A young Horatius Bonar (1808 –1889) - Westminster Bookstore · 2018. 10. 29. · Bonar, Horatius,...

AyoungHoratiusBonar(1808–1889)

(DavidOctaviusHillandRobertAdamson,ScottishNationalPhotographyCollection,ScottishNationalPortraitGallery)

“Christ Is All”:ThePietyofHoratiusBonar

IntroducedbyMichaelA.G.Haykin

EditedbyMichaelA.G.Haykin

andDarrinR.Brooker

Reformation Heritage BooksGrandRapids,Michigan

PRofIles In RefoRmed sPIRItuAlItyserieseditors—JoelR.BeekeandMichaelA.G.Haykin

Other Books in the Series:MichaelHaykin, “A Consuming Fire”: The Piety of Alexander Whyte of Free St. George’s

MichaelHaykin, “A Sweet Flame”: Piety in the Letters of Jonathan Edwards

MichaelHaykinandSteveWeaver, “Devoted to the Service of the Temple”: Piety, Persecution, and Ministry in the Writings of Hercules Collins

©2007byMichaelA.G.HaykinandDarrinR.Brooker

PublishedbyReformation Heritage Books2965LeonardSt.,NEGrandRapids,MI49525616-977-0599/Fax:616-285-3246e-mail:[email protected]:www.heritagebooks.org

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Bonar,Horatius,1808-1889.“Christisall”:thepietyofHoratiusBonar/introducedbyMichaelA.G.Haykin;editedbyMichaelA.G.HaykinandDarrinR.Brooker.p.cm.--(Profilesinreformedspirituality)Includesbibliographicalreferences.ISBN978-1-60178-033-1(pbk.:alk.paper)1.Bonar,Horatius,1808-1889.2.PresbyterianChurch--Scotland--Clergy--Biography.3.ChurchofScotland--Clergy--Biography.4.Hymnwriters--Biography.I.Haykin,MichaelA.G.II.Brooker,DarrinR.III.Title.BX9225.B66A32008252’.052--dc222007048793

For additional Reformed literature, both new and used, request a free book list from Reformation Heritage Books at the above address.

ToIainH.Murray,withthankstotheTriuneGod

forhisministryandthatoftheBannerofTruthTrust

and

ToMelissa,withlove

TableofContents

ProfilesinReformedSpirituality. . . . . . . . . . . . xiAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

ThePietyofHoratiusBonar(1808–1889) . . . . . 1 1.Noordinarywork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 2.God’streesgrowslowly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 3.Biblicalreligion:aviamedia. . . . . . . . . . . . 51 4.Theapostolicwayofevangelism . . . . . . . . . 53 5.Healthofthesoul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 6.Onreading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 7.Onprayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 8.BlamelessChristians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 9.Astrongandboldwitness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6710.Oureternalheritage...................6911.Thetrueendoftheministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7112.Thetruestimulustomissions . . . . . . . . . . . 7513.TheshedbloodofChrist:ThefoundationofChrsitianity . . . . . . . . . . . . 7914.Redeemthetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8115.Dwellnotinthisworld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8316.StudyingtheBible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8517.GracefoundinGod’selection . . . . . . . . . . . 8718.Themodelofaholylife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9119.HonouringtheSpirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9520.Thegospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9721.Godchangesnot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9922.Doyougototheprayer-meeting?. . . . . . . . 10123.BereconciledtoGod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

24.Quityoulikemen! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10525.Thepowerofthecross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10726.Thetruthanderrorsoftheage. . . . . . . . . . . 10927.Christoursubstitute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11128.Ondoctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11529.Thedelusionofearthlyprogress . . . . . . . . . 11730.ThegoodnewsaboutJesusChrist. . . . . . . . 11931.Standfast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12132.Truespiritualdiscernment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12333.Amidthedazzlingconfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . 12534.Divinejealousyforthetruth . . . . . . . . . . . . 12735.FollowtheMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13136.Thedeceitfulnessofsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13337.God’sgloryouraim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13538.Shallthegodofthisworldsucceed? . . . . . . 13939.Beready............................ 14140.Ontruth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14341.Christianity:doctrineandlife. . . . . . . . . . . . 14542.Byfaith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14943.OntheHolySpirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15144.Takenawayfromtheeviltocome. . . . . . . . 15345.Thefamilybadge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15746.ThevoicefromGalilee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15947.Eternalcompanionship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16148.Alifeofspiritualvitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16549.Awarningagainstimitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16950.Theonetrueresting-place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17151.TheloveoftheSpirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17352.TheLord’sSupper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17753.OnbelovedFranceandthewritingofmemoirs............... 18154.AwakeninginKilsyth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18555.Imputedrighteousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

viii “ChristIsAll”

