Andrew Bonar – Some Lessons

I did some of the preparation for this address in a location in which Andrew Bonar had never been physically (although he may have been there many times in his prayers); I was there for a short break with my wife. As I prepared, I found myself being taken down roads of Christian experience traversed by Andrew Bonar. Some of these roads were almost new to me, although I knew beforehand that they were there. I had ventured a bit down some other roads, but not as far as Andrew Bonar had gone. Regarding the physical location in which I did the preparation, we were grateful to those unknown persons who provided maps so that we could find our way around. These people had gone along these routes and could declare with confidence that they were the safest and most suitable roads for us to use. Andrew Bonar’s practices are similar to those roads; he tells us that they are the most suitable and safest paths for us to go along, and may encourage us to try some of them for ourselves.

Two hundred years have passed since Andrew Bonar was born, which makes him seem a long way from our world. Yet I was born sixty-one years after he died in 1892, which means that it is possible that my grandparents, who had been born in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, and who belonged to the same denomination as Bonar, would have been aware of him, at least through his writings, and perhaps heard him. It is the case that his name was well-known in the ecclesiastical circles in which I grew up.

Andrew Bonar’s life covered most of the nineteenth century and he participated in many of the important ecclesiastical changes that occurred in Scotland between 1840 and 1890. Although a quiet man, he became a much-loved and highly admired personality within the Scottish evangelical church. Through his publications and preaching he became connected with a warm style of piety that transcended denominational boundaries. Many of his writings are still in print, which points to the lasting value of what he wrote. His own diary is a wonderful insight into the development of a minister’s character throughout the various responsibilities of Christian service – indeed as Bonar’s responsibilities become greater, his dedication becomes stronger; yet as his name becomes more eminent, his humility becomes more deep-seated.

Inevitably, when looking at a man of the spiritual capability of Andrew Bonar, one has to be selective in choosing features of his life. In this paper I will give a short summary of his ministry before looking briefly at some particular features. When looking at these features, I will give most of them in his own words taken from his published Diary.(1)

His story

Family background

As is well-known, Andrew Bonar was one of three brothers, each of whom was a prominent minister in the Free Church of Scotland during the nineteenth century. The other two were James, a minister in Greenock, and Horatius, a minister in Kelso and then in Edinburgh (he was a prolific author, with several titles still in print today, and hymn-writer). A relative, also called John Bonar, was a Free Church minister in Aberdeen and Glasgow.

In fact, the pedigree of Andrew Bonar’s family included a long line of ministers, going back to John Bonar (1673–1747), one of the Marrowmen in the early eighteenth century.(2) According to D.C. Macnicol, a minister in the United Free Church and a son-in-law of Horatius Bonar, the total years of their service in 1908 was 426, and as three in his list were still serving as ministers, it is possible that the years numbered over 450 eventually.(3) This genealogical connection with a Marrowman gives us two hints concerning the outlook of Andrew Bonar: first, John Bonar suffered for his faith and Andrew always had an affinity with the suffering saints of Scotland (he edited an edition of the Scots Worthies, a collection biographical profiles of several Covenanters and he loved the life, letters and sermons of Samuel Rutherford, a leading Covenanting theologian and preacher); second, John Bonar was prepared to defend a universal offer of the gospel in days when it was denied and Andrew also revelled in this understanding of the gospel.

Andrew was born on May 29, 1810, in Edinburgh into a devout family (on the day of Andrew’s birth, his father recorded that he wished his new son would ‘be spared to be a blessing to his friends, and a real member of the Church of Christ’ – both desires were fulfilled, although the father did not live to see the fulfilment as he died in 1821, in Andrew’s eleventh year). The family attended Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel,(4) a staunchly evangelical congregation, although Andrew would not be sure of his conversion to Christ until near the close of 1830.

The family valued education and ensured that Andrew received a good one: at eleven he attended the Edinburgh High School where he was awarded the Dux Gold Medal in 1825; then he went to Edinburgh University, where in 1827 he gained the Gold Medal in the Latin class. It is the case that Andrew had a flair for languages; later on, he was a possible candidate for a Hebrew professorship in one of the Free Church Colleges (his commentaries on Leviticus and on the Psalms reveal his competency in this regard).

His conversion

Andrew had chosen to enter the Divinity Hall of Edinburgh University where one of the professors was Thomas Chalmers. After an inner struggle, he determined that he wanted to be sure of his conversion before he would begin such study. He could have entered the Divinity Hall in 1829, but it took over a year before he had assurance of his salvation. His diary suggest that he had been converted earlier than 1830, but for various reasons he had failed to see that he had faith in Christ. He mentions that he rested much upon his prayers and desires to be holy instead of relying on Jesus. There was a legalistic aspect to his outlook and a failure to focus on the love of Jesus. He also sensed that he was at times seeking for approval from men rather than God. He admitted to his brother John that his mind wandered during sermons and he was not really affected by the threatenings of God against sinners. While he did not realise it then, he was being prepared for pastoral interactions with others who would go through similar meanderings in their search for assurance, and he was able from his own experience to direct them away from focussing on themselves and to concentrate on Jesus instead.

Yet during this period of seeking he was searching for signs of conversion, and one way in which he did so was reading particular books. He read the Life of Thomas Boston and realised that he and Boston were very similar in outlook. Another biography he read was that of Mrs Ann Judson, and Andrew was moved about the possibility of saving souls, even as a missionary. He was helped by reading Philip Doddridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.

Yet the book that brought real help to him at that time of seeking assurance was William Guthrie’s The Christian’s Great Interest. On Sunday 17 October, 1830, he records (On the margin for this date is written, ‘assurance begun’): ‘In reading Guthrie’s Saving Interest I have been led to hope that I may be in Christ though I have never yet known it. All the marks of faith in a man which he gives are to be found in me, I think, although very feeble. This is the first beam of joy, perhaps, that I have yet found in regard to my state, and yet it is scarcely more than a hope.’ Two weeks later he records, ‘For about two weeks past, ever since I read a passage in Guthrie’s Saving Interest, I have had a secret joyful hope that I really have believed on the Lord Jesus.’

