FAWCETT, JOHN: English Baptist; b. at Lidget Green, near Bradford (10 m. w. of Leeds), Yorkshire, Jan. 6, 1740; d. at Brearley Hall, near Wainsgate (14 m. s.w. of Leeds), July 25, 1817. Converted under George Whitefield's preaching at sixteen, he joined the Baptist Church at Bradford in 1759, and in 1764 entered the Baptist ministry. He settled in the parish of Halifax and remained there till the end of his life, preaching first at Wainsgate, then at Hebden Bridge, where a new church was built for him in 1777. In 1772 he declined a call to London as the successor of Dr. John Gill (q.v.), and in 1793 the presidency of the Baptist Academy at Bristol. In addition to his work as a pastor and author, he conducted an academy at Brearley Hall, and also, for a short time, an institution for the training of Baptist ministers. Of his Hymns (Leeds, 1782), numbering 166, the best known are, "How precious is the Book divine," "Thus far my God hath led me on," and "Blest be the tie that binds." He also published a number of works on practical religion, including, Advice to Youth (Leeds, 1786); and An Essay on Anger (1787); also The Royal Devotional Family Bible (2 vols., London, 1811).
Bibliography: J. Fawcett, The Life, Ministry, and Writings of . . . John Fawcett, London, 1818 (by his son); DNB, xviii. 257-258; S. W. Duffied, English Hymns, pp 73-74, New York, 1886; Julian, Hymnology, p. 373.
FEAST OF THE ASS. See Ass, Feast of the.
FEAST OF FOOLS. See Fools, Feast of .
I. Hebrew: To express the idea of religious festival,
the Hebrew has two words, mozedh and hagh
(Ar. hajj). Moedh denotes a set time for coming
together, and
can be employed for any festival
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