TableofContents ix

56.Thecross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19357.Livingsacrifices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19758.Thesubstitute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19959.Believeandlive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20160.Liveforsomething . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20361.Afaithfulproclamation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20562.Contemplativetheology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20963.Gospeloptimism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21564.LabourforChrist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21765.Anoldminister’scomplaints . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

ReadingBonar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

ProfilesinReformedSpiritualityo

CharlesDickens’famouslineinA Tale of Two Cities —“itwas thebestof times, itwas theworstof times”—seemswellsuitedtowesternEvangelicalismsincethe1960s.Ontheonehand,thesedecadeshaveseenmuchforwhichtopraiseGodandtorejoice.InHisgoodnessandgrace, for instance,Reformed truth isno longer a house under siege. Growing numbersidentify themselves theologicallywithwhatweholdtobebiblicaltruth,namely,Reformedtheologyandpiety.Andyet,asanincreasingnumberofReformedauthors have noted, there are many sectors of thesurroundingwesternEvangelicalismthatarecharac-terizedbygreatshallownessandatrivializationoftheweightythingsofGod.SomuchofEvangelicalwor-shipseemsbarren.Andwhenitcomestospirituality,thereislittleevidenceoftherichesofourheritageasReformedEvangelicals.

AsitwasatthetimeoftheReformation,whenthewatchwordwasad fontes —“backtothesources”—soitisnow:thewayforwardisbackward. Weneedtogoback to the spiritualheritageofReformedEvan-gelicalism to find the pathway forward. We cannotlive in the past; to attempt to do so would be anti-quarianism.ButourReformedforebearersinthefaith

can teachusmuchaboutChristianity, itsdoctrines,itspassions,anditsfruit.

Andtheycanserveasourrolemodels.AsR.C.SproulhasnotedofsuchgiantsasAugustine,MartinLuther,JohnCalvin,andJonathanEdwards:“Thesemenall were conquered, overwhelmed, and spiritu-allyintoxicatedbytheirvisionoftheholinessofGod.TheirmindsandimaginationswerecapturedbythemajestyofGodtheFather.Eachofthempossessedaprofound affection for the sweetness and excellenceofChrist.TherewasineachofthemasingularandunswervingloyaltytoChrist thatspokeofacitizen-shipinheaventhatwasalwaysmoreprecioustothemthantheapplauseofmen.”1

Tobesure,wewouldnotdreamofplacingthesemenandtheirwritingsalongside theWordofGod.John Jewel (1522–1571), the Anglican apologist,oncestated:“Whatsayweofthefathers,Augustine,Ambrose, Jerome, Cyprian?… They were learnedmen, and learned fathers; the instruments of themercyofGod,andvesselsfullofgrace.Wedespisethemnot,wereadthem,wereverencethem,andgivethanksuntoGod for them.Yet…wemaynotmakethemthefoundationandwarrantofourconscience:wemaynotputourtrustinthem.OurtrustisinthenameoftheLord.”2

Seeking then both to honor the past and yet notidolize it, we are issuing these books in the series

1. “An Invaluable Heritage,” Tabletalk, 23, no. 10 (October1999):5–6.

2. Cited in Barrington R. White, “Why Bother with History?”Baptist History and Heritage,4,no.2(July1969):85.

xii “ChristIsAll”

Profiles in Reformed Spirituality. The design is tointroduce the spiritualityandpietyof theReformedtradition by presenting descriptions of the lives ofnotable Christians with select passages from theirworks.Thiscombinationofbiographicalsketchesandcollectedportionsfromprimarysourcesgivesatasteofthesubjects’contributionstoourspiritualheritageand some direction as to how the reader can findfurtheredificationthroughtheirworks.Itisthehopeofthepublishersthatthisserieswillproviderichesforthoseareaswherewearepoorandlightofdaywherewearestumblinginthedeepeningtwilight.

—JoelR.Beeke MichaelA.G.Haykin

ProfilesinReformedSpirituality xiii

Acknowledgementso

darrin R. Brooker:IthaslongbeenmydesirethatmoreofthewritingsofHoratiusBonarbemadeavailabletoagenerationthatmayonlyrecognizehisnamefromseveralselectionsin their hymnals. The richness of Bonar’s life andwritingsgofarbeyondthehymnsheismostremem-bered for. My sincerest thanks to Michael Haykinforaskingmetobeinvolvedinputtingtogetherthiswork.IhopetheselectionsthatfollowshowwelltheheartofthemanwhowantednothingmorethantoseeGod’speopleedifiedthroughhislabors.

This book is really an extension of The Life and Works of Horatius Bonar CD that was completedin 2004, and I would be remiss if I did not thankthose who were crucial in helping me to bring thatproject together: Mr. Ed Skedd of St. Catherine’sArgyleChurchinEdinburgh(onceChalmersMemo-rial where Bonar pastored) who allowed me to siftthrough some of Bonar’s original manuscripts andwho has graciously answered my every request forpictures and information. I must also thank BillNoonkesser,whoprovidedmewithseveral finishedworks,andmybrother,DarrellBrooker,whohelpedin the tedious task of scanning many pages of text

andencouragedmetoplodonwhenIlostthedesiretocontinue.ThanksareduealsotoDerekTraynor,whoprovidedthephotographof themarblecarvingofBonarforthefrontcover.