After coming to assurance of salvation, Andrew does not seem to have ever lost it. In 1892, he confessed, ‘’It was in the year 1830 that I found the Saviour, or rather, that He found me and laid me on His shoulders rejoicing, and I have never parted company with Him all these sixty-two years.’

Initial fields of labour

When he completed his studies in the Divinity Hall, Andrew began practical preparation for the ministry. As he anticipated future service, he recorded his longing in his Diary on 26 June 1835: ‘Oh may He be with me where I go, and send a revival in the parish where I am now to preach and work, showing the truth of a Saviour crucified to the heart of every one.’ That prayerful desire was to be amply fulfilled.

Bonar first went to serve as a summer missionary in Jedburgh in the south of Scotland with Rev. John Purves (his wife was Andrew’s cousin). So he was licensed there to preach by the Presbytery on July 1, and preached his first sermon on the following Sunday. A prominent feature of his time in Jedburgh was visiting prisoners and speaking to them about their souls. He also engaged in evangelistic activities among old and young. During his time there, he continued to read works of theology and mentions Thomas Goodwin’s book Christ Set Forth as well as the Marrow of Modern Divinity.

The following year found him in Edinburgh as the assistant to Robert S. Candlish in St. George’s. Candlish was one of the leaders of the Evangelical party in the Church of Scotland and eventually became very prominent in the Free Church after 1843. He was also a great preacher, able to sway large crowds by his eloquent manner in preaching the gospel. Bonar had some difficulty in moving there due to the wishes of Mr Purves for him to stay in Jedburgh and continue in the work that had begun to flourish. Yet Andrew was certain that it was God’s call to go: he found guidance from relevant Scriptures (the situation in Acts 20 when Paul left a situation that seemed prosperous), prayer, conversation with others, and from Christian literature (he was helped by two chapters in Krummacher’s Elijah the Tishbite).

Bonar’s time as Candlish’s assistant was a period of inner reflection as to his calling. Initially he was not required to preach and he found this aspect difficult to cope with, especially as his brother Horatius and his friends Robert M‘Cheyne and Alexander Somerville seemed to be in more suitable locations as far as preaching was concerned. Instead his role was that of visiting in areas round the church. Jedburgh had been a more rural area, whereas St. George’s was in the heart of Edinburgh. In a sense, these places are similar to where he would minister later -- the rural parish of Collace in Perthshire and the urban community of Finnieston in Glasgow.

Bonar wondered why God was bringing him along this road at St. George’s and early on deduced that the Lord was teaching him important lessons. One was the cause of his sense of discontent and he concluded that his ‘present unhappiness rose from my unwillingness to be humbled and be nothing’ (Sunday, January 8, 1837). Another lesson, recorded that same day, concerned the centrality of Jesus and Bonar records his thoughts on this matter in some beautiful words: ‘I desire now just to enjoy Christ as my Lord and my Friend, and let Him send me among men, or keep me unknown and unoccupied, as He pleases.’

Eventually doors opened for preaching, both in connection to his role as Candlish’s assistant and also elsewhere. A year later he recorded, ‘In looking back, I regard nothing of my sore perplexity and trouble; they have taught me much and led me near to God. Now my work in Rose Street is prospering much. A hundred and twenty attentive souls on Sunday evening at the meeting, and some cases wherein the Lord appears to be blessing my labour’ (Wednesday December 20, 1837). He also records a very important practical conviction that he had learned by experience: ‘More and more convinced, by the very want of it, that the way to be successful is to be within the sanctuary with God, and then come out to the people’ (Saturday, December 23, 1837).

Another development that occurred during his time as Candlish’s assistant was interest in Jewish mission by several people within his denomination and personal increase of contact with Jews. This was to lead to him being asked later to go to Palestine on a fact-finding journey to discover the state of Jews living there.

Ministry in Collace, Perthshire

Bonar finally commenced his first pastorate on 20 September, 1838, when he was inducted to the parish of Collace in Perthshire. Obviously that day was very important to him and it is interesting to observe what was on his mind. His diary informs us that he was conscious of his sinful tendencies and that ‘the minister should wash in the blood of Christ before going to proclaim with voice of thanksgiving God’s salvation for men’. He ‘wished for deeper views of my sinfulness in its length and breadth, that I might feel as Paul, and go to present myself just as an empty vessel which the Lord is to fill.’ And he wanted to ‘receive the spirit of love, affection for the people, and anxiety about the old minister’s soul, and may I receive this at ordination.’ In particular Isaiah 11:1-9 was on his heart, so that he would ‘be like Christ, daily His witness, His Spirit of wisdom and understanding teaching me the Scriptures.’ Imagine his joy when the presiding minister specifically mentioned this passage as he laid hands on Bonar. It is not surprising that Bonar’s response was that ‘in great calmness and strong desire I gave myself to God my Saviour, and expected henceforth His promised Spirit.’ Surely such an ordination was a sign of good things to come. Perhaps the reason he was so concerned was that there was probably only half a dozen real Christians in the parish, and the aged parish minister who was still there when Bonar was inducted was not one of them.

Collace was a fairly remote parish. It was not an evangelical one. Its previous minister was still there and he had no interest in evangelical matters, even voting against them in the Presbytery after Bonar had been inducted. Yet the wind of God was blowing there as well as in other places throughout Scotland at that time, and the congregation in Collace quickly became evangelical in tone, and Bonar saw some regular growth, especially in the early years of his ministry. His ministry commenced as developments concerning patronage in the Church of Scotland were coming to a crisis, and which resulted in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843.

