Charles Andrew Coates was born in Bradford, England, on the 7th. Dec. 1862. He died in Teignmouth, Devon, on 7th. Oct. 1945. For many years he broke bread in Rebecca St. Hall, Bradford. The hall is still used by brethren who gather to the Lord's Name. Mr. Coates never enjoyed robust health and the many occasions when he was laid aside through illness were put to good use in prayerful meditation and the study of Holy Scripture. One of the many books that Mr. Coates wrote, "The Believer Established," was a great help to the writer of these notes. [F.W.] [Alas! Mr Coates books cannot be unreservedly commended as later in his life he supported Mr James Taylor in his non-eternal sonship heresy. L.H.]
A story told about Mr. Coates is well worth repeating. Some brethren were gathered together to consider the sad case of a brother who had been declared bankrupt. They all expressed how sorry they were for the brother's plight. Mr. Coates placed a £10 note on the table and said, "Dear brethren I am £10 sorry. How sorry are you?" A good practical example and it is to be hoped that it was readily adopted.
Early in life Mr. Coates showed that he had poetical ability. When he was 16 years old he composed this poem on his conversion:
Henceforth my lips and pen
Shall seek to spread His fame:
My hands and feet shall swiftly move
To glorify His Name.
I seek no earthly place;
My joy is all in Him;
My thirsty soul shall drink no more
From fountains stained with sin.
And when He takes me home
To gaze upon His face,
More loud, more sweet my soul shall sing
The riches of His grace.
Mr Coates has three hymns in 'Spiritual Songs'. Each hymn is popular with those who use this hymn book. Two of them, 310 and 359, were well-known and well used by those brethren who sang from the 1903 Little Flock Book. No. 7 was taken from the Taylor Hymn Book. Mr Coates broke bread with the Taylor brethren and died while in fellowship with them.
The three hymns in the 'Spiritual Songs' book are:
7 Thy grace, O Lord that measured once the deep
310 Son of God, in Heaven we view Thee
359 No act of power could e'er atone
These hymns are often sung when brethren gather together to remember the Lord Jesus each Lord's Day. They augment the occasion with spiritual thoughts that exalt the Lord Jesus. Mr Coates' hymns are included in 'Spiritual Songs' in keeping with the examples in the 1856 and 1881 editions where they chose hymns for their spiritual worth, no matter the ecclesiastical connection of the author.