ButitistomywifeMelissathatIowemydeepestgratitude,foritwasshewhogaveupcountlesshourswith her husband while I collected, scanned, andedited the works of Bonar. While not visible to theeye,hermarkisthereoneverypage.

TheLordisindeedgracious,anditismyhopethatHeblessesthiswork.Ipraythatitwillnotonlyhelptopaintaclearerpictureofthelifeofthisgodlyman,but, more important, that it will point past Bonartowards the Savior he loved with both heart andmind,andthatitwillimpassionustodolikewise.

michael A. G. Haykin:I must confess that, like D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones,I have been far more interested in the eighteenth-centurychurchthanthechurchofthefollowingera,theVictorianperiod. I suspect that the revivals thatshapedtheeighteenth-centurychurchhavehadmuchtodowiththispreference.Buttherewerealsocertainchangesthatcameintothetheologyandworshipofthechurch in thenineteenthcentury thatultimatelyproveddetrimental toherwitness andwereoff-put-tingtome.

Ofcourse,IwasfamiliarwithC.H.Spurgeon,butI wrongly imagined him to be a somewhat isolatedfigure. In the late 1990s and subsequently, I havelearnedhowwrongIwas.Thereweremenofstoutand Puritan-like faith such as James P. Boyce and

xvi “ChristIsAll”

BasilManly,Jr., in thesouthernUnitedStates,andAsahelNettleton,CharlesHodge,andB.B.WarfieldinthenorthernStates.InGreatBritain,therewasJ.C.Ryleandthesubjectofthisvolume:HoratiusBonar(and,ofcourse,hisbrother,AndrewBonar,andhisfriends,especiallyRobertMurrayMcCheyne).Ithasbeena journeyofdiscoverytoedit thisbookwithadearfriend,DarrinBrooker,andIthankGodforourfriendshipandthegracethathasmadethisbookpos-sible.LikeDarrin,IamconvincedthatBonar’swordsareasneededtodayaswhentheywerefirstwritteninthatverydifferentworldofVictorianBritain.

IalsowishtothankDr.JoelBeekeforincludingthisvolumeintheseriesProfilesinReformedSpiritu-ality,andJayCollierforhisgreathelpintheeditingprocess.ThanksareduealsotoMarthaFisher(copyediting),LindadenHollander(typesetting),andAmyZevenbergen(coverdesign).

I am also thankful for the help of my assistant,AllenMickle,Jr.,whoseroleasmyassistantformallyends this month when I leave my post as Principalof Toronto Baptist Seminary and begin teaching atSouthernBaptistTheologicalSeminaryinLouisville,Kentucky.Whatajoytohavefriendswithwhomtolabor in the work of the kingdom. More than ever,Iknowthatmyworkasanhistorianfor thechurchwouldbeimpossiblewithoutthekindandselflesscol-laborationofsuchmen.

In that regard, I also want to thank the man towhomIhavededicatedmyportionofthisbook,IainH.Murray,forthenumerouskindnessesandencour-agementshehasgivenmeoverthepasttwentyyears.BythegraceofAlmightyGod,thebooksthathehas

Acknowledgements xvii

writtenorthathehaseditedfortheBannerofTruthhaveplayedakeyroleinshapingmeintotheChris-tianhistorianthatIam.MaytheLordbepraised!

Dundas,OntarioDecember2,2007

Note of interest: the emblems used at the end of mostselectionsarecommunion tokens from twoofBonar’scongregations, which were used as means of account-abilityandpreparationfortheLord’ssupper.

xviii “ChristIsAll”

He adorned all he touched. —AlexanderWhyte

Righteousness without works to the sinner, simply on his acceptance of the Divine message concerning Jesus and His sufficiency — this has been the burden of our good news…. It is one message, one gospel, one cross, one sacrifice, from which nothing can be taken and to which nothing can be added. This is the…beginning and the ending of our ministry.

—HoratiusBonar,“Fragment”

Upon a Life I have not lived, Upon a Death I did not die, Another’s Life; Another’s Death: I stake my whole eternity.

Not on the tears which I have shed; Not on the sorrows I have known: Another’s tears; Another’s griefs; On them I rest, on them alone.