Bonar was to minister in Collace from 1838 to 1856, almost two decades of spiritual service to his Master. During those years, he had several privileges given to him. In the spring and summer of 1839, he went as one of the group of four sent to investigate the state of the Jews in Palestine and Eastern Europe. He also became well-known as an author with several volumes published.(5) His best-known work, The Memoirs of McCheyne, was put together in a very short period of time, about four months from September to December 1843, and in an unusual method of launching a book he arranged for a day of prayer and fasting. The effect of McCheyne’s life and death never left Bonar. That was the low personal point of those years in Collace whereas the high point was his marriage to Isabella Dickson and their subsequent children. During those years, he had several calls to other congregations, including as a missionary to the Jews, but he did not sense God was causing him to move from Collace until he was asked to move to Glasgow in 1858.

Ministry in Finnieston, Glasgow

Finnieston was a new venture by a Glasgow Free Church congregation called St Matthew’s, similar to what we would call a church plant today. In 1856 they founded Finnieston Free Church, with the building being opened in the December of that year. The initial building was used until 1878 when a new one was erected. Bonar was minister there from 1858 to 1892. In 1858, the attendance numbered about 250, but it eventually grew to over 1,000.(6)

Above the door of his new church, Bonar caused to be engraved in Hebrew the words, ‘He that winneth souls is wise.’ I suspect this was an attempt, among others, to reach Jews living in Glasgow. In fulfilment of this verse, Bonar engaged in regular evangelism himself, including open-air preaching and visitation. He soon became a well-known figure in the area, and his friendly way of speaking and behaving made him acceptable to all ages, including children. One child called him ‘the minister with the laughing face’, a description that speaks volumes. The congregation became a spiritual home for believers in the surrounding community. In addition, Bonar encouraged all kinds of evangelistic events, be they those associated with Moody and Sankey or children’s meetings led by an evangelist called Hammond.

Sadly, his wife passed away in 1864 from complications related to childbirth, and we can read of his deep sorrow in his Diary. Ten years later, in 1874, he received the degree of DD from Edinburgh University, and in 1878 he was Moderator of the Free Church General Assembly (a difficult year because of the concern about matters of Higher Criticism connected to Robertson Smith). In 1881 he visited America, spoke at the Northfield Conference connected to D. L. Moody, and visited sites connected to one of his heroes, Jonathan Edwards. Bonar reached his Jubilee in the ministry in 1888 and his congregation showed their appreciation of his ministry by giving him the astonishing gift of £4,000.(7) Three years later, in 1891, when he was over eighty, he asked for an assistant and David M. McIntyre was called as his colleague and eventual successor.(8)

In December 1892, Andrew Bonar died very peacefully, and went to his reward. He experienced the day he had often wrote about when he would be united with family and friends who had gone before him, but more importantly found himself in the presence of the Saviour he had served so wholeheartedly and well.

Some Features of Bonar’s Life and Ministry

There are many areas of Andrew Bonar’s life which could be explored here. Inevitably such exploration has to be selective. It is also a bit shallow because there is enough material in Andrew Bonar’s Diary and writings for considering in depth several aspects of his ministry. So I will consider his preaching, his prayer life, his love of Christian literature, his loyalty to his denomination, his advocacy of pre-millennialism, and close with a brief look at some aspects of his character.(9)

The preaching of Andrew Bonar

On one occasion, a lady in the hearing of Andrew Bonar made the comment, ‘I wonder where Mr Bonar gets his texts.’ In response, Bonar handed her his Bible. This friendly interaction illustrates for us the fundamental feature of Bonar’s preaching – it was biblical. His choice of texts and range of subjects could be unusual.

William Garden Blaikie’s opinion of Andrew Bonar’s ministry was that he was ‘distinguished for his earnest evangelistic spirit and saintly character; a highly successful minister.’ (10) What makes Blaikie’s assessment more interesting is that he and Andrew Bonar crossed swords with regard to the presence of higher criticism in the Free Church of Scotland. Yet his appraisal is true.

I am not suggesting that Bonar was a great preacher, indeed he regarded himself as an ordinary one. (11) His daughter noted that even in Finnieston, after years of preaching, that ‘Strangers had to grow accustomed to the peculiarities of his voice, and his habit of letting it suddenly drop just when the hearer's attention was fixed.’ (12) He was not an orator, yet he was able to build up good-sized congregations, which means he has a lot to teach us. Unlike many preachers he was teachable, and accepted advice on his defects when given by his friends. And despite his weaknesses, there are several features of his preaching that we can imitate.

Bonar generally practised preaching on isolated verses. Several times in his Diary he refers to the necessity of getting verses from God before preaching upon them, with providence sometimes giving direction (Monday, March 29, 1847). He wrote on Monday, July 5, of the same year: ‘I have been much impressed with the sin of choosing my text without special direction from the Lord. This is like running without being sent, no message being given me. I ought to feel, “This I am sent to tell you, my people.”’ Of course, to suggest that Bonar’s method is the only correct one is wrong. Many preachers have preferred to use the method of preaching consecutively through books of the Bible or to use series looking at topics or Bible characters. Yet it cannot be denied that Bonar’s method was successful in building up a congregation, and it had the other benefits of (a) prayer preparation in locating a specific passage for a particular occasion and (b) bringing Jesus and his saving work to the attention of his congregation in every service. I myself normally use the method of preaching through books of the Bible, but I suspect that most congregations prefer to hear about Jesus and what he can give them. Bonar brought Jesus to his people in every sermon and fulfilled his desire to be a channel through which that would happen.

Concerning the act of preaching, Bonar desired to preach conscious of God’s presence, to preach ‘with the solemnity, and earnestness, and affection that Jesus would have had had He been there’. He did not mind the prospect of preaching with God at his elbow, indeed he desired it. When conscious of God’s presence, a minister would not speak of irrelevant matters. For Bonar, a sermon’s length should be half-an-hour, and suggested to a friend John Milne who had preached for a longer period that he was speaking according to his gift rather than acting in grace, which is an interesting observation and one which we need to hear today when there is a preoccupation on gifts and developing them.

