5th March, 1874
"It was November 1836 that I came from Jedburgh (where I had been for eighteen months partly as a friend and partly as a missionary with Mr. Purves) to be missionary in St. George's parish.
So far as I can remember I was the first missionary. Rose Street and William Street (the schoolroom in each of those streets furnished a place of meeting) were the backbone of my mission district. The hostlers in those streets formed part of my charge; there was a service for them at four o'clock on Sabbath afternoon, and sometimes there might be four, sometimes twelve, sometimes twenty, or even more, who came.
Occasionally Dr. Candlish preached in the schoolrooms referred to. When about to begin my work I asked him, 'Will you tell me how I shall go about visiting here, and what meetings I should hold on week day and Sabbath?'
In his own way he replied, 'I'll tell you nothing. Find out for yourself what may be best. Your way will be opened up for you.'
And so I was entirely free to do less or more, and to take any way I pleased. He liked me to call upon him in a morning now and then (he was not so busy then) to report anything going on in the district. If I had a case of sickness that seemed to fall to his hand more than mine (e.g. some member of the congregation) I was welcome to call even on Saturday ; and sometimes he most kindly told me what his lecture was to be, and would say, 'Now, does this look fanciful?' or something to that effect."
"As to incidents, it would require a little more time than I can get, I fear, to recall anything of real interest to you.
He introduced me to my charge at Collace, preaching on 2 Cor. 5:11: 'Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.' That day, his sermon shook the self-confidence of an old lady who came to hear, and filled her with concern. In those days his love for Robert M'Cheyne was very interesting. You know how it was his anxiety for Robert M'Cheyne's health that led to the idea of the mission to the Jews, and the visit to Palestine. I have the first draft of the petition to the Assembly to undertake a mission to the Jews in Dr. Candlish's handwriting."
Be the first to react on this!
Andrew Bonar (1810 - 1892)
He was a well-known pastor in Scotland with the Free Church. His brother Horatius was another well-known minister who was contemporary with Robert Murray Mchyene and others in those days. They saw a move of revival in their churches where the Spirit brought many immediate conversations in a short period of time.He is best known for his work on compiling the life of the prophet of Dundee: Robert Murray Mchyene: "Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray McCheyne." One cannot read this volume and feel the sobriety of eternity and the fear of the Lord. He also wrote a wonderful volume on Leviticus.
Andrew Alexander Bonar was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and the youngest brother of Horatius Bonar.
He studied at Edinburgh; was minister at Collace, Perthshire, 1838 - 1856 (both in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church); and of Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, 1856 till his death.
He was identified with evangelical and revival movements and adhered to the doctrine of premillennialism. With Robert Murray McCheyne he visited Palestine in 1839 to inquire into the condition of the Jews there. During the visit of Dwight L. Moody to Britain in 1874 and 1875, Moody was warmly welcomed by Bonar, despite the latter receiving considerable criticism from other Calvinist ministers in the Free Church.
Andrew Bonar preached from the whole Bible, the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. When one of his friends remarked on his originality in finding subjects for preaching, and wondered where he got all his texts, he just lifted up his Bible. He did not ignore any part of it, but explained it all. He did not shy away from any passages that might be seen as unpopular or unpleasant. Even the first chapters of Chronicles became 'God calling the roll of mankind.' He made it come alive as a history of men and women, living in their time, as we live in ours, accountable to God.
Christ and Him crucified was at the centre of all his preaching, in all parts of the Bible. He declared 'the whole counsel of God', and was deeply aware of his responsibility as a man of God. He spent hours every day in prayer and meditation of the Scriptures, and asking for the Holy Spirit to show the truth to him, so that he might pass it on to his flock. He wrote in a letter: "Persevering prayerfulness is harder for the flesh than preaching."
Above all, he was aware that his personal holiness would be of crucial importance to his preaching, as his remark shows: "Sins of teachers are teachers of sins."