—HoratiusBonar,“ChristForUs”

HoratiusBonar

ThePietyofHoratiusBonar(1808–1889)1

o

The remarkable spiritual awakening that took placeat Cambuslang, at the time five miles southeast ofGlasgow, in the springand summerof1742 iswellknownintheannalsofrevival.ItbeganintheFeb-ruary of that year with the anointed preaching ofWilliamMcCulloch(1691–1771),theparishminister,andgrewtothepointthatinJuly,GeorgeWhitefield(1714–1770),theleadingevangelistoftheeighteenthcentury,waspreachingtocrowdsof20,000ormore.AmongtheotherministerswhoalsopreachedduringthosestirringdayswasonewhomWhitefieldcalled“good old Mr Bonner.”2 The preacher to whom

1. A significant portion of this introduction was originallydelivered as a paper at the 24th Annual Banner of Truth Ministers’Conference,MessiahCollege,Grantham,Pennsylvania,onWednes-day,May29,2002.Itwassubsequentlypublishedas“‘ChristisAll’:HoratiusBonar(1808–1889)andhisChristocentricPiety,”Eusebeia3(Autumn2004):23–51.

Inthepreparationofthisintroduction,Iwishtoacknowledgethehelp of Rev. William McKnight of Bangor, N. Ireland; Mrs. FaithCookofBreaston,Derbyshire;Mrs.MarionMeadows,pastlibrarianatHeritageTheologicalSeminary,Cambridge,Ontario;Rev.GeorgeMcGuinness of Memphis, Tennessee; and Rev. Dr. Joel Beeke ofGrandRapids,Michigan.

2. Quoted in Arthur Fawcett, The Cambuslang Revival: The Scot-tish Evangelical Revival of the Eighteenth Century (Edinburgh:Bannerof

2 “ChristIsAll”

Whitefield referred was the minister of Torphichenon the outskirts of Edinburgh, John Bonar (1671–1747),amanwhohada“livelyzealfortheinterestof truereligion.”3Therevivalappears tohavegivenBonar, who was quite infirm and unable either torideortowalkanydistanceatall,anewleaseonlife.Andthoughhetookthreedaystotravelthetwenty-three miles or so from Torphichen to Cambuslang,he preached three times when he got there with, itwassaid,“greatLife.”4Whenhewasabouttoreturnhome, so filled with joy was he, that he used thewordsofanotheragedsaint forhis farewell:“Lord,now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,…formineeyeshaveseenthysalvation.”5

John Bonar’s evident longing for and delight inrevivalwouldcharacterizeatleastthreeofhisgreat-great-grandsonswhowerealsoministers:JohnJamesBonar(1803–1891),ordainedtheministeronAugust20, 1825, of St. Andrew’s parish, Greenock, whereheremaineduntil theendofhis long life;6HoratiusBonar (1808–1889), the subject of this book; and

TruthTrust,1971),121.Whitefield’sspellingisacluetothepronun-ciationofthefamilyname.

3. William McKnight, “Horatius Bonar” (Unpublished hand-writtenMS,22pages,n.d.),3.AcopyofthisMSisintheauthor’spossession.

For a list of John Bonar’s descendants who were ministers, seeHoratius Bonar, D.D.: A Memorial,2nded. (London:JamesNisbet/Edinburgh:AndrewStevenson,1890),114–116.

4.Fawcett,Cambuslang Revival,121.

5.Fawcett,Cambuslang Revival,121–122.

6. On John James Bonar, see Parting Memorial of John James Bonar, D.D. (Greenock: James MacKelvie and Sons, 1892); LionelAlexander Ritchie, “Bonar, Andrew Alexander,” in Oxford Diction-

AndrewBonar(1810–1892)

4 “ChristIsAll”

AndrewAlexanderBonar(1810–1892),anumberofwhosebooksbecamedevotionalclassicsamongCal-vinistic evangelicals.7 These three Bonars were alsobrotherswhomaintainedclose ties throughout theirlonglives.Forinstance,theyfrequentlypreachedforeach other during communion seasons.8 G. N. M.Collins(1901–1989),foranumberofyearsProfessorofChurchHistoryintheFreeChurchCollegeontheMound inEdinburgh,knewsomeagedmembersoftheGreenockchurchwhovividlyrecalledfromtheiryouthacommunionserviceinwhichallthreebroth-ersspoke:oneonChristasProphet,oneonChristasPriest,andthethirdonChristasKing.9Littlewonderitwasaservicelongremembered!

ary of National Biography,ed.H.C.G.MatthewandBrianHarrison(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2004),6:502.

7. On Andrew Alexander Bonar, see especially Marjory Bonar,ed.,Andrew A. Bonar: The Good Pastor (Repr.,BelfastandGreenville,SC:AmbassadorPublications, 1999); John J.Murray, introductionto Andrew A. Bonar: Diary and Life, ed. Marjory Bonar (1893; repr.,Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1984), vii–xv; Alastair Morrice,“Andrew Bonar: Reflections on his Diary,” The Rutherford Journal of Church & Ministry 2, no.1 (Spring 1995), 18–20; and Ritchie,“Andrew Alexander Bonar,” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biogra-phy,6:501–502.

ForawebsitedevotedtothelifeandworksofAndrewBonar,seehttp://www.newblehome.co.uk/bonar.