Bonar was frequently concerned during periods of conversions about the scarcity of converts through his sermons, which is a problem not limited to him, since today I would suggest that, in the main, less people are converted through preaching than by other means. His response was to pray.

Of course, his prayers for sermon power were not limited to such times. He was often aware of his need to pray more regularly; for example, he writes on Sunday 22 February 1846 that he ‘Preached with little freedom. Weariness of body is against me; but still more want of much prayer through the previous week. God will not let me preach with power when I am not much with Him. More than ever do I feel that I should be as much an intercessor as a preacher of the word.’ He also discovered at that time ‘that joy in the Spirit is the frame in which God blesses us to others. Joy arises from fellowship with Him – I find that whatever sorrow or humiliation of spirit presses on us, that should give way in some measure to a fresh taste of God’s love when going forth to preach.’ Therefore, for Bonar, true preaching required preparation by prayer and delivery through joy.

A prominent feature of his preaching was that it was imaginative. Many of his sermons display this feature, but as an example I refer to his address on angel workers in which Bonar imagines a gathering of angels in which they relate various visits they made to earth on behalf of God (eleven of them, plus an introduction and a conclusion, which of course ignores the notion of three headings each sermon). All the missions are recorded in the Bible, such as the angelic missions at the Passover in Egypt or in the life of Christ. This method has the benefit of using a string of word pictures with a basic theme, yet each being different. If the listener knows the Bible, then this type of sermon has a gripping effect because the listener is curious to discover which incident will be described next. If the listener does not know the Bible, he still finds the presentation intriguing. Of course, what seems to be the main feature (angelic visits) actually is the background – the main feature turns out to be God’s message to Bonar’s church in Finnieston, with a wide range of applications covering Christian workers (most of the angels are nameless), the unconverted (the angels involved in acts of divine judgement spoke of its awfulness), the wonder of speaking about Jesus, the wonder of serving Jesus, and so on. I suspect that all who heard him got the message, and also that few forgot the message.

A second feature of his sermons was simplicity. Bonar prepared for his sermons by reading the original languages and studying appropriate commentaries and other helps. Yet what is so striking about each of his sermons and addresses is their straightforwardness. None of them are difficult to understand. Of course, making a speech complex is not the mark of an effective communicator. The best way to convey important information is not to simplify it, but to clarify it. I have heard low-level sermons that actually had nothing to say; and I have heard complex sermons that confused me although I realised that I understood the doctrines being discussed. How pleasant it is to listen to a straightforward sermon on profound doctrines delivered in a manner and choice of words that are easily grasped. Listeners did not leave Bonar’s sermons scratching their heads, although many left with pierced hearts.

A third feature of many of his sermons was the focus on crucial aspects of Christian living. Bonar was deeply concerned with holiness of life. It was one of the priorities in his own life. He was sensitive to the presence of indwelling sin in himself and in others, and realised that its outworkings had to be dealt with in his preaching. For Bonar, living the Christian life was a serious matter and he never trivialised it by inappropriate comments from the pulpit. I suspect that this concern about living the Christian life explains the large number of sermons that he preached on Bible characters. In them the ups and downs of the Christian life are seen, and remembered. Dealing with such enabled Bonar to warn his listeners about dangers and to encourage them with examples of growth and development.

A fourth feature of his preaching was his enrapture with the Saviour. This was a lesson he learned early, during his time in Jedburgh. In his entry for Sunday 29, 1836, he records, ‘Especially blessed be God for bringing me to Jedburgh, where my views of truth have been greatly quickened, and the necessity of preaching Christ in every sermon impressed upon me by example and by experience. If already God has so wrought, I sometimes cherish the hope that, when He has ordained me, and actually put me into the ministry, I shall be a thousand-fold more useful. Since last year at this time my times of strong sorrow and vexation have been few; I find that the constant service of Christ is the true remedy.’ There are several matters that could be highlighted from this comment by a trainee pastor: the spiritual benefits for preacher and hearers of preaching Christ in every sermon; Bonar’s logic that initial blessings were indications of future ones from God; and his realisation that engaging in service for Jesus was an effective way of getting rid of negative feelings and fears.

What was the reason for Bonar’s success? His daughter, in her Reminiscences, provides the reason: ‘The congregation that gathered round Dr. Bonar in Finnieston Church was attracted, not by the eloquence of the preaching, but by its simplicity, and the fresh light the preacher threw upon the Scriptures, making them appear to many like a new book.’ She continues: ’The most ignorant among his hearers could understand his simple unfolding of truth, while many a striking saying fell from his lips as he leaned in his characteristic way over the pulpit, and talked quietly to those before him. The most fearful felt their faith strengthened by his joyous confidence in the things of which he spoke. Eternal things came very near, and unseen things became real, as they listened to one who spoke as if already among them.’

The prayer life of Andrew Bonar

It is usually the case that those closest to us know the truth about us. David MacIntyre commented that ‘The Diary of Andrew Bonar, already a Christian classic, is probably the best treatise on private prayer which we possess. Originally meant to mark the memorabilia of his life, it became, almost exclusively , an instrument for recording and testing his prayers.’ (13) Andrew’s daughter, Marjory, who prepared his Diary for publication, commented that it was ‘the revelation of the life of one who prayed always, who prayed everywhere, who, the nearer he came to the other world, was every day more constantly enjoying closer intercourse with it.’ (14)

Right from the beginning of his personal record, Bonar reveals his determination to pray. Not surprisingly, he was very nervous with regard to his first sermon, which he preached when a missionary in Jedburgh. He spent three hours during the previous day praying about this sermon – as he did so, different verses from the Bible came to his soul with power and he experienced a strong desire for souls. Much time was spent in prayer on the Lord’s Day as he waited for the time of the service to arrive, and one is not surprised to read that God helped him to preach.

