Edmund Jones

Full Name: Edmund Jones
Birth/Death: 1722–1765

Edmund Jones was an 18th-century Baptist minister and hymn writer, born in 1722 as the son of Rev. Philip Jones of Cheltenham, England. He studied for a time at the Baptist College in Bristol, and by the age of 19 he began preaching for the Baptist congregation in Exeter, becoming its pastor two years later. Jones served this congregation faithfully until his death on April 15, 1765, and his ministry was marked by both pastoral care and literary contribution. Notably, under his leadership in 1759, congregational singing was first introduced as part of worship at the Exeter Baptist Church, reflecting his commitment to the enrichment of worship practices.

In 1760, Jones published a volume of Sacred Poems, which included hymns and devotional verses. His most well-known hymn, Come, Humble Sinner, in Whose Breast, gained widespread recognition and appeared in Rippon’s Baptist Selection (No. 355). This hymn has undergone several textual variations over the years, including Come, Sinner, in Whose Guilty Breast and Come, Weary Sinner, in Whose Breast, reflecting its enduring influence in both British and American hymnody. Some sources initially attributed it to a Welsh Baptist of the same name, but historical records confirm Jones of Exeter as the author.

Jones’s hymns combined heartfelt devotion with scriptural focus, exemplifying the evangelical piety of his era. His work contributed to the development of congregational singing in English Baptist worship and left a legacy that continued to be used and adapted in subsequent hymn collections.