COLLACE, May 31st, 1844.
MY DEAR BROTHER,
—. . . I did not observe that there were five Sabbaths in June. I suppose therefore I that our Communion will be the last day of June. Now this would leave me the interval of one Sabbath to come to Dr. Brewster. . . . But I find that to be absent that Sabbath would not be possible without risking some evil consequences. And indeed I am afraid that already too much moving about has so shaken this vessel that the living water does not come up to the brim or flow over on others. My soul gets weary. O to be as those above who seem to grow holier and stronger by every act they do in their heavenly service ! 'His servants serve Him,' and all the while they 'see His face,' and His 'name' becomes brighter on their foreheads. They get more and more of the look and air of true children of such a Father. Come to us this Communion again. Perhaps you would impart some spiritual gift, and perhaps you would obtain some. My brother from Kelso (Horatius Bonar) is to be with me. Kindest regards to Mrs. Mudie. Remember me to the 'holy brethren,' the Lord's children among you. Is your servant girl walking in the truth ?—Believe me, dear brother, yours in the Lord, ANDREW A. BONAR.
(A servant who was one day carrying Dr. Bonar's bag for him to the coach or train. He spoke some words to her about her soul, which were the means of her conversion.)
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COLLACE, Jan. 20th, 1847.
MY DEAR BROTHER,
—It is unkind in me not to have written sooner. It is not because I forget you or Ferryden, (Dr. Bonar twice visited Ferryden, near Montrose, during the remarkable revivals there) which is your diocese in some measure. . . . Salute that precious flock in my name. Say to Miss P - 'His way is in the sea and His path in the great waters, and His footsteps are not known. Yet He leads His people as a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.' Read the whole psalm—the seventy- seventh —and take courage. Say to those that have rested on the Lord Jesus, 'Run the race looking unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of your faith.' Say to those still groping in darkness, 'The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God' (2 Thess.3:5). The Holy Spirit show you the harbour for sin-tossed souls, viz., the open love of the Father which He holds out to you in His Beloved Son. Say to those still unsaved, 'O generation of vipers (see Acts 28:3, 4, venomously hating God), flee from the wrath to come' (Luke3:7). Will our greatly honoured and revered and beloved friend, Dr. Brewster, let me send these messages? It is only Timothy's message to Paul's sheep.
Now, brother, for yourself. One word only, Acts 20:35, Paul's words in closing his address. 'It is more blessed,' said our Master, 'to give than to receive.' And then they prayed. Is not this as if he had said, 'Our Master delights to give; it is His blessedness to give; come, then, let us kneel and ask Him for some gift.'
So be it with you. Kindest regards to Mrs. Mudie 'till the Daybreak.' —Yours truly in the Lord,
ANDREW A. BONAR.
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GLASGOW, 18th Nov. 1859.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
—Your letter was most interesting and gladdening, you see in it a proof of the great principle to which Psalm 74: 2 refers: 'Lift up thy feet to—this Mount Zion in which Thou hast dwelt.' The Lord will yet pour a greater Pentecost shower on Israel's Land and people, even because He gave the first shower,—and so you are finding that He returns to Ferryden where He formerly wrought. But how remarkable is this work among you! The cases of persons struck may be meant there, as elsewhere, to draw attention, and bring together the careless. In itself, don't you think, the case of one struck down amounts to no more than awakening or deep conviction? It is not conversion in itself. We will pray for you, and perhaps you will let us hear again how the work progresses. It is not in my power to leave my post here at present.
The Lord is gathering in His elect quickly. Tell men, dear brother, that Jesus of Nazareth passes by, and it is now or never with thousands! How Dr. Brewster would rejoice to witness his old sphere of labour drenched in these heavy showers! I think I hear and see him as he stood at the Communion Table, the last time I was with him, saying 'Come and see!' . . . Yours truly in the Lord,
ANDREW A. BONAR.
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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."