Early in his service for Jesus, Bonar came to regard prayer as his chief work of the Sabbath. Writing on 12 June 1835, a Sabbath, he records that he preached twice to an attentive group of thirty people in Jedburgh jail. He then writes: ‘I prayed much tonight as well as in the morning for them; and was more excited by John Purves’ remarking in the evening “that now we would go to the yet greater part of our day’s work, namely, prayer”.’ Later that year, he records, ‘Found much joy and encouragement this morning in devoting a season for prayer.’

In his diary we find records of him praying for revival, for the Jews, for the sick. He was continually looking for new methods by which he could develop his prayer life. Sometimes he set aside days or parts of days for specific prayer. He prayed about his Bible reading: even his ideas about the meaning of the Book of Leviticus, which he later published, were the result of daily study of the Book ‘accompanied by much prayer for the teaching of the Spirit of Truth’.(15)

Bonar was aware that the devil would try and prevent him praying. Sometimes he mentions unexpected barriers to prayer such as attending General Assemblies; having been at one in 1840, he states that he came home tired and prayer-less. In order to deal with that situation, he resolved to set apart the following week for special prayer for spiritual recovery. He found it helpful to read the Bible before beginning to pray, a practice that was also recommended by George Muller. In order to prevent wandering of mind, he would write out his desires on a sheet of paper, aware of this reality: ‘What is real prayer but a letter to the Lord Jesus, reminding Him of His words and of our needs?’

As with his preaching, what is striking about Bonar’s prayer life is its simplicity. He believed that God had made promises concerning answers to prayer, therefore he prayed, and he was heard. We can sum up his prayer life in this way: he longed to pray, he learned to pray, he loved to pray, and these three features repeated themselves again and again throughout his Christian journey. Bonar would have endorsed the three directions about prayer given by his friend and fellow Free Church minister, Alexander Moody Sturat: ‘Pray till you pray; pray till you are conscious of being heard; and pray till you receive an answer.’

Bonar and Christian literature

Above we have referred to several of his own contributions in Christian literature as well as mentioning some Christian titles that helped him at various times in his life, for example, William Guthrie’s Christian’s Great Interest which aided Bonar at his conversion and Krummacher’s Life of Elijah which helped him regarding his decision to move to Edinburgh as assistant to Candlish. Bonar also appreciated biographies of Christians and mentions several in his Diary.

Bonar loved his collection of books in his study. Indeed at times he was concerned that he thought too much of them. Still he realised their usefulness. He noted in his Diary on Monday 12 November 1855: ‘Led to-day to notice that all my books, my many suitable and profitable books that come to help my study and suggest what I might preach, as well as those papers, and the like, that stir up the soul, are all part of God’s calling of me. By these He carries on what He began, and so by every verse of Scripture which He gives me the heart to feel.’

It is evident that Andrew Bonar possessed a tremendous literary gift. While he may not have had the poetic gifts of his brother Horatius, Andrew certainly had a devotional element that makes his writings very attractive, even if one disagrees with him. For example, I get a sense of Christian fellowship from reading his ardent love for Jesus in books on prophecy, although disagreeing with his conclusions, than I do when reading the dry style of writing by others on various doctrines.

A basic feature of his books is that his heart was in each of them, whether he was functioning as an editor or as an author. His writings were labours of love, be they biographies, commentaries, or doctrinal studies; the same can be said of collections that he edited, such as Rutherford’s Letters or the Scots Worthies, and works for which he provided an introduction such as the life and work of Asahel Nettleton.

It is fair to say that Bonar admired greatly each of the characters whose lives he presented to the Christian public. Some of these persons, such as Robert Murray M’Cheyne and Asahel Nettleton, are reasonably well-known, and we are not surprised to observe his admiration for them. Yet we see his sense of value of unknown Christians expressed through his literature: for example, his short biography of James Scott, a lay-worker associated with Bonar, highlights this. Having read the book, I don’t know whether or not Scott had any hobbies or how he first met his wife. But I did read that he was a man of prayer, that he possessed strong personal assurance of salvation, that he desired intensely the salvation of the lost, that he was innovative in finding ways of spreading the gospel, and that he loved to preach the gospel in a simple manner. Not surprisingly, they are features that also occur in Bonar’s own spiritual outlook. Yet Bonar is not imposing his own qualities on Scott; rather Bonar is revealing that he delighted in those who also shared his spiritual emphases.

His editing of the Letters of Samuel Rutherford has been of great benefit for the church. The collection of 365 letters make it a form of daily readings for a year, although some letters are short and simple from a spiritual point of view and so may need only to be read once. Other Letters, however, contain such profound spiritual advice and such strong expressions of love to Jesus that they require to be re-read many times. Bonar’s editorial comments reveal his acute knowledge of Scottish Church history and this along with his grasp of long-forgotten Scots vocabulary have made obscure references clear for modern readers. Bonar’s obvious sympathy with Rutherford’s difficulties made him a suitable editor, but his greater qualification was his elevated delight in Rutherford’s Saviour.

Bonar’s Church Loyalty

Bonar began his ministry as a minister of the Church of Scotland and closed it as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was a passionate supporter of the section within the Church of Scotland who formed the Free Church because of their opposition to patronage, the system which allowed civil government involvement in the call and placing of ministers. Yet he lived long enough to oppose movements within the Free Church that he considered dangerous to healthy Christianity. Here is a brief summary of his involvement.

Although Bonar was marked by a strong ecumenical outlook, he would not tolerate church unions that compromised doctrinal standards. In the 1860s, a movement began for union with the United Presbyterian Church, a Scottish denomination with a weaker commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith than that professed by the Free Church. A majority within the Free Church were willing to accommodate this reduced commitment, but Bonar belonged to the minority that refused to go along with the attempt for union, and such was the strength of support for the minority that they prevented the union taking place.