8. R. H. Lundie, “Sermon,” in Horatius Bonar, D.D.: A Memorial,12–13;H.N.Bonar,“HoratiusBonarandHisHymns,”inHymns by Horatius Bonar,compiledandarrangedbyH.N.Bonar(London:HenryFrowde,1904),xx; introduction toWords Old and New,byHoratiusBonar(1866;repr.,Edinburgh:BannerofTruthTrust,1994),x.ThisintroductionisaconcisestudyofBonar’slifeandthought.

9.McKnight,“HoratiusBonar,”7.

ThePietyofHoratiusBonar 5

At the outset, a major difficulty confronts any-oneseekingtostudyHoratiusBonar’slifeandpiety,namely,thefactthattherehasneverbeenanEnglishbiography written of him. In one sense this is quiteunusual, for the world of nineteenth-century BritishEvangelicalismreveledinbigbiographiesofthosewhowerekeyfiguresintheircommunity.Inanothersense,though,itisquiteunderstandable,sinceBonarhimselfgavestrictinstructionstohisfamilyandexecutorsthattherewastobenobiographywrittenofhislife.10How-ever,inthetwentyyearsfollowinghisdeaththeredidappearthreeitemsthathelpanywould-bestudentofthelifeofthisgodlyScottishPresbyterian.

Horatius Bonar, D.D.: A Memorial containsfuneralsermonspreachedbyadmirersofBonarat the timeofhisdeath,someofBonar’sownsermons,andthefirst few pages of an autobiographical sketch thatBonar drew up in 1888 to celebrate his jubilee as aministerofthegospelbutwhichheneverfinished.11Then there is the Memories of Dr. Horatius Bonar,whichconsistsofvarious short reminiscencesaboutBonar as a Christian and about his ministry andtheological convictions.12 Most of them were writ-tenby thosewhohadknownBonar, likeDavidM.McIntyre (1859–1938), the colleague and successorofHoratius’syoungerbrotherAndrewinFinnieston,Glasgow.Finally,thereisanessay,“HoratiusBonar

10.McKnight,“HoratiusBonar,”8.

11. Horatius Bonar, D.D.: A Memorial, 2nd ed. (London: JamesNisbet / Edinburgh: Andrew Stevenson, 1890). The first editionappearedin1889.

12.Memories of Dr. Horatius Bonar(EdinburghandLondon:Oliph-ant,Anderson,andFerrier,1909).

6 “ChristIsAll”

and His Hymns” (1904), which was written as anintroductiontoalargeselectionofhishymnsbyhisonlysontosurvivehim,HoratiusNinianBonar.13

As Iain Murray notes, Bonar’s prohibition of abiographyabouthis life stems fromadesire forpri-vacyandafearoftheflatterythatoftenaccompaniesbiographies.Forhim,whatwasmostimportantwas“theworkhehadbeengivenandhewantednoothermemorial.”14

early years and theological influenceHoratiusBonarwasborninEdinburghonDecember19,1808.Hisparents,JamesBonar(1757–1821),theDepute-SolicitorofExciseinEdinburgh,andMarjoryMaitland(d.1854),hadninechildrenwhosurvivedinfancy.JamesBonarwasanelder inLadyGlenor-chy’sChapel,abulwarkofEdinburghEvangelicalismthathadbeenfoundedin1774withmoneydonated

13. H. N. Bonar, “Horatius Bonar and His Hymns,” in Hymns by Horatius Bonar,v–xxxix.Forother studiesofhis lifenothithertomentioned, see Thomas Wilson Bayne, “Bonar, Horatius,” in The Dictionary of National Biography (1909; repr., London: Oxford Uni-versityPress,1973),vol.22supplement,231–232;JohnS.Andrews,“Bonar,Horatius”inThe Blackwell Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730 –1860, ed. Donald M. Lewis (Oxford and Cambridge, Massa-chusetts: Blackwell, 1995), 1:117–118; Rosemary Mitchell, “Bonar,Horatius” inOxford Dictionary of National Biography, 6:502–503;andespeciallyIainH.Murray,“HoratiusBonarandtheLoveofGodinEvangelism,”inA Scottish Christian Heritage(EdinburghandCarlisle,Pennsylvania:BannerofTruthTrust,2006),157–212.

OntheWeb,agoodplacetostartisDaleTedder,“TheHoratiusBonar Homepage,” http://members.aol.com/OrthodoxUM/Bonar-Home.html.

