Let all else, for those
immediately concerned, sink into oblivion.
E.E.W.
For an Alternative Biography, including an account of the
development of the Concordance, see here.