A second issue which Bonar opposed strongly was the higher critical attitude towards the Bible, associated with scholars such as Robertson Smith, Marcus Dods and A. B. Bruce. Perhaps surprisingly for us, evangelical preachers such as Alexander Whyte and scholars such as William Garden Blaikie were prepared to allow such scholars all the freedom they wanted, so it was very difficult for those, like Bonar, who wanted to curtail their involvement in teaching theological students. Although the General Assembly removed Robertson Smith from his chair, the removal was more the outcome of ecclesiastical politics by opponents of Smith rather than opposition to what he taught, and Bonar and his friends were unable to prevent Higher Criticism taking an increasing hold of the Free Church.

Towards the end of his life, Bonar was prominent in leading the opposition to a series of changes in the denomination’s attitude to the Westminster Confession of Faith contained in what is known as the Declaratory Act of 1892. He was now an old man, yet that did not make him indifferent to doctrinal truth.

The basis of Bonar’s opposition to that church union, to the new attitude to the Bible, and to the proposed modifications of the church’s understanding of the Westminster Confession of Faith was his own acceptance of the Confession. He said on one occasion, ‘I believe everything that is in the Confession of Faith, but I believe more than is in it.’ As a friend wrote of him, ‘Calvinism and the evangelical creed were never so fairly (their critics might say insidiously) recommended, as by this man who stood by every doctrine, even the most severe and difficult to believe, while he seemed to live in a perpetual sunshine, and to spread not gloom, but brightness and good nature wherever he appeared.’

It should be remembered that Bonar was prepared to minister alongside evangelicals who did not accept his doctrinal commitments when such ministry did not involve compromising his own views. Early in his ministry, he preached at a Plymouth Brethren assembly in Bristol (he was known to Henry Craik and George Muller), and he frequently spoke at inter-denominational conferences (some of these conferences were connected to the Free Church -- such as the annual Perth conference at which Bonar was a regular speaker, others were linked to the interest in pre-millennial prophecy, and yet others were connected to or were imitators of the Keswick convention’s concern about living the Christian life).

The area of inter-denominational activity that has brought Bonar criticism from some nineteenth- and twentieth-century Reformed writers was his willingness to work alongside D. L. Moody and other American evangelists who were not overtly Calvinistic in theology. It may be the case that Bonar was impressed with the fact that people, who were not regular church attenders, came to hear such evangelists, with many of them becoming Christians and members of Free Church congregations, including his own. Again, it may be that his prophetic understanding, with the assumption that the return of Jesus was imminent, allowed Bonar to accept these zealous attempts to win souls. Yet on the assumption that he agreed with his brother Horatius’ published support for D. L. Moody, it is also very likely that Andrew would have regarded Moody’s gospel as being in line with a Calvinistic expression of the free offer, and therefore he saw no need to distance himself from Moody. Andrew encouraged evangelistic activities and found in D. L. Moody a kindred spirit. I suspect he would merely say to those who disapproved of his contact with Moody, ‘How much evangelism are you doing?’ And this leads us to comment a little on his heart for evangelism.

The fact is that Andrew Bonar was consumed by evangelism right from the onset of his ministry. He early on discovered that passion for souls was an effective means of removing fear of circumstances, so it was never likely that criticism would cause him to stop supporting this area of Christian service.

His passion seemed to increase when he moved to Finnieston. He wanted the congregation to be evangelistic. A year after his arrival there, the church appointed a missionary to engage in evangelistic work in the community; his role was to visit homes and arrange services suitable for the unchurched. But Bonar himself also set a personal example regarding evangelism. In a report submitted to the Free Church Committee on Glasgow Evangelization for the year 1858, he said that he visited over 600 families in the previous year. He engaged in open-air preaching regularly and he oversaw tract distribution around the church that reached over 1,000 homes each month. Such activities continued throughout his ministry there.

If Bonar discovered that a system worked, he adopted it. For example, when the first church in Finnieston was closed for repairs in 1865, the congregation met in a local school for two months, and during that time numbers increased significantly. Although it returned to the church building, Bonar did not stop holding a service in the school because he realised that many people would attend a service there who would not come to the church building. In fact, he continued holding services in the school for several years.

Preaching to his congregation in 1889, he urged them: ‘Go away now, and tell others about salvation and the Saviour. Go and spread the tidings to all men of “peace” by the Saviour’s work: “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him.” … Sit not down in selfish enjoyment when your hearts are burning within you after some fresh discovery of the riches of grace in John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he have his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Go and tell men these same tidings. And if more were needed to induce you to do so, this might be added, viz., in the very act of telling your fellow-men of this salvation you yourself get immense gain. In a word, if you would have your sanctification carried on, if you would have your own communion perfected, go forth with these words ringing in your ears: “As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.”’

As an old man, his enthusiasm for evangelistic efforts did not diminish, even when he could no longer physically get involved. He rejoiced that others were being used to bring in converts, and was also delighted that so many of his office-bearers and people were involved in evangelistic work across the city of Glasgow. He realised that his role was to be like Moses away from the action but still praying for God’s people as they fought his enemies in the valley below. No doubt, he later discovered, on arriving in heaven, that indeed ‘he that winneth souls is wise’.

Premillennialism

We can probably see why everyone wants to be identified with Andrew Bonar. Yet sometimes we can be surprised by the opinions of those with whom we want an affinity. There are many reasons for respecting Andrew Bonar (as we have tried to show), with one of them being his closeness to M‘Cheyne. Yet both M‘Cheyne and the Bonars shared one doctrinal outlook that is not common today in Reformed circles and that is, they were ardent premillennialists. Sometimes the impression is given that this doctrine was not widespread in the Free Church in the middle of the nineteenth century, but I suspect it was larger than many suspect.