14.Murray,A Scottish Christian Heritage,206–207.


by Lady Glenorchy (1741–1786), a wealthy patron-ess of Evangelical causes.15 However, James BonardiedwhenHoratiuswasonly thirteen,and thus thegreatest influences on him during his early yearswere a godly mother and his eldest brother James(1801–1867),who,likehisfather,wouldbeanelderat Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel and would be deeplyinvolvedinnumerousEvangelicalandphilanthropicenterprises.16 There are no known details, however,ofHoratius’sconversion,thoughhisbrotherAndrewmentions in his diary that Horatius first took theLord’sSupperonJanuary3,1830.17

HewaseducatedatEdinburghHighSchoolandEdinburgh University before entering the DivinityHall, where the Professor of Divinity was ThomasChalmers (1780–1847), whom the Scottish literaryfigure Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) pronounced tobe“theChiefScottishmanofhis time.”18ChalmershadanenormousinfluenceupontheyoungBonar.As

15.OnLadyGlenorchy,seeD.P.Thomson,Lady Glenorchy and her Churches —The Story of 200 Years(Barnoak,Crieff,Perthshire:TheResearchUnit,[1967])and D.A.Currie,“Glenorchy,Lady”inBlack-well Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730 –1860,1:367–368.

16.OnthisJamesBonar,seeDonaldM.Lewis,“Bonar,James”inBlackwell Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730 –1860,1:118.

17.Andrew A. Bonar: Diary and Life,9.

18.FortwoexcellentsketchesofChalmers’slifeandministry,seeA.C.Cheyne,“Chalmers,Thomas,” inDictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology, ed. Nigel M. de S. Cameron (Downers Grove,Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 158–161 and Stewart J. Brown,“Chalmers, Thomas,” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography10:879–887.

ThequotefromCarlyleistakenfromtheThomasChalmersweb-site:http://www.newble.co.uk/chalmers/.

ThomasChalmers(1780–1847)


anotherofChalmers’sstudentslatersaidofhim,“WenevermetwithanindividualwhohadthepowerDr.Chalmerspossessedofliftingthemindaboveearthlyviews.”19

Chalmers is chiefly remembered for his key rolein the events that led to the formation of the FreeChurchofScotlandin1843.Buthisinfluenceshouldbynomeansbelimitedtothoseevents.Forinstance,itwasfromamongChalmers’sstudentsthatthefirstgeneration of Church of Scotland missionaries toIndiacame,ofwhomthemostnotableisAlexanderDuff (1806–1878).20 Chalmers was also convincedthatalltruthwasGod’struthandthattheChristianfaithshouldrelateandbeappliedtoeveryaspectofsociety. His funeral in 1847 was a national event,drawing thousands of mourners from across everyspectrum of Scottish life. If Horatius Bonar and hisfellowstudents loved thegospelbefore theyenteredseminary, it is certain that that love was greatlyincreasedbysittingatthefeetofChalmers.Theirsub-sequent ministry was deeply and lastingly enrichedby having sat under Chalmers’s teaching. HoratiusBonarconsideredChalmersthegreatestChristianhehadeverknown.21

AnotherimportantinfluenceontheyoungBonar,aswellasonhisyoungerbrotherAndrew,weresome

19.QuotedinStewartJ.Brown,Thomas Chalmers and the Godly Com-monwealth in Scotland(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1982),379.

20. For the account of Chalmers’s influence in this regard, seeStuartPigginandJohnRoxborough,The St. Andrew Seven: The Finest Flowering of Missionary Zeal in Scottish History (Edinburgh:BannerofTruthTrust,1985).

21.H.N.Bonar,“HoratiusBonarandHisHymns,”xxviii.

EdwardIrving(1792–1834)


lecturesontheBookofRevelationthatweregiveninEdinburgh over the years 1828 to 1830 by EdwardIrving (1792–1834). At the time, Irving was one ofthe most popular Presbyterian preachers. In 1833,though, he would be removed from the ministryof the Church of Scotland for espousing the viewthat Christ’s humanity was so one with that of allhuman beings that He possessed sinful inclinations.InIrving’sestimation,onlyChrist’sbeingindweltbytheHolySpiritpreventedHimfromactuallysinning.HoratiusBonar,though,wouldhaveagreedwithhisfriendRobertMurrayMcCheyne(1813–1843)whenthelatterdescribedIrvingas“aholymaninspiteofallhisdelusionsanderrors.”22

Andrew Bonar later recalled the influence thatIrving’spremillennialconvictionshadonhimandhisbrotherandafewotherstudents:

MayItellyouthehistoryofsomeofusinEdin-burgh? It is about sixty years since I myself feltthe first thrill of interest in this subject—whenEdwardIrvingwaspreachinginthiscity.HehadlecturesatseveninthemorningduringthetimeoftheGeneralAssembly,andfortwoorthreeyearsinsuccession,onpropheticsubjects.Weused togoatsixinthemorningtogetagoodseat.ButIrememberwhatledmetodecisionwasthecalmreadingofMatthew24.Thatchapterdecidedmeon this subject. Icouldnotseea foot-breadthofroomfortheMillenniumbeforeChristcomesin

22.AndrewA.Bonar,The Life of Robert Murray M‘Cheyne(Edin-burgh:BannerofTruthTrust,1960),35.