They became premillennialists in 1829 through hearing lectures given in Edinburgh by Edward Irving on the coming of Christ (although Andrew said that what clinched the issue for him was a calm reading of Matthew 24). It is intriguing that Bonar became a convinced pre-millennialist during a period in which he was unsure of his own salvation, a reminder that objective doctrinal convictions can be developed and decided at the same time as subjective uncertainty about personal assurance is present. This twofold feature is expressed in his diary entries for Sunday 24 May and Sunday 31 May, 1829. He writes on Sunday 24 May: ‘Have been hearing Mr. Irving’s lectures all the week, and am persuaded now that his views of the Coming of Christ are truth. The views of the glory of Christ opened up in his lectures have been very impressive to me.’ A week later, on Sunday 31 May, he laments: ‘My birthday is past, and I am not born again. It often comes to my mind, “my friends will be for ever lost to me,” for they shall be taken and I shall be left. Reading Guthrie’s Trial of Interest in Christ. Mr. Irving’s lectures go on with great power.’

Bonar never tired of stressing the pre-millennial coming of Jesus. Instead it was his opinion, given in a conference address delivered in 1888, that ‘The cherishing of this blessed hope, instead of hindering our work, has all along kept us at work, caring comparatively little for the politics of earth. It has been like oil on the wheels, making us seek to abound in the work of the Lord.’ (16) Therefore, he was not content with regarding it as a secondary notion, as if it was sufficient to stress the second coming without going into particulars. It was his firm conviction that it was essential for his congregations to be instructed about matters connected to the return of Jesus..

For Bonar, anticipating the return of Jesus stimulated holiness. In his address on the second coming, Bonar lists eighteen benefits that thinking about the second coming will bring into one’s Christian life. Among the benefits are strength for witnessing, comfort in bereavement, contentment with circumstances, diligence in serving Christ, anticipation of a reward from Christ, constancy in prayer, completed adoption, and separation from the world.

In response to his premillennialism we can say that a belief in that system is not essential for having such attitudes as they should all be produced by anticipating the fact that Jesus will return, and not because he will reign for one thousand years on earth. This is not a road of Andrew Bonar’s that I venture down. I used to do so, when I was first converted, and indeed was guided there by the writings of both Bonars, but I now no longer accept the pre-millennial interpretation of the second coming. Yet I would still maintain that an expectation of the Saviour’s return gives spiritual impetus to one’s witness and also prevents the development of a worldly lifestyle.

Closing reflections

Let me close by highlighting some other prominent features of Andrew Bonar’s character. The first is his sense of realism about himself. It appears constantly throughout his diary, but one example is sufficient to make the point and it is taken from his early days, from the time he spent a fruitful summer helping Mr. Purves in Jedburgh. Purves had recognised the worth of Bonar, even although he had only been there a short time, and wanted him to remain as his assistant. How did Bonar assess his months there? The answer is both negatively and positively. He resolved to spend some time on Wednesday, 23 November, 1836 in reviewing his time in Jedburgh.

Negatively, he says of himself: ‘I lament the sins of coldness and earthliness; wandering in prayer; seeking to benefit others without being benefited myself; something of discontent at little annoyances; chagrin and envy; opportunities lost; sick persons ill-advised; my class of young people too little taught Christ; and in all my preaching very inadequate setting forth of Christ and the Spirit.’

Yet positively he records: ‘I have reason to give thanks especially for wonderful ease in committing and preaching my sermons; the great opening for usefulness here; the favour in sight of man given me; the hope of having done good to a few immortal souls, though I do not know even one that I can say I have altogether awakened. The Lord has been teaching me to be glad at the opportunity of ministering to the refreshment of saints, and this has been my chief joy here, along with hopes of setting the truth forth before some others, so as to have excited their desires for salvation. I have hope also of some that were in prison. I have been taught also to be content with sharing in the work of saving souls with others, and not to seek the whole honour to myself. And this very great lesson I have so far learned, that God alone, in the absence of friends, with none to sympathize, can be the joy and portion of my soul. Another experience I have found is this, joy beyond all others and beyond all other times in meeting for prayer and thanksgiving.’ This realism is striking in an individual just beginning his life of service for Christ.

Secondly, one cannot read long into the diary before discovering Bonar’s deep humility. Of course, humility cannot be expressed in isolation, but instead reveals itself in all aspects of an individual’s character and lifestyle. Again we can choose one example that is illustrative of many others. On arriving in Edinburgh to serve as Candlish’s assistant, Bonar was concerned that no opening for particular service had appeared (he had only been there for two weeks!) and wrote in his Diary on January 4, 1836: ‘Have glanced now and then at what God may have sent me to do, but as yet no opening. There are two great lessons to me at present: willing to be nothing, if God so please, and prayer for the past opportunities being blessed. I feel as if God had put me now for a time in a lower place of His vineyard, [with] less work.’

Thirdly, it is very evident that Bonar was very careful about Christian progress and therefore engaged in regular self-examination. A couple of samples will show his watchfulness in this matter. Tuesday, 21 May, 1844, had been chosen by his denomination for that purpose. Here is how he assessed himself: ‘Felt in sorrow this morning in reviewing my ministry. So little fruit, and of late so much preaching and no fruit at all to my knowledge. This is the day in the Assembly when all the ministers and elders are to be humiliating themselves for these things before God. Lord, Lord, break my hard heart. Lord, show why thou hidest Thy face from me. Wilt Thou not from this day make me wise to win souls.’ A few months later he wrote: ‘Have seen more than ever yet my real backsliding. I am a backslider both as a man and as a minister. Close walking with God; daily, if not hourly, taste of the sweetness of Christ; self-denial in setting aside temptation; all these must now be sought by me. O God of grace, return to me from this day! O to win Christ! O to be as Enoch till I die!’ (Saturday, 12 April, 1845).

Bonar had a remarkable sensitivity of his personal sinfulness; he recorded on Saturday 19 September, 1840, the anniversary of his ordination: ‘I feel my unholiness, my prayerlessness, and my want of solemnity and sense of responsibility. I seem to have done nothing at all for this people, and I wonder much at my indifference to the salvation of the old minister; and my little regret at the expressed indifference of neighbouring clergymen. I feel also a great deal of envy at hearing of others’ success.’ He realised that he had to be serious about his standard of Christian living and because he was careful he became holy.