12 “ChristIsAll”

theclouds.ItiswaveuponwaveoftribulationtilltheSonofManappears.23

The long-lasting influenceof Irving’s lecturesonHoratius in particular can be seen, for instance, inThe Quarterly Journal of Prophecy,apublicationthatheedited from 1849 to 1873 and that was designed topromotepremillennialeschatology. Morethanafewofhishymnsalsosoughttopresshomethispropheticperspective.Agoodexampleis“IknownotinwhatwatchHecomes,”writteninmid-March,1880.Thefirststanzaandfinaltworunthus:

IknownotinwhatwatchHecomes,OratwhathourHemayappear,Whetheratmidnightoratmorn,Orinwhatseasonoftheyear;IonlyknowthatHeisnear.

…Thecenturieshavegoneandcome,Darkcenturiesofabsencedrear;Idarenotchidethelongdelay,NoraskwhenIHisvoiceshallhear;IonlyknowthatHeisnear.

IdonotthinkitcanbelongTillinHisgloryHeappear;AndyetIdarenotnametheday,NorfixthesolemnAdventyear;IonlyknowthatHeisnear.24

23.IainH.Murray,The Puritan Hope: A Study in Revival and the Inter-pretation of Prophecy(Edinburgh:BannerofTruthTrust,1971),195.

24. Horatius Bonar, Hymns by Horatius Bonar, compiled andarrangedbyH.N.Bonar(London:HenryFrowde,1904),207–208.


AthirdimportantinfluencewithregardtoHora-tius Bonar’s spiritual growth during his days atthe Divinity Hall came from a circle of friendsthat included two of his brothers—John Jamesand Andrew; Robert McCheyne;25 Alexander NeilSomerville(1813–1889), laterministerofAnderstonChurch, Glasgow, and a full-time evangelist from1877 onwards;26 John Milne (1807–1868), later theministerofSt.Leonard’sinPerthandwhosebiogra-phyHoratiusBonarwroteafterMilne’sdeath;27andanumberofotheryoungmen.IainMurraynotesthatHoratiusappearstohavebeentheleaderamongthisgroupof students.28Somethingof theway inwhichthisgroupoffriendsservedasspiritualmentorstooneanothercanbeseeninthefollowingtwoextractsfromAndrewBonar’sdiary,bothfromtheyear1835:

AlsoseethediscussionofBonar’seschatologybyDavidM.McIntyre,“TheSecondAdvent,”inMemories of Dr. Horatius Bonar,45–52.

Forthebroaderdevelopmentofpremillennialismduringthenine-teenthcentury,seeDavidBebbington,“TheAdventHopeinBritishEvangelicalismsince1800,”The Scottish Journal of Religious Studies,9,no.2(Autumn1988),103–114.

25.OnMcCheyne, see especiallyAndrewA.Bonar, The Life of Robert Murray M‘Cheyne (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1960);L. J. van Valen, Constrained by His Love: A New Biography on Robert Murray McCheyne (Fearn, Tain, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2002);and Michael D. McMullen, “McCheyne, Robert Murray,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography35:122–123.

26. On Somerville, see E. I. Carlyle, “Somerville, AlexanderNeil,” revised by Lionel Alexander Ritchie in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 51:607; I. D. Maxwell, “Somerville, AlexanderNeil”inDictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology,787.

27.HoratiusBonar,Life of the Rev. John Milne of Perth(EdinburghandLondon:JamesNisbet,1869).

28.Murray,A Scottish Christian Heritage,163.

1o

Noordinarywork1

Ourchurcheshavebeen likened toBethesdas (John5:2).Inallofthemlieagreatmultitudeofimpotentfolk,ofblind,halt,withered,waitingforthemovingofthewater.Butoftentheyseemtowaitinvain.Thewaterremainsuntroubled;noangelcomesdown;noone steps into the pool, either before or behind hissickfellow;fewarehealed.Thecomplaintofmanyofusis,“Lord,whohathbelievedourreport?”2

Thepowerofthepulpitissaidtolieonthewane.Yetlearningandeloquenceareadmittedtobeinfullplay.Allkindsofartificialappliances—music,orna-ment, humour, style, rhetoric, architecture—havebeencalledintopropupthepulpitandneutralise,oratleastminimise,itssupposedfailure.3Butasgalva-nismisnotlife,sotheseartificialstimulantsleavethefailurejustwheretheyfoundit,orrather,somewhatincreased by reaction. Such stimulants are a poorsubstitute fora faded first love,a sadcompensation

1.FromOur Ministry: How It Touches the Questions of the Age(Edin-burgh:MacnivenandWallace,1883),74–76,passim.

2.Romans10:16.

3.Inconnectionwiththe“declineandfall”oftheRomanEmpire,a singular fact has been recorded. When the arts were declining—poetry, sculpture, painting, deteriorating—religion and patriotismdecaying—music was cultivated to an extraordinary extent. OldRomediedmusic-mad[Bonar’sfootnote].


fortheHolySpiritgrievedandquenched.Theymayresultinseriousevils,greatereventhanthosewhichtheyareseekingtocure.Atallevents,theyarenotthedivineremediesprescribedforSardisorLaodicea.4

Yet I may say here that the work among thelapsedisnotordinarywork.“Thiskindgoethnotoutbutbyprayerand fasting.”5 It isawork that triesaminister’sfaithandstrength;anditisnottobedonebyfitsandstarts,norlightlyenteredon,asifanyonecouldundertakeit.It istheroughest,sorestworktowhichwearecalled,anditneedshardymen,menofnocommonfaithandlove.Itisborderwarfare,anditasks forbordermen.AndwhileeveryministerofChrist is reallysetapart forsomesuchwarfare, thiscalls specially for frontier men, picked warriors forthebreach…mentrainedforthisspecialservice—notrawrecruits,buttheflowerofChristiandiscipleship,youthfulinspirit,yetveteransinexperience,menfulloffaithandoftheHolyGhost,tobelaunchedagainstthe strongholdsof thegodof thisworld,nowmoreformidableandmoreablymannedthanever.Letusownourneedofsuchmen,andaskthemofHimwhoalonecanraisethemuptodoserviceforChrist,todowork,whichonlysuchmencando,andtowinbattleswhichonlysuchmencanwin.

4.InhisLife of the Rev. John Milne of Perth(London:JamesNisbet,1869),18,Bonarnoted:“Religioninasoulorachurchmustbesickandreadytodie,whenitrequirestheuseofstimulantstorestoreit,thestimulantsofmusic,anddresses,andpostures,andceremonies;orthestimulantsofspeculationandmysticism,andthe‘enticingwordsofman’swisdom.’Rather,wemaysay,thatitisdead;andthesearegalvanicappliancestomakeadeadmanlook,andstare,androllhiseyeslikealivingone.”

5.Matthew17:21.

2o

God’streesgrowslowly1

God’s processes are not always rapid. His greatestworksriseslowly.Swiftnessofgrowthhasbeenoneofman’stestsofgreatness;notsoisitwithGod.Histreesgrowslowly; the stateliestare the slowest.Hisflowersgrowslowly;thebrightestaretheslowest.Hiscreaturesgrowslowly,yearbyyear;man,thenoblest,growsthemostslowlyofall.GodcanaffordtotakeHistime.Mancannot.Heishastyandimpatient….He forgets how slowly the palm tree and the cedargrow.Theyneitherspringupinanightnorperishinanight.Heforgetsthehistoryofthetemple:“Fortyandsixyearswasthistempleinbuilding.”2Heinsiststhat,becauseitisGod’spurposethatHissaintsshouldbeholy,thereforetheyoughttobeholyatonce.

1. From The Everlasting Righteousness (London: James Nisbet,1873), 192–194, passim. In a book review of this volume thatappeared in The Sword and Trowel (March 1873), 138, Charles H.SpurgeonwrotethatthislatestvolumefromBonarwasa“richbook,suggestive,gracious,fullofholyunction.UnlikemanywritersoftheEvangelicalschoolDr.Bonarisnotcontentwithbalingoutmilkforbabes,butgivesusreal thoughtandteaching.Thereneverwasanyneedthatorthodoxyandplatitudesshouldgotogether,buttheyoftenhavedoneso;noonecanbringthatchargeinreferencetothiswork.Wesaytoallourfriends,readandberefreshed.”

2.John2:20.

CharlesHaddonSpurgeon(1834–1892)


It is true thatour standard is, andmust be, per-fection. For our model is the Perfect One. But thequestionis,“HasGodinScriptureanywhereledustoexpecttherapidityofgrowth,thequickdevelopmentofperfectioninwhichsomeglory,andbecauseoftheconfessedlackofwhichinotherstheylookdownontheseothersasbabesorloiterers?”

IsthereinScriptureanyinstanceofaperfectman,exceptingHimwhowasalwaysandabsolutelywith-outsin?

If Christians were perfect, where is the warfare,andtheadversary,andthesword,andtheshield?Areangelsexposedtothiswarfarewhentheyvisitearth?Or is it not our imperfection that in great measureproducesthis?AndareweanywhereinScriptureledto believe that we are delivered from “the body ofthisdeath,”3fromthebattleoffleshandspirit,fromthewrestlingwithprincipalitiesandpowers,tilldeathsetsusfree,orourLordshallcome?

Yetwearecalledwithaholycalling(2Tim.1:9);andassocalled,areboundtotakethehigheststan-dardforourmodeloflife.Theslownessorswiftnessoftheprogressdoesnotalterthestandard,noraffectouraimingatconformitytoit.

3.Romans7:24.

God’streesgrowslowly 49

A young Horatius Bonar (1808 –1889) - Westminster Bookstore · 2018. 10. 29. · Bonar, Horatius,...

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