Fourthly, Bonar was an ardent lover of Christ and became like him in character. This comes across clearly in his preaching, in his prayers, in his diary and in his other writings. The Bible for Bonar was all about Jesus, and he displays his awareness of this reality in his commentaries on Leviticus and on the Psalms. Andrew revelled in the letters of Samuel Rutherford and his edition of them was a labour of love. There is no doubt that what he admired most in Rutherford’s many commendable features was his passion for Christ and his determination to serve him. It was not only with such saints from the past that Bonar gravitated towards. His friends, such as Robert M‘Cheyne and John Milne as well as his brothers, can be classified as lovers of Christ.

In his short book, The Person of Christ, Bonar describes the effects of communion with Jesus. ‘When we dwell on the Saviour’s Person, we are in His company. Faith places us by His side, and shows us His glory, until what we see makes our heart burn within us. We are virtually put in the position of disciples walking by His side, witnessing His excellences, basking in the radiance of grace and truth from His countenance, hearing His words. Now, this contemplation of Him is transforming in its effects: “Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are changed: into the same image” (2 Cor 3:18). This is the plan which the Holy Spirit takes in conforming us to Christ's image. In this way He daguerreotypes [imprints] on our prepared hearts the likeness of Him whom we look to.’

C. H. Spurgeon once wrote a book called An All-Round Ministry. Can its contents be lived out in a life-long way? Andrew Bonar lived an all-round ministry and challenges us to do the same.

(1) Andrew Bonar began his Diary in 1828 to record his thoughts and God’s dealings with him. Later he stated that his diaries kept ‘the threads of the past disentangled, and had been useful to me on some memorable occasions when I was called to speak about times past and brethren gone.’

(2) The Marrow Controversy occurred in the Church of Scotland between 1718 and 1723 and involved among other things whether or not the free offer of the gospel to sinners was biblically valid.

(3) A. W. Fergusson (1923), Sons of the Manse, James P. Mathew, 44-47.

(4) Lady Glenorchy was born in 1741 in Galloway and died in 1786. She was a wealthy lady who, after her husband’s death, used her resources to build chapels in Scotland and England. The chapel that the Bonars attended was connected to, yet independent of, the Church of Scotland, and could seat 2,000. It was built in 1774, demolished in 1844, and a new building with the same name was erected on another location.

(5) They included an account of the journey to assess the Jewish world called Narrative of a Mission to the Jews (1842), Memoir of Rev. R. M. McCheyne (1843), a commentary on Leviticus (1845), a volume on Christ’s second coming called Redemption Drawing Nigh (1847), a small book on The Gospel Pointing to the Person of Christ (1852), Nettleton and His Labours (1854), and The Visitor’s Book of Texts (1855).

(6) His commentary on the Psalms was published in 1859 with the title, Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms; the Memoir of David Sandeman (a missionary in China) appeared in 1860; he also wrote Memorials of Rev. J. Allen, an assistant minister in Bonar’s congregation who died at a young age; he edited his edition of the Scots Worthies (1879) and his editions of the Letters of Samuel Rutherford (1862, 1891); he wrote a book for young people called Palestine for the Young (1865); the Brook Besor was written for burdened Christians (1879); and the Life of Rev. James Scott (1885).

(7) According to the National Archives, the equivalent spending power today of this amount is £240,000.

(8) David M. McIntyre was a son of Rev. Malcolm McIntyre, one of Bonar’s old friends. David later married Bonar’s third daughter, Jane Christian Bonar. Subsequently he became Principal of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow.

(9) Bonar’s interest in foreign mission work as well as his passion for revival could have been considered. As far as mission work is concerned, it can be divided into Jewish missions and other missions. In his student days, Bonar read several missionary biographies and indeed wondered if he was a candidate for the foreign field. During his time in Collace he was asked to consider becoming a missionary to Jews in Istanbul. Nothing came of this request, although it does indicate that others saw that he had an interest in such work.

While he never became a permanent missionary to the Jews, he did engage in important work for such missions. He went with M‘Cheyne and two others to investigate the state of the Jews in Palestine and in eastern European countries and wrote an account of their journey of discovery, and his service in this regard was an important stimulus for mission work among God’s ancient people. While his outlook regarding the spiritual future of the Jews was influenced by his pre-millennialistic ideas, his passion for the salvation of Israel was not something new in Scotland. For a long time, many exponents of the Reformed Faith had urged an expectancy of racial conversion of the Jews, and indeed it was anticipated that they would yet return to Palestine.

As we have said, Bonar’s interest in foreign missions was not limited to efforts among the Jews. He published a life of David Sandeman, a Scottish missionary in China, and he had a profound respect for William Hewitson, a Scottish missionary in Madeira. He sometimes traced a link between success in having prayers answered and his prayers for foreign missionaries as this comment in his diary in 1870 indicates: ‘My not praying more for missionaries and missions in private may be a reason why my prayer is often hindered and delayed.’

(10) William Garden Blaikie (1893), After Fifty Years, Thomas Nelson, 138.

(11) He wrote in a letter to a friend, ‘You know I am no speaker -- only a talker’ (Diary and Life, 431).

(12) Marjory Bonar, Diary and Life, 431.

(13) David M. Macintyre (1906), The Hidden Life of Prayer, Drummonds Tract Depot, ix

(14) Marjory Bonar (1893, rpt.), The Diary and Life of Andrew Bonar, Banner of Truth, preface.

(15) Andrew A. Bonar (1845), Commentary on Leviticus, v.

(16) Andrew A. Bonar (n.d), ‘The Importance of the Doctrine of the Second Advent as a Motive and Help to Holiness,’ in Sheaves After Harvest, Pickering & Inglis. The lecture was given at the Edinburgh Prophetic Conference